Natalie Ducastelle

Natalie’s interest in meditation and contemplative practice began in her teen years when she walked through the doors of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Venice in 1995. She dove into the study and practice of yoga at the age of 16, and received her first yoga teacher’s certification through Sivananda in 1999 at the age of 19.
 
Natalie entered the Dharma stream through the doorway of suffering during a time of struggling with her alcoholism, mental health challenges, and a deep feeling of disconnect from herself and from the world around her. She began sitting with SF Insight in 2006, sat her first silent retreats with Spirit Rock in 2007, and in Thailand in 2008. Since that time, she has been dedicated to the path and the refuge of Insight meditation and the Dharma, both formally on the cushion and regular retreat, and out in the world and in all areas of her life. 
 
In 2018, Natalie completed Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practioner’s Program. In 2021, she trained as a Mindfulness Facilitator with the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is currently in her second year of training as a Somatic Practitioner. She works as a holistic coach, and an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist en route to licensure. 
 
Natalie is passionate about teaching in a way that is accessible, relatable, and fun. She teaches practice “on the cushion” as a training ground for life, and is most interested in how this practice expresses itself in and through us in every area, every moment of our lives. She believes in the power of this practice to transform both on the individual and collective levels. It is a privilege and an honor for her to get to pass along this practice that has been so generously offered to her.