James Kapicka
James is a yoga ambassador, teacher trainer and community organizer who is passionate about bringing people together to celebrate, learn and connect. He has worked with organizations like YogiTunes, Lucidity Festival, Serenity Gathering, Beloved Festival and more. He is the founder of a yoga collaborative, Sac-Sierra Yoga Pass, that gives a drop-in class at over 40 studios from Sacramento to the Sierras. James enjoys collaborating and co-creating, dancing to groovy tunes, playing with his puppy & companion Stitch, adventuring in nature and through culturally diverse forms of paradise.
James is also an event producer with a passion for bringing people together in a way that supports acceptance and forgiveness as we learn to evolve as beings. He offers yin yoga ceremonies intended to facilitate personal growth and healing that supports the unconditionally giving of authentic self in a way that protects innocence and promotes creative play and expression. With focus on connected movement and breath awareness, James creates an environment that empowers students to stay in their integrity and trust their intuition. He encourages students to physically and emotionally explore, work, and heal on a personal level as they face fears, overcome challenges, and leave their all on the mat.
James is the founder and director of Sac-Sierra Yoga, a 40 studio collaboration and yoga pass in the Sacramento area. He works with many production companies in the creation of transformational gatherings along the West Coast, and teaches workshops and trainings with emphasis on yin yoga, philosophy, energy work and meditation practices. These offerings encourage potent expanded awareness through profound re-evolutionary change both within and in how we exist in society and in our relationship with Mother Earth.
James, E-RYT-200, is a student of eastern and western psychology and former yoga studio owner. The spiritual path found James through the wisdom teachings of Ram Dass, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Tao te Ching. These guides brought him to the physical discipline of yoga where he began to experience more personal power and peace in his life. Inspired by this unfolding freedom, James began learning to teach yoga and was quickly drawn to the practice of yin. He pursued this calling, studying with Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers, and learning Thai yoga massage at the Old Medicine Hospital in Chaing Mai, Thailand.
In 2010, while at Amma’s ashram in India, James received his mantra and formal meditation training. In 2011 he took refuge in the 5 Mindfulness Precepts with Zen Master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The lives and teachings of Jesus the Christ, Paramahansa Yogananda, Eckhart Tolle, Mahatma Gandhi, Byron Katie, and Ramana Maharshi have also philosophically, practically, and spiritually guided and molded James’ evolving practice.
Whether he is traveling, dancing, reading, or absorbed in Nature, James considers himself to be a constant student, in which he aspires to experience life wholeheartedly, and he encourages his students to do the same
5 Questions, Answered From James
Describe yourself in three words:
Kind, compassionate and grounded
What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming?
The greatest challenge I have had in life is working through painful emotions and mental afflictions, which in part stem from early traumas and personal experiences, and are also part of being human.
What is unique to you about your work?
The foundation of my teachings is move from one's own intuition, authenticity and cellular intelligence above all else. From this place of Self trust, we then work to be in communion and connect with our global community.
How do you guide clients into their own healing/inner freedom?
I guide clients to access their own healing and inner freedom by encouraging them to create a sense on inner curiosity supported by trust in their body’s internal wisdom and knowing.
What tools have you found least/most effective in your work?
Somatic practices that support me being present in my breath and body – dance, snowboarding, asana and running are all a part of my healing and Self-love. Also, learning to move through the world from a place of abundance without debt, obligation or attachment – which for me looks like doing my best, realizing that is enough and letting go – provides the most peace and contentedness.