Cristen Bopp
Cristen Bopp (Yoga RYT 200 | Certified Qi Gong Practitioner) has been teaching wellness to the Greater Raleigh Area since 2014. She skillfully utilizes the ancient traditions of yoga and qi gong while offering trauma-informed, accessible, thoughtfully paced private sessions, group classes, conferences, and workshops. Her passion for teaching is fueled by witnessing students trust in their own inner wisdom and strength.
She began practicing yoga in 2002 and was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis in 2004. Yoga helps Cristen reduce pain, especially in her legs. She deeply understands that yoga is truly for everyone despite the perception that yoga is for super-bendy folks only. Inspired to share the empowerment that yoga provides, she completed yoga teacher training in 2021 with Blue Lotus to deepen her own practice and to spread the yoga to all. She has continued her education with several dozen hours of trauma-informed training and trauma-informed kids’ yoga. Cristen feels confident and healthier when she practices qi gong, so she became certified to teach Pangu Shengong with Master Ou Wen Wei in 2013. Yoga and qi gong have been her foundation for outfoxing permanent disability.
In 2023, she created an accessible yoga qi gong flow sequence, steeped in the philosophy of both traditions, that increases healthy qi energy while incorporating some beloved yoga poses. She has lived experience with chronic illness and disability, joint replacements in her right shoulder, knee, and ankle, and is a domestic violence survivor. For fun, she loves nature walks, dancing, gardening, offering puppy yoga fundraisers, and buying sassy outfits for her scruffy terrier named June Bug.