Pilgrim on the Path of Love: A Centennial Celebration of Swami Kripalu’s Birth

friday | saturday | sunday

Join us for a unique R&R retreat celebrating the life and teachings of Swami Kripalu, the namesake of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Swami Kripalu—who would have turned 100 years old this January—was a beloved yoga master and spiritual teacher whose teachings serve as the foundation of the Kripalu approach to yoga and spiritual life to this day.

Celebrate the richness of the Kripalu lineage with a variety of Kripalu faculty and founding community members leading workshops, lectures, yoga classes, and kirtan sessions. This special weekend is designed to capture the spirit and tradition that have inspired practitioners for decades, and link the present-day Kripalu to its spiritual roots and heritage.

As an R&R retreat guest, you are free to participate in all of these special celebratory gatherings while still being able to experience any of our regular R&R retreat activities throughout the weekend.

Friday, January 11
6:30–8:00 am	Gentle and Moderate Kripalu Yoga Classes
9:00–10:30 am	The Grace of Surrender Aruni Nan Futuronsky Read more. Explore Swami Kripalu’s invitation into “the nobility of retreat.” What is the interaction between our will and our letting go in life? How do we live with passionate nonattachment? Learn how to practice taking mindful action and surrendering our attachment to the fruits of those actions.
11:00–11:50 am	A Dynamic Yoga Practice Evelyn Gonzales Read more. This workshop places Kripalu Yoga into the historical context of its development into a three–stage practice. The yoga flow then leads you into willful practice, holding, breathing and relaxing, and finally an emphasis on stage three: the mind becoming witness and allowing your body’s internal wisdom to be led by prana.
12:00–1:00 pm	Noon Dance
12:15–1:15 pm	Vigorous Vinyasa Yoga Class
1:30–3:00 pm	Guided Afternoon Hiking or Snowshoeing
2:00–3:00 pm	Harmonious Adaptation: Riding the Waves Danny Arguetty Read more. Do you feel challenged by life? Do the unknowns of your world shake you up? In this workshop, you will learn practical tools for outliving your feelings and returning to equanimity. Using the Kripalu methodology of “riding the waves,“ we will practice the skill of letting our feelings come and go. Allow your body, mind, and spirit to integrate, relax, and renew.
4:15–6:15 pm	Kripalu Legacy Yoga Class Shobhan Richard Faulds Read more. Come participate in an exploration of that which defines Kripalu Yoga–following the flow of prana (life–force energy), practicing compassionate self–acceptance, developing witness consciousness (observing the activity of the mind without judgment), and taking what is learned off the mat and into daily life.
4:15–6:15 pm	Moderate and Vigorous Kripalu Yoga Classes
7:30–8:30 pm	Being Awareness: Yoga Nidra Ellen Rose Hollidge Read more. Rediscover your essential wholeness by simply lying back and listening as you are guided through a full–body meditation. This integrative experience leaves you feeling restored and relaxed, while calming the nervous system and releasing negative emotions and thought patterns.
7:30–9:30pm	Pilgrim on the Path of Love: A Centennial Celebration of Swami Kripalu’s Birth Shobhan, Vidya, Vandita, Priya and Ritu Pandya Read more. Join us for a unique weekend celebrating the life and teachings of Swami Kripalu, the namesake of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Swami Kripalu–who would have turned 100 this January–was a beloved yoga master and spiritual teacher whose teachings serve as the foundation of Kripalu’s approach to yoga and spiritual life to this day. Tonight’s opening workshop introduces participants to Swami Kripalu’s life and teachings, specifically the Sanatana Dharma, more commonly called the perennial wisdom in the West. This is the recognition that yoga–and all of the world’s wisdom traditions–stem from a single universal truth that humans can experience directly through a variety of disciplines, techniques, and practices. The evening will close with a vibrant dance piece focused on storytelling through intricate hand motions and expression in the classic Indian tradition.
Saturday, January 12
6:30–7:45 am	Kripalu Legacy Yoga Class: Morning Sadhana Sudha Carolyn Lundeen Read more. During the externally dark days of winter, it’s important to keep the light within strong. In this class, Sudha will guide you in a classic Kripalu Yoga Sadhana, which includes pranayama and meditation in motion.
6:30–8:00 am	Gentle, Moderate, and Vigorous Kripalu Yoga Classes
9:00–10:00 am	The Yoga of Yes Jurian Hughes Read more. Join Jurian for a movement improvisation workshop that expands on the essence of Kripalu Yoga’s meditation in motion. For those who long to reconnect to their authentic selves, this full–body participation provides an opportunity to enhance listening skills, let go of the thinking mind, and trust the guidance of prana within.
9:00–11:30 am	Experiments in Love Vidya Carolyn Dell’uomo Read more. What does Swami Kripalu mean by “the science of love,“ and what are “experiments in love“? Why did he consider love to be “the foundation of all spiritual practices,“ and define himself as a “pilgrim on the path of love“? Through guided meditation, partner dialogue, yoga, and writing we explore these questions and apply their answers to our lives. Opening to spiritual insights that lie beyond the mind, we source an experiment in love we are called to create with a family member or friend. We’ll leave confident and ready to apply love’s transformational, healing power, realizing the force of our love and Swami Kripalu’s words: “Every being stands in a stream of love.“
