Hi, I'm Courtney. For most of my life, I thought love was something you earned.

I'm a mom of two girls, twenty years into my yoga practice, and the founder of I Love Me Unconditionally®. I needed this work long before I ever taught it.

Here's the real version. It's longer than a bio and a lot shorter than the book I'm writing.

Courtney Cote in a navy dress and pink heels on a sunlit street

As seen on

chapter one

I learned early to take care of myself.

I grew up an only child, the daughter of a Marine and a nurturing mom.

Home had love and gratitude in it. It also had addiction and depression. My parents got sober when I was eight and divorced twice, so I moved between homes and often felt unheard.

My dad worked at Easterseals and taught me what gratitude looks like. He could also be right there in the room and still out of reach.

So I got strong. And I got very good at being fine.

Courtney with her daughters and her mother, smiling together at a restaurant table

chapter two

Then I became a mother.

Motherhood showed me what moms carry.

The stress, the overwhelm, the burnout hiding under the joy. I wanted to help, so I went looking for real tools, from personal growth workshops to Dr. Shefali's work on conscious parenting.

chapter three

From the outside, it was working.

Underneath, I was a perfectionist and a people pleaser living in survival mode, with my jaw clenched, always trying to earn my place.

By my forties I knew everything about self-love. I just wasn't living it.

One day it all came out, and I broke down in tears.

Courtney Cote sitting in a soft armchair in a warmly lit room, wearing a blush blazer and smiling gently at the camera

You're not weak. You're just stuck.

A yoga teacher said that to me while I was struggling through a pose. It took me a while to see that it was true off the mat, too.

Then there was my dad.

During COVID he moved down to Kentucky, and in the time we had left, we finally talked about how hard it had been, his whole life, for him to love himself.

Those conversations hurt. They also freed us both.

I don't want any woman to spend decades in that kind of pain. It's the reason I do this.

Two women with their eyes closed, each resting her forehead against the face of a grey horse — A quiet moment at one of our retreats

Who I am at home

We live in Lexington, Kentucky, and our favorite family outing is a day at the races at Keeneland.

My girls were both born in California. One is our athlete and artist, into soccer, riding and painting. The other is our sweet, theatrical singer and dancer, never short on personality.

As an only child, I care a lot about how they treat each other. We use placemats at mealtimes to set intentions and practice our values.

BE kind. BE loving. BE forgiving.

One of Courtney's daughters holding up a hand with a raspberry on each fingertip

Courtney's two daughters outdoors under a blue sky, one holding a book

Courtney's two daughters sitting side by side, smiling and holding up small cards

Courtney's two daughters in a kitchen, smiling at the camera

Building each other up, not tearing each other down.

My Great Dane has been known to bark through podcast interviews.
I ask my girls which horse they want to be: the one running free on the beach, or the one racing a derby in blinders.
I feel my gratitude first thing, before I get out of bed.
I still get it wrong sometimes. When I do, we repair it quickly.

What I believe

Love yourself the way you love your children, or your dog. Not once you've earned it. That's why I Love Me Unconditionally® exists.

Peace first. Performance second. Success without peace is not success.

Gratitude: What's actually going right.
Unconditional love: It guides every relationship.
Forgiveness: A practice, not a one-time decision.
Values: Choices that match what matters most.

She doesn't have to earn loveWatch Courtney say it herself

What working with me is like

Peace comes first.
We look at how you're actually living, not how it looks from the outside.
One question does a lot of the work.
"Is this choice because I love myself?"
I guide. You decide.
It's how I try to parent, and it's how I coach.

What shapes my work

Practice: Twenty years of yoga.
Teaching I follow: Dr. Shefali's work on conscious parenting.
Workshops attended: Landmark Forum, Unleash the Power Within and Date with Destiny.