Spotlight on Kripalu Yoga

Kripalu Yoga is a challenging approach to asana practice that emphasizes meditation and breathwork, and encourages inward focus and spiritual attunement.

BASIC PRINCIPLE: Practicing Kripalu Yoga can initiate a gradual process of physical healing, psychological growth, and spiritual awakening.

WHO FOUNDED IT: Amrit Desai

INSPIRATION: Sri Kripalvananda, also known as Bapuji (1913–1981)

WHERE TO DO IT: Tens of thousands of people have flocked to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts. While there, visitors can take part in workshops on everything from yoga and hiking to African drumming. They can also spend a long weekend resting and relaxing, enroll in a teacher training, or go for the popular three-month intensive Spiritual Lifestyle Program. To find a Kripalu-trained teacher in your area, visit www.kripalu.org.

WHO DOES IT: Kripalu attracts people who want to transform their lives. Yogis looking for something more playful can try Kripalu’s DansKinetics, a dynamic blend of dance and yoga.

TEACHERS TO KNOW: Stephen Cope, Todd Norian, Ann Greene, Sudhir Jonathan Faust, Shobhan Richard Faulds

RESOURCES: You can learn the basic approach to this style from videos such as Kripalu Yoga: Gentle, Kripalu Yoga: Dynamic, Kripalu Yoga: Partner, and Pranayama: The Kripalu Approach to Yogic Breathing. And Stephen Cope has written an autobiographical book called Yoga and the Quest for the True Self (Bantam, 2000) that delivers a compelling history of Kripalu Yoga.