11:00–11:50 am	Life is Perspective Coby Kozlowski Read more. Every moment of every day is an opportunity to choose. Though we can’t always control what happens to us, we can choose how we respond and what we learn from it. Learn how to create a life based on choice and formulas to use to create a meaningful, fulfilling life.
12:00–1:00 pm	Noon Dance Vrajmala and the KDZ Drummers Read more. Through inner attunement, high–energy drumming, guided and spontaneous movement, and mantra chanting, you rediscover your own sacred expression. As Swami Kripalu said, “Dance is the rising up or awakening of prana. Music and dance are fundamental to yoga.“
12:15–1:15 pm	Vigorous Vinyasa Yoga Class
12:45–1:30 pm	Meditation Bhavani Lorraine Nelson Read more. Join an engaging experience of meditation, in which the goal is to gain perspective and find a greater sense of freedom through compassionate self–inquiry. Integrate practical suggestions to help deepen your meditation practice.
1:30–3:00 pm	Guided Afternoon Hiking or Snowshoeing
2:00–4:00 pm	Mantra and Mudra Shivanand Thomas Amelio Read more. Swami Kripalu taught that in addition to yoga postures and pranayama, there are also subtle yogic practices that purify our minds and hearts of fear and limitation, and reveal our true divine radiance. These practices include mantras (sound vibrations), mudras (hand and body gestures that direct the flow of prana), and bandhas (energetic locks that hold and magnify the power of prana). In this workshop. we weave all these elements together in light of Swami Kripalu’s teaching; we will show how these practices can awaken and align the chakras (energy centers) of our subtle body.
4:15–5:45 pm	Gentle and Vigorous Kripalu Yoga Classes
4:15–6:15 pm	Kripalu Legacy Yoga Class Devarshi Steven Hartman Read more. Come participate in an exploration of that which defines Kripalu Yoga–following the flow of prana, practicing compassionate self–acceptance, developing witness consciousness, and taking what is learned off the mat and into daily life.
5:15–6:30 pm	Gentle Kripalu Yoga Class
7:30–9:30 pm	Swami Kripalu Centennial Kirtan Celebration Shivanand, John de Kadt, and Friends Read more. Swami Kripalu used to say that chanting in a group is so powerful that the benefit we receive is the square of the amount of people present in the room. Kirtan is a form of chanting done in a group that creates a high energetic vibration and a strong sense of community among the participants. An articulate speaker and talented musician, Swami Kripalu had a genuine love for people that set him apart. His singing stirred deep feelings of devotion within the hearts of his listeners. Join us for a heartfelt, celebratory evening of ecstatic call–and– response chanting, devotional music, and sacred song.
Sunday, January 13
6:30–7:45 am	Morning Sadhana: Guided Posture Flow Vandita Read more. Meditation in motion and self–observation without judgment are cornerstones of Kripalu Yoga. In this gentle morning ritual of awakening the bodymind with kindness and awareness, you are invited to move at your own pace and discover your yoga from the inside out.
6:30–8:00 am	Gentle and Moderate Kripalu Yoga Classes
9:00–10:30 am	Inquire Within Ken Nelson Read more. Explore writing as a method for self–discovery and use yoga to get beyond the usual distracted mind and the internal critic. You take home poems, reflections, journaling ideas, and ways to tune into the greenhouse of creativity and refuge of Self that awaits you for the rest of your life.
9:00–11:30 am	The Relevance of Kripalu Shobhan, Vandita, Devarshi, and Friends Read more. Rooted in eternal truths for cultivating peace and harmony, Swami Kripalu’s teachings and his example continue to inspire people and organizations around the world today. Join us in this closing session as we come full circle from opening night and the historical perspective of Swami Kripalu’s life. Today we learn how Swami Kripalu’s teachings continue to inform Kripalu, and experience the essence of practices in a closing ritual to unite our hearts.
11:00–11:50 am	Share Circle Cristie Newhart Read more. Practice this classic Kripalu methodology that employs the principle “the key to my heart rests in the heart of another.“ Through meditative listening and conscious speaking, you savor the concept of safe and sacred space. Relax, access, and witness the power of your moment and others.
12:00–1:00 pm	Noon Dance
12:15–1:15 pm	Vigorous Vinyasa Yoga Class
1:30–3:00 pm	Guided Afternoon Hiking or Snowshoeing
2:00–3:00 pm	Inward Diving: Introduction to Pranayama Micah Mortali Read more. Explore the ancient art of pranayama, or yogic breathing, with a modern twist. Inward diving is the practice of pranayama with the use of a blindfolds and powerful rhythmic music–a potent technique for accessing deep states of introversion and preparing the mind for meditation.
4:15–6:15 pm	Gentle, Moderate, and Vigorous Kripalu Yoga Classes
7:30–8:30 pm	Meditation Cristie Newhart Read more. Release the mind’s tyranny through the practice of meditation, focusing on concentration and awareness. Integrate useful suggestions to help deepen your meditation practice.

Kripalu R&R Retreat