Now Available
Stephen’s New Memoir:
Dharma Dog
When Stephen Cope chose to help adopt a puppy – something wildly out of his comfort zone – his life was forever changed.
Cope discovered, much to his surprise, that helping to raise Kenzie taught him as much about the so-called “spiritual life” as had his library full of sacred texts. Most of all, the pup taught him important lessons in love that he had somehow missed along the way.
In Dharma Dog, Cope recounts the story of his unexpected late-in-life awakening: He wrestles with the many dilemmas of aging, finds support in the deepening of friendships, and most of all delights in the transformational wonders of the profound love he shares with his pup.
STUDY WITH STEPHEN
Stephen is well-known in the world of contemplative practice as a teacher who combines intellectual rigor with the powerful direct practices of hatha yoga and meditation. Most students find this to be a very potent combination. He is trained in many styles of meditation and yoga, but his primary interest is in teaching and developing the subtleties of Kripalu yoga and mindfulness meditation. He also regularly teaches loving kindness meditation—or “metta” meditation—with his friend and mentor, Sharon Salzberg, one of the founders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and an internationally recognized teacher of metta meditation.
In addition to weekend-long programs at Kripalu, Stephen often teaches shorter programs, and gives dharma talks at venues around the country. Please check the full teaching schedule for details.
Stephen’s primary interest is in translating the wisdom of the ancient contemplative scriptures into a form that is engaging and useful for mainstream readers.
Most American yoga practitioners are not likely to really read the ancient scriptures of yoga—like the Yogasutra, or the Bhagavad Gita. And even if they do read them, none of these documents can really be well understood without the help of a commentary. Every generation creates its own commentaries on these scriptures, of course. Stephen’s writing combines narrative and exposition in a way that makes these often-obscure early texts come alive.
