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Kripalu Yoga

om symbol Kripalu Yoga has been described as the yoga of the heart.
Each class is a guided experience inviting conscious and compassionate exploration of the body and mind. Students are encouraged to listen to the wisdom of their bodies and work at their own edges. This hatha flow practice is great for beginners and more experienced students alike.

Kripalu Yoga enhances prana, the life force energy that moves through us and around us, making us feel vibrant and fully alive. Through awareness techniques, breathing practices and core work, the practice can heighten prana and still the mind. In this relaxed and open state, we can surrender to and move the body from this deep energy, creating our own personal yoga dance, meditation in motion.

Kripalu Yoga can be energizing and revitalizing as we tap into prana.    We are already a living embodiment of this divine energy and spirit.  The practices merely remind us and help us feel it.  This can happen anywhere and at any time. You don't need to sit in a cave and eat nuts to be enlightened.  This is always here for you. 

This individualized approach honors the whole you. Instead of striving for external form, students learn to accept and love their bodies.  Everyone works at their own physical edge, choosing challenge or gentleness as appropriate for them.  Holding postures at the place of sensation and gradually deepening allows the body to relax into the stretch, which is effective in making the muscles more flexible.   Postures are led with options for more or less challenge and modified as necessary.

Exploring the inner landscape: Kripalu Yoga brings you fully present to the moment-to-moment experience of being alive. Performed with breath, relaxation and feeling, yoga postures release chronic tension from the body. An inner attitude of self-observation without judgment allows a state of flowing awareness to arise in the mind. This combination activates prana, the life force-initiating a natural process of physical healing, psychological growth and spiritual awakening.

Kripalu Yoga is as much about life off the mat as it is about yoga on the mat . Originating in India, Kripalu Yoga has evolved to incorporate the Western disciplines of self-actualization and personal growth. Students often become aware of patterns of stress in the body and mind and learn to let them go, possibly effecting lasting and profound changes in their lives.

 

The Kripalu Yoga Methodology:

  • Stage 1: Willful Practice (Body and Breath Awareness)

Stage 1 begins with an experiential approach to understanding the details of alignment and the coordination of breath while moving into and out of postures.

  • Stage 2: Holding the Posture (Inner Focus and Concentration)

Stage 2 guides you to focus your attention on inner sensations, thoughts and emotions. You learn to hold postures for longer periods of time while cultivating compassion and awareness.

  • Stage 3: Meditation in Motion (Absorption).

Stage 3 is a unique and personal expression of Kripalu Yoga. You practice the art of moving in response to your body's wisdom, with postures flowing from one into the next. This experience is often described as a state of prayer expressed in movement.

Kripalu Center in the Berkshires of Massachusetts is the largest yoga retreat center in the country. They offer many programs in yoga, bodywork, health and healing work, etc. Visit them at http://www.kripalu.org.

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