Dr. Shubham Sapkota is a research associate at Crown Wellness Institute at CU Boulder. He is originally born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal and has been in the Denver area for his graduate studies. He completed his bachelor's in political science from Hope College (Holland, MI) and his master's in international studies from University of Denver. After completing his masters, he worked in Nepal assisting in development aid projects and being a liaison between private companies and USAID for their new business development. Due to his upbringing in Nepal, his interests in spiritual and embodied practices of South Asia, and his numerous backpacking experiences in Nepal, he found his spiritual calling in the study of religion. He pursued his doctorate in Religion and Theology through a Joint PhD. Program from University of Denver and ILIFF School of Theology. He completed his PhD with a focus on how to bring Buddhist meditation practices and principles in spheres of academics, pedagogies, and community engagement. He will be working closely with the Dalai Lama Fellows and Mindful Campus Program at Crown Institute. His work advocating for mindfulness practices in diverse settings will complement the institute's goals of promoting such practices in areas of community and mental health well-being as well. He loves being in and near the mountains because of his upbringing in Nepal and has been very happy to call Colorado his second home.
His lived experiences of being from Nepal, and his academic expertise in the religions of South Asia, are both complemented by his myriad experiences in contemplative and embodied practices rooted in the cultures he grew up in. He has a 200-hour Yoga Teachers Training Certificate, and he has also participated in a couple of 10-day silent meditation retreats as per S. N. Goenka's Vipassana tradition. He has knowledge and experience regarding practices related to the meditation on the nature of emptiness through Tibetan Buddhist and Zen practices and teachings as well. He has also been part of workshops that advocate for meditation through Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). He has learned a lot from various teachers he has encountered in Kathmandu and different parts of the Nepali Himalayas. His native tongue is Nepali, English is his second language, and he is very familiar and conversational in Hindi. He is also familiarizing himself with Tibetan and Sanskrit languages by learning them independently. He is confident that these aspects of his life will continue to be present in anything he does. All these facets complement his upbringing, education, and his desire to advocate for meditation in a global level.