{"id":14154,"date":"2018-01-23T20:47:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T20:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/ner\/?p=14154"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T15:45:07","slug":"theres-no-place-like-om","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_7\/2018\/01\/23\/theres-no-place-like-om\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s No Place Like Om!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cKripalu\u201d means compassion and \u201cyoga\u201d means union. The sense of being connected and valued felt like a warm vest given to me as a welcome gift when I checked in.<\/p>\n

Four of my best friends and I planned our R & R day at Kripalu back in November. We wanted an opportunity to spend time with each other, get some exercise, as well as some relaxation. \u00a0With the rush of holidays, and the business of everyday life, the time for weekend get-together arrived quickly. \u00a0I had barely given any thought to what I should expect when I arrived at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health this past Saturday morning at 7AM.<\/p>\n

Kripalu, sits up on a hill and overlooks Stockbridge Bowl, in the Norman Rockwell-like town of Stockbridge Massachusetts, located in the Berkshires or western Massachusetts. \u00a0James Taylor, is a local hero and resident of Lenox, the town next door, who wrote and sings of the beauty of the Berkshires in his song Sweet Baby James, \u201c Now the first of December was covered with snow. And so was the turnpike from\u00a0Stockbridge<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to Boston Though the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting. With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go.\u201d Stockbridge did seem dreamlike, as a fresh coat of snow had recently fallen just a few days before we arrived.<\/p>\n

Through participating in workshops, yoga classes, a guided snow shoe hike, eating nutritious food and attending the evening musical concert, I began to realize that my day at Kripalu, was much more than a lovely day, it was an immersion into a lifestyle that combines postures, meditation, wholesome eating, study, learning and healing arts. Each of these activities is also facet of yoga. The benefits to the yoga lifestyle were easy to recognize in those who taught the workshops and classes. \u00a0These teachers all possessed common qualities, innate skillfulness, equanimity, clarity and joy.<\/p>\n

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health is a large, sprawling building. \u00a0A former Jesuit seminary, it has many dorm-like rooms you can stay in for overnight visits. \u00a0The building also has a cafeteria that is big enough to seat hundreds (I ate 3 meals of the most beautiful, colorful and delicious tasting food), meeting rooms, exercise rooms, sauna along with lots of outside space with winding hiking trails to explore.<\/p>\n

As a nonprofit educational organization Kripalu\u2019s mission is to empower people and communities through the wisdom that is the transformative result of the regular practice of yoga. As I took a quick break from the scheduled activities, \u00a0I picked up the Kripalu 2016-2017 Magazine where I read several articles about a relatively new program (just 3 years old) called the Kripalu Approach to Extraordinary Living. \u00a0Through this program, Kripalu is creating world change that begins on the mat with individuals, who then bring their wisdom and newfound skills to their families and organizations. Five days of experiential learning is taught through a curriculum of yoga-based tools that are user-friendly and practical. One example of the kinds of practical programs offered is called \u201cRiding the Wave of Parenting\u201d and Staying Calm When Your Child Cannot\u201d offered to teen mothers and families from financially disadvantaged neighborhoods. \u00a0Using the concepts and language taught in the program parents are making positive changes in the way they communicate with their children. Mindfulness, conscious breathing and self-awareness practices are creating authentic and lasting change in the lives of people who would not otherwise be exposed to these practices.<\/p>\n

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Here are some of the other populations who are benefiting from the Kripalu Approach curriculum:<\/p>\n