Kripalu was formed in 1966 to promote yoga and uplift the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of individuals. For more than 40 years, Kripalu has remained a place where people come together to deeply inquire into the core issues of life, explore new and healthier ways of being, and put inspiration into practice.
Kripalu’s vision is to build a new kind of educational institution, one dedicated to the inquiry of what creates a fulfilled human life. From our point of view, human fulfillment is the critical challenge of our time and the answer to many of our societal problems. The only way we can address the complexity of our personal lives and society as a whole is for more of us to explore, understand, and experience what it means to live an integrated life in which we feel fully alive, connected to others, and committed to fostering the welfare of the whole. We call this exploring the yoga of life.
Kripalu’s mission remains teaching the art and science of yoga, an approach consistently proven to uplift individuals and benefit society. The techniques of yoga integrate body, mind, and spirit, helping both individuals and groups flourish and perform at peak levels. The only way in which this new kind of institution can be built is for its leaders, members, and patrons to embody the discipline of yoga by acting skillfully, being authentic, and confronting our biases and fears as we work together in pursuit of truth.
While grounded in yoga, it is important to understand that Kripalu does not espouse a narrow or sectarian mindset. According to the Kripalu tradition, yoga is an honest and unfettered inquiry into all practices, philosophies, techniques, and approaches that produce thriving for individuals, families, communities, societies, and the planet. This "nondenominational yoga" includes perennial wisdom gleaned from all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions, together with the amazing knowledge gained from science, psychology, and contemporary researchers. It also includes healing techniques drawn from traditional, allopathic, and complementary/alternative medicine that help individuals heal and return to high levels of functioning.
As an institution, Kripalu is dedicated to yoga as a rigorous, nondogmatic, and nonsectarian inquiry into the core issues of life. This kind of truth-based inquiry inevitably frees us from fears, fantasies, and distortions and produces positive ways of being that generate beneficial results. To support rigorous inquiry and dialogue, Kripalu operates in accord with a set of core values that includes: a commitment to authenticity, radical self-trust, the courage to fully express one’s self, and unconditional positive regard for others. Embracing these and other values is a proven way to move toward the state of integrated functioning where what you think, feel, say, and do are aligned.
All nonprofit organizations have an official purpose clause, most often stated in its Articles of Incorporation or corporate bylaws. To read Kripalu’s, click here.
Kripalu’s Mission in Action
Kripalu’s mission is expressed in action through many long-established activities and several exciting new initiatives. Here is an overview of Kripalu’s current focus:
Programs and Retreats
Kripalu offers a curriculum of more than 750 educational programs and spiritual retreats attended by over 25,000 individuals each year. Kripalu’s faculty includes world-renowned experiential teachers along with prominent visionaries, authors, artists, and inspirational speakers. All programs are carefully designed or selected to serve the needs of a broad spectrum of people, ranging from those likely to appeal to people just beginning their transformative journey, along with those likely to serve the needs of longtime practitioners. Some programs draw from the world’s great wisdom traditions while others are based on the pioneering work of contemporary teachers. A program offering that has tremendous breadth and depth naturally flows from our guiding view, which embraces all systems and techniques that help harmonize body, mind, and spirit, create balance and thriving, and return individuals to the vibrancy that is their birthright. In the face of such diversity, one thing can be guaranteed: every Kripalu program will bring you into the presence of a leading figure in his or her field and invite you to explore and celebrate the wonder and mystery of life.
View upcoming programs calendar
Kripalu Professional Schools
Many who find deep value in practicing natural ways to manage stress and enhance the quality of life discover a passion to share what they have learned with others. For 30 years, Kripalu has been helping people become sensitive and potent teachers through offering a curriculum of residential certification programs. Returning to their home communities, graduates of Kripalu training programs are ready to offer their skills to the world and at the same time create a career that they love.
Kripalu’s professional schools offer an immersion experience in a holistic environment dedicated to health and well-being. The curriculum for each training blends experiential learning and lifestyle skills with abundant opportunities to put what you are learning into practice. Each program is staffed with skilled faculty who are experts in creating extraordinary learning environments. These programs are enhanced by Kripalu’s rich setting that includes daily yoga and movement classes, evening programs, natural foods, beautiful surroundings, and a community of fellow practitioners. After graduation, students draw sustenance from a supportive network of long-lasting friendships.
Find out more about Kripalu Professional Trainings in yoga, Ayurveda, and Massage.
Scholarships and Volunteer Programs
Kripalu is committed to making its services accessible to people of all backgrounds. Within the limits of its resources, Kripalu provides scholarships and assistance to individuals who, because of their financial status, would not otherwise be able to participate.
Find out about Kripalu’s scholarship opportunities.
Since its inception, Kripalu has provided a variety of volunteer programs that allow individuals to contribute their time and energy in service to Kripalu’s mission. Along with learning the essentials of what the Kripalu tradition calls karma yoga and seva, the volunteer programs provide a unique opportunity to be immersed in a holistic, community-oriented lifestyle that integrates body, mind, and spirit.
Find out more about Kripalu’s volunteer opportunities.
Kripalu Yoga Teacher’s Association (KYTA)
Kripalu has been training yoga teachers for 40 years. Founded in 1991, the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association is a global association supporting certified yoga teachers from all traditions. Sporting a membership of more than 2,200 members, KYTA is one of the world’s largest and leading yoga associations. Members receive a wide-range of continuing education benefits, including inspirational newsletters and audio recordings, access to teaching grants and liability insurance, business and marketing tools, online support, and an annual conference held at Kripalu Center.
Find out more about KYTA.
Institute for Integrated Leadership’s (IIL) Semester Intensive Program
Kripalu’s Institute for Integrated Leadership is focused on serving the needs of college-age individuals through its Semester Intensive program. The Semester Intensive is a four-month residential immersion program that addresses core life issues not covered in a traditional college curriculum. Participants are engaged in a deep inquiry into what it means to clarify their life purpose. They learn to better live in integrity with their values, create and sustain a daily practice for healthy living, deepen their personal sense of spirituality, strengthen communication and relationship skills, understand and improve their relationship with money, and develop skills to create beneficial societal change. College credit is available through an affiliation with Lesley University.
Find out more about the Semester Intensive.
Institute for Extraordinary Living (IEL)
Led by scholar and author Stephen Cope, the Institute for Extraordinary Living is continuing Kripalu’s established position as a pioneer in the interface of Eastern contemplative and Western psychological approaches to creativity and peak performance. The institute is actively exploring questions like: What does it look like when a human being is functioning on all cylinders-mental, physical, and spiritual? What lifestyles and practices promote this kind of optimal living? How can we most effectively cultivate the fully alive human being?
In its first official program, the Institute for Extraordinary Living is collaborating with the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center to teach yogic techniques for optimal living and functioning to a select group of gifted young musicians. The program includes a research component in which results are being scientifically assessed and published.
Find out more about the IEL.
Institute for Integrated Healing (IIH)
Since its inception, Kripalu has been at the forefront of the movement to integrate traditional, allopathic, and alternative medicine into a holistic approach that emphasizes the power of diet, lifestyle, and noninvasive healing modalities to regain and maintain good health. During the 1980s and 90s, Kripalu had two physicians on staff actively pioneering the benefits of a treatment model that combined clinical care with yoga-based education and hands-on healing methods like massage and polarity. The Institute for Integrated Healing is taking this work to the next level, adding a leading-edge medical dimension to Kripalu’s long-established approach. The focal point of the IIH will be on treating complex chronic conditions that often show up as unexplained symptoms and multiple illnesses. Such conditions often involve systemic imbalances in the body, such as hormonal imbalances, chronic inflammation, anxiety, and digestive dysfunctions. In order to create a broad societal impact, the IIH will serve as a demonstration clinic with a research component, and also offer dialogues and training programs for professional health-care practitioners and students entering health careers. The long-term aim of the IIH is to change the way doctors think about health and thus the way medicine is practiced.
The first phase of the institute’s programming was launched in 2006 with Kripalu’s Healthy Living Programs, designed to help people make fundamental lifestyle changes to promote health and well-being.
Find out more about Kripalu’s Healthy Living Programs.
Healing Arts
Back in 1975, Kripalu began offering hands-on healing treatments to help individuals jump-start their journey to physical health, psychological growth, and spiritual awakening. Thirty years later, Kripalu is still offering a broad range of healing modalities for one simple reason: they work! As time passes, medical research is increasingly validating the efficacy of a range of techniques drawn from traditional healing systems and pioneers in health science that are often referred to as complimentary and alternative medicine. As Kripalu’s Institute for Integrated Healing grows, so will the interface with the Healing Arts department, with the result being a close coordination of lifestyle education, clinical treatment, and Kripalu’s Healing Arts services.
Healing Arts services are a powerful addition to any Kripalu program, providing a palpable experience of the same integrated functioning of body, mind, and spirit sought through disciplines like yoga and meditation. Many people find the hands-on help and personal guidance of a Healing Arts therapist essential to discovering how to consciously access deep levels of relaxation and self-attunement.
Find out more about Kripalu Healing Arts.
Kripalu Shop
How can I take this home with me? is the perennial question of Kripalu program participants. The Kripalu Shop provides an answer by carrying a carefully-chosen line of books, music, videos, healing tools, yoga props and fitness accessories, body care items, clothing, and other products selected to help you sustain and deepen your Kripalu experience. Our experience shows that such products can play a significant role in maintaining the inspiration, study, healthy diet, and spiritual practices learned at Kripalu. Many of our books and audio resources are authored or recommended by program or workshop leaders. Others are selected by our buyers, who screen hundreds of items to assure their fit with the Kripalu lifestyle. Most program guests are aware of the Shop’s physical location on the ground floor of Kripalu Center, but many are unaware that the Shop is also online to support them between visits.
Visit the Kripalu Shop online.
Dining at Kripalu
In many monastic traditions, the cooks are among the most advanced practitioners. There is good reason for this, as eating well is one of the most important things you can do to support your health and spiritual growth. Seen in this light, providing a healthy and educational dining experience is an important part of Kripalu’s mission.
In addition to programs focusing on diet and nutrition, the Kripalu Kitchen provides an array of natural, organic, and local foods, including vegetables, proteins, and nutritious grains. Meals are served buffet-style and are primarily vegetarian; fish and poultry options are often available for lunch and dinner. You’ll also find freshly baked breads and fresh fruits. Being at Kripalu is an opportunity to try new foods and experiment with eating slowly and consciously while actively listening to your body. Program registration includes all meals beginning with dinner on the first day and ending with lunch on the last day.
Find out more about dining at Kripalu.
Program and Retreat Housing
An important aspect of the Kripalu experience is that it offers time away from your daily routines, activities, and surroundings. This frees you to focus on getting the most from your retreat or program experience. Our facility was formerly a Jesuit seminary, and therefore accommodations are simple. Many program participants describe Kripalu as a place where everything you need is conveniently provided without modern-day distractions such as televisions.
All of Kripalu’s activities take place within the context of a retreat center offering in-depth immersion programs, wholesome meals, saunas, whirlpools and other supportive amenities. There is no need to commute to activities, as everything is under one-roof or an easy walk away. At Kripalu, a healthy lifestyle supportive of learning and positive change can be simpler than you think.
While offering a range of housing options to enable a wide variety of people and families to participate in our programs, all accommodations support the focus and immersion that is core to the Kripalu experience.
For more information, check here.
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