User:Lalissa11/sandbox/Laura Butler

Laura Butler (born March 10, 1980 and November 9, 1993) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, model, author, yoga and meditation teacher, Reiki master, humanitarian, philanthropist, and environmentalist based in New York, New York. She is the founder and CEO of Bliss Bodies Wellness, a wellness organization dedicated to helping people live happier, healthier, and more fulfilled lives through natural healing modalities such as yoga, meditation, and Reiki.

Early Life
Laura Melissa Butler was born March 10, 1980 in Mansfield, Ohio, the second child of Gregory Neil Butler, an insurance executive and litigation specialist, and Jane Rosalie Butler (née Rietschlin), a laboratory technologist and phlebotomist. Her birth was announced in the county paper, The Mansfield News Journal, as her parents took advantage of a new program, "living in," which allowed her to stay in their room at the hospital instead of going into the nursery. She has 3 sisters: Allisson Butler-Kublanov, a mother of four and founder of Bee Well Yoga in Rogers, Arkansas; Dr. Tracy Butler (Prieto), a mother of two, and a Women's Studies and Gender Matters professor at the University of Houston (Texas), and Megan Butler, a luxury bath, kitchen, appliance, and lighting product specialist at the Soho Ferguson Showroom in Manhattan. The family grew up in a house that was part of the Underground Railroad on a 110-acre farm in Bellville, Ohio, as part of the state's Central Highlands, with rolling hills, a large garden, farmland, woodlands, and an orchard. They moved to a larger home and smaller property in a rural area near Galion, Ohio when Butler was 8 years old. With both of her parents being left-handed, there was a lot of creativity in the home, and the sisters read, wrote, drew, painted, sang, played piano, gardened, performed, and played several sports (softball, cross country, track and field, and basketball). Her father had several self-help motivational tapes in his home office, which Butler started listening to at age 10. On November 9, 1993, at age 13, she was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect (ASD) and underwent open-heart surgery, during which she had a near death experience. At age 16, through her church (St. Joseph Catholic Church in Galion, Ohio) Butler attended a Leadership Retreat at the Agape Retreat Center in Newark, Ohio, that sparked a spiritual awakening. She started seeking a deeper meaning and understanding of life, reading books on spirituality, philosophy, and social justice.

Education
Butler graduated third in her class from Northmor High School in 1998. As a senior, she served on the Student Council and was Homecoming Queen. She was awarded the Eagle of the Cross Award (created by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, and is the highest honor the diocese presents youth) by the Diocese of Toledo, for young Catholics who exemplify the qualities of moral integrity, prayer, good works, and Christian leadership, and show particular zeal in the improvement of their own parish ministry programs, high school ministry teams, or youth work in general within the Diocese. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre, music, and dance from The Ohio State University in 2003, also studying abroad at University College in London, England (theatre) and L'Universita di Lecce (Italian) in Lecce, Italy. She was awarded the prestigious Scarlet Mask Award for her work as an actress and inducted into the Mortar Board National Honor Society for her scholarship, leadership, and service while at OSU. She acted in several plays and films throughout Ohio for a year after graduation, and moved to New York City in January 2005. She holds multiple certifications in yoga, meditation, and Reiki.

Film and Theatre
Butler has appeared in filmmaker George Pogatsia's Academy Award qualifying film, Family on Board (2016) with Eric Roberts and Karina Arroyave, which was also selected for the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and won Best USA Short Narrative in the 2015 New York International Film Festival. Butler also acted in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival reading of producer/actor/writer Jesse R. Tendler and Ellen Cheney's new screenplay Carousel (2017). She was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for the 2016 New York Innovative Theatre Awards as Ali in actor/producer/writer/director Jen Emma Hertel's play Text#Love-Love#Text and Best Supporting Actress Nominee for the 2016 Midtown International Theatre Festival as Lisette in playwright and Juilliard alumni Vivian Neuwirth's award-winning play Mr. Toole. She has worked on hit shows on HBO, ABC, NBC, USA Network, and MTV, as well as in regional and Off-Broadway theatre.

Music
As a singer-songwriter, Butler has released two albums, Crushing Blue Cupcakes (2010) and Bliss, Love, and Devotion: Sacred Chants (2017), and is currently working on her third. She recently hit #1 on the Local Folk Charts on ReverbNation, and her music can be found on iTunes, CDBaby, Spotify, SoundCloud, and her website.

Modeling
As a model, Butler has appeared in Glamour, Yoga Journal, and Boro magazines. She has worked on projects for House Beautiful, Lululemon Athletica, LoveSac, Shevy Luxe, and L'Oreal.

Writing
Butler has journaled since she was 7 years old and writes songs, poetry, and short stories. She is currently writing her first book, The Love Experiment: How to Cultivate Love in your Life, Wherever You Go (2018).

Yoga, Meditation, and Wellness
Butler is the founder and CEO of Bliss Bodies Wellness, a wellness organization dedicated to helping people live happier, healthier, and more fulfilled lives through natural healing modalities such as yoga, meditation, and Reiki. She has taught at The Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, ISHTA Yoga, and YogaWorks.

Humanitarianism, Philanthropy, Environmentalism
As a humanitarian and volunteer, Butler has been involved in Summer Solstice in Times Square, Global Mala Yoga for Peace, NewLife Yoga and Raw Food Expo, One Girl, Revlon Run/Walk, The Yoga Freedom Project, Off the Mat NYC, The Somaly Mam Foundation, New York Cares, Youth Service Opportunities Project, and numerous homeless shelters and soup kitchens in New York City. As a philanthropist and environmentalist, Butler has raised money for charity:water and One Tree Planted (2017), and is currently working to support 4Ocean to remove trash from the oceans, and Chasing Coral (2017), a documentary that exposed the effects of coral bleaching and is dedicated to protect our reefs.