Kripalu Center
A nonprofit yoga, health, and wellness retreat center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit organization and residential retreat center based in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its work combines yoga, meditation, health education, Ayurveda, movement, contemplative practice, outdoor activities, and approaches to integrative well-being. The center serves overnight guests, day visitors, course participants, yoga teachers, wellness professionals, and online learners. The organization traces its modern institutional history to 1972, when yoga teacher and guru Amrit Desai established a residential yoga center in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania. It initially focused on the teachings of Swami Kripalvananda, an Indian yoga teacher associated with the Kripalu tradition. The organization adopted the name Kripalu Yoga Fellowship in 1974 and expanded its activities to include retreats, yoga instruction, health programming, and teacher training. In 1975, it acquired Summit Station in Pennsylvania, including a health center that became important to its developing mission. Swami Kripalvananda moved to the United States in 1977, an event that increased the visibility of the organization and encouraged wider participation in its yoga programs. He returned to India in 1981. In December 1983, the organization moved to its current Berkshire Mountains location in Stockbridge, occupying Shadowbrook, a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary. The principal building, constructed in 1957, forms the core of a roughly 160,000-square-foot facility on a large wooded property with lawns, gardens, and access to Lake Mahkeenac. Kripalu underwent a significant institutional transition in the 1990s. In 1994, founder Amrit Desai resigned after the discovery that he had engaged in sexual relationships with female residents. In 1999, the organization changed from a religious order into a secular nonprofit. This shift preserved the center's emphasis on yoga and contemplative practice while changing its governance and public identity. Kripalu subsequently presented itself less as a guru-centered spiritual community and more as an educational and wellness institution offering programs led by its own faculty and outside presenters. Its educational scope includes programs associated with the Schools of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Integrative Yoga Therapy, as well as leadership education and the Institute for Extraordinary Living. The center has also supported programming related to young adults, music, weight management, trauma and post-traumatic stress, meditation, and conscious leadership. Kripalu Yoga emphasizes physical postures, breathing practices, meditation, awareness of life-force energy, compassionate self-acceptance, and observation of the mind without judgment. The tradition encourages participants to apply insights from practice to ordinary life rather than treating yoga as solely a physical exercise. The campus has developed as both a retreat property and a hospitality operation. A six-story, 80-room housing annex was completed in 2010 with sustainable design features. The wider grounds include forests, gardens, open areas, and conservation-protected land. Programs commonly combine classes with communal meals, quiet periods, movement, nature activities, and optional bodywork or healing-arts services. Kripalu's policies and culture have included restrictions on alcohol and tobacco and reduced cellphone use, reinforcing a structured retreat environment. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major operational interruption. Kripalu closed in 2020 and laid off most of its workforce, while expanding online services and simplifying its in-person offering. It reopened in 2021 and continued rebuilding its staffing and residential programming. By 2023, coverage described a smaller but recovering operation with a stronger online component. Kripalu remains an active nonprofit retreat and education center whose appeal rests on the combination of yoga instruction, wellness programming, communal hospitality, nature, and a comparatively accessible approach to contemplative practice.
