The evolution of America’s largest wellness retreat center mirrors the Western evolution of yoga itself. Kripalu began more than fifty years ago as the Yoga Society of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit formed by Indian-born Amrit Desai who trained some of America’s first yoga teachers. In 1972, Desai left Philadelphia to establish the first residential Kripalu center, based on the teachings of his guru, the Indian master Swami Kripalu, and immersing students in the yoga lifestyle. The center blossomed into an ashram that provided housing, meals, yoga instruction, and a holistic healing arts center that served as a genesis for a new way of approaching health care. And, as interest in the Eastern approach to health and spirituality continued to grow, the center quickly outgrew its capacity. Kripalu moved to its current location in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1983, turning a former Jesuit seminary into a hilltop healing center for yoga, health, massage and bodywork, personal growth, and spiritual exploration.
Throughout the 1980s, Desai became an international figure in yoga instruction and the Kripalu residential community grew to more than 350 members. While Desai traveled, senior teachers began to establish their own curricula, integrating psychology, science, and Western perspectives on healing. When Desai was ousted in the mid-’90s for having inappropriate relationships with several female ashram residents, the center had already developed a voice of its own. The ashram disbanded and Kripalu became a secular, all-inclusive center for yoga and wellness. The Kripalu style of yoga emphasizes physical healing through meditation, gentle asana, breathwork, and psychological growth. Thousands of teachers have received certification through Kripalu, and it is a style that is taught throughout the world.
Today, Kripalu represents the diversification of Western spiritual practice and the integration of modalities from both East and West. Yoga superstars including Seane Corn, Dharma Mittra, and Shiva Rea regularly lead workshops at Kripalu. In addition, there is a packed calendar of events offering subjects as wide-ranging as emotional freedom techniques, dissolving writer’s block, qigong for anxiety, and the neuroscience of Buddhism.
Thousands of visitors attend organized programs each year. Others opt for an R&R weekend, which allows for free exploration of yoga classes, workshops, and unscheduled time for introspection. An R&R day might look like this: Attend meditation and a gentle sunrise flow class before a buffet breakfast of fresh-baked granola and fruit; try some qigong, take a hike through the woods, or learn about nutrition in a workshop; read spiritual texts in the sunroom, commune with new friends, and let loose in an interpretive dance class after lunch; book a craniosacral massage or take an evening yoga class and relax in the sauna; and wind down the night with a kirtan or an acoustic performance by a soulful singer-songwriter.
Kripalu retains its feel as an old-school spiritual institution perched high on a picturesque hill. However, recent improvements, such as the new accommodations and meditation hall in the LEED-certified Annex built from wood salvaged from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, infuse the center with contemporary brightness. Kripalu is not the scene of Lululemon or power yoga, and it is not a place for rigid doctrine (there’s a popular coffee shop to fuel caffeine withdrawals and non-vegetarian options on the buffet). It is, instead, a distinctly American place for spiritual reflection ready to continue its progression into the future.
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
PO Box 309
57 Interlaken Road
Stockbridge, MA 01262
866.200.5203
kripalu.org
