A yoga retreat is not everyone’s cup of tea. And it had better be tea, as they don’t serve coffee in the dining room of Kripalu.  There are no televisions; not a one. Nor phones in the guest rooms. This is a place where breakfast is eaten in silence.  A former Jesuit seminary, turned into an ashram, now become a yoga school/training center/spa and retreat – it’s had its reincarnations like the rest of us. A funky vibe remains, along with good will and peace. Halfway up a hill, overlooking a lake, ringed by the Berkshire mountains, no one can deny it’s a beautiful place. And to many, it’s a special place, because it’s somewhere where you can address your desire to change, to find something more or higher, and to be surrounded by others who are doing the same.

I recently had a most excellent adventure at Kripalu, with friends Mary Jane and Carolyn, all signed up for Kripalu R&R – 3 days of do-what-you-please, choosing among the yoga classes, special programs, use of sauna, whirlpool, and the healing arts sessions (for an extra cost). We took accommodations in the new Annex – relatively cushy compared to the old Jesuit dorm rooms, all very bright and “green”, although quite minimal compared to a regular hotel room, i.e., no closet and one drawer only for clothes. Then again, who needs clothes, if you’re running around in sweats and workout clothes all day? And, oddly, the facility was kept quite warm, to the point we had to crack our window at night, thus sending heat out into those Berkshire hills, not quite so green. The food is often called a highlight of the stay, and I have to agree it was healthy, well-prepared and tasty.  The winter squash lasagna, the mushroom soup, the chunky chicken salad – truly memorable.  On the other hand, the Indian food, not quite so Indian as I like it. Still, the limitless choices, and endless refills are nurturing and fun to try. 

In Feb., Kripalu is lively but not crowded, maybe 300 or so out of capacity of 700. We met people from California, Tennessee, North Carolina, and other places. Many had come for special programs – there was one on Shamanism and another on healthy eating and self-image while we were there. The R&R’s are invited to sample a session, to see what they’re about, but by and large those groups are kept busy morning to night, and most of the interaction, if any, is at meals, where everyone sits a long communal tables.  Also, in the evenings, there are events for all – one evening, an Indian cooking demonstration, and another was Kirtan – Indian devotional chanting, quite lovely.  A large group assembled also for the Yoga Dance at noon – what was yoga about it, I’m not sure, but it was fun, and I’ll take any excuse to dance. 

It might be easy to poke fun at some of the New Age elements of Kripalu – some of the old guard teachers who go by their Hindi names, given by the guru in the ‘70’s. Or some of the ardent seekers, who feel that alternative healing practices by themselves without western medicine will turn the course of cancer. And there are those who seem to be looking to get away from something and to find some new thing that will help them heal. As much as I believe in transformation, I also think, “You can change your sky, but not your soul.” The journey alone does not heal; you bring yourself along, and your pain.  

But there’s some really good stuff going on at Kripalu, too. First off, we ran into our friend, and former yoga teacher, Edi, who is now on staff working with Steven Cope and others on ways of measuring yoga’s effects on body/mind, using scientific research to plumb the anecdotal benefits of this thousands-year-old practice. Nurses and physical therapists can get continuing education credits at Kripalu. There is a big yoga teacher training program, and don’t we need more of them?  Maybe it’s true that middle-class folks come and pay good money to help them deal with their stressful lives, but that’s a good way to deal with stress, when there are so many other bad ways. It’s a choice, and for many people a healthy choice.

And then, there is the simple reinforcement of the concepts of self-acceptance, and release from judgment. Those same critical faculties that we cultivate through higher education are the ones that so often leave us feeling short of our goals and dissatisfied with ourselves and others. Those skills we’ve learned to survive and succeed can undermine our ability to enjoy the wonder of life, of the present moment, with all our constant planning, plotting, comparing and evaluating. At Kripalu, they remind us that we often look out at the world through the lens of our past experiences, and react negatively or defensively in situations that don’t warrant it. To believe in self-acceptance and to know we wear those “glasses” of past experience frees up energy and creativity, and even joy — with practice, a lifetime of practice, and remembering to breathe.