History
Kripalu's institutional history begins in 1972, when Amrit Desai established a residential yoga center in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania. The center taught the lineage and methods associated with Swami Kripalvananda and combined yoga practice with residential community life, retreats, and teacher education. In 1974, the organization adopted the name Kripalu Yoga Fellowship, clarifying its connection to the Kripalu tradition while broadening its educational and retreat activities. The organization expanded in 1975 by acquiring Summit Station in Pennsylvania. The property included a health center that became an important part of Kripalu's developing approach, which linked yoga with health, personal development, and practical lifestyle education. Swami Kripalvananda moved to the United States in 1977, bringing additional attention to the organization and its teachings. He returned to India in 1981, but the Kripalu movement continued to develop in the United States. In December 1983, Kripalu opened at Shadowbrook in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The property had previously been associated with the Jesuits, who acquired the former estate in 1922 as a place for training novitiates. The main institutional building was completed in 1957 as a Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary. It replaced the earlier Shadowbrook mansion, which was destroyed by fire in 1956, with several fatalities reported in connection with the fire. The Jesuits eventually left the property after moving away from the site in 1970. Kripalu adapted the large building into a residential yoga and health campus. The 1983 move gave the organization a substantial Berkshire Mountains setting for large-scale residential programming. The campus occupies approximately 100 acres of forests, lawns, and gardens and has access to Lake Mahkeenac. In 1997, conservation easements covering an additional 225 acres were granted through a framework associated with the United States Forest Legacy Program. Kripalu also developed its own onsite water supply using wells for a period. The physical campus became central to the organization's identity, combining an austere former seminary building with communal rooms, instructional spaces, natural surroundings, and wellness facilities. A major crisis came in 1994, when it became known that founder Amrit Desai had engaged in sexual relationships with female residents. Desai resigned. The episode challenged the authority structure and guru-centered model that had shaped the organization. In 1999, Kripalu formally changed from a religious order into a secular nonprofit organization. This transition allowed the center to retain yoga and contemplative elements while presenting itself as a more institutionally governed educational and wellness nonprofit. Following the transition, Kripalu broadened its teaching model. Although it continued to offer programs based on Kripalu Yoga, many workshops were led by outside presenters who were trained or certified by the center. Its institutional programs came to include schools or departments devoted to yoga, Ayurveda, and Integrative Yoga Therapy. The Institute for Extraordinary Living, associated with scholar-in-residence Stephen Cope, supported research, education, and the application of contemplative practice to everyday life. Other program areas addressed young adults, music, weight management, trauma and post-traumatic stress, meditation, and conscious leadership. Kripalu Yoga itself combines asana, pranayama, meditation, and elements associated with kundalini practice. Its distinctive emphasis is on following the movement of prana, developing compassionate self-acceptance, observing mental activity without judgment, and transferring learning from the mat into daily life. This framing helped Kripalu occupy a position between traditional spiritual teaching, contemporary yoga exercise, and the expanding wellness and personal-development sector. The campus continued to expand as a hospitality and education facility. A six-story housing annex containing 80 guest rooms was completed in 2010. Designed by Peter Rose, the annex incorporated sustainable design features and received an American Institute of Architects award in the same year. Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh worked on the grounds. The center's accommodations and communal spaces have generally favored simplicity, quiet, and functional design over luxury-resort styling, while its natural setting and food service have remained important parts of the retreat experience. The COVID-19 pandemic created the most severe operational disruption in the center's recent history. Kripalu closed in 2020 and reportedly laid off 450 of its 489 employees. It reopened in 2021 with a more limited onsite model and a larger online presence. By 2023, the organization had rebuilt part of its workforce, employed approximately 337 people according to contemporary reporting, and offered a simplified residential experience alongside digital courses and classes. The recovery reflected a broader shift in wellness education toward hybrid delivery. Kripalu is now an active nonprofit retreat and learning center. Its contemporary identity rests on residential yoga and meditation, health-oriented education, Ayurveda, integrative therapy, leadership development, nature programs, communal meals, and online learning. It remains known for a structured retreat culture that limits alcohol and tobacco and discourages cellphone use, while its yoga and wellness offerings have become part of the mainstream North American wellness landscape.
- 2021
Reopening after COVID-19
[1]The center reopened its Stockbridge facility after the pandemic closure.
- 2020
Pandemic closure
[1]Kripalu closed its physical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and shifted attention toward online services.
- 2010
Housing annex completed
[1]An 80-room, six-story housing annex with sustainable design elements was completed at the Stockbridge campus.
- 1999
Secular nonprofit transition
[1]Kripalu changed from a religious order to a secular nonprofit organization.
- 1997
Conservation easements established
[1]Conservation easements covering 225 acres were granted using a framework associated with the United States Forest Legacy Program.
- 1994
Founder resigns after misconduct disclosures
[1]Amrit Desai resigned after the disclosure of sexual relationships with female residents.
- 1983
Stockbridge campus opens
[1]Kripalu opened at Shadowbrook in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in December.
- 1977
Swami Kripalvananda moves to the United States
[1]His arrival increased interest in the organization's yoga teachings and programs.
- 1975
Summit Station acquired
[1]Kripalu acquired Summit Station in Pennsylvania, including a health center that became important to its mission.
- 1974
Organization adopts the Kripalu Yoga Fellowship name
[1]The center changed its name to Kripalu Yoga Fellowship and formalized its focus on Swami Kripalvananda's teachings, retreats, and teacher training.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, education-oriented yoga and wellness retreat that combines residential hospitality with yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, health education, nature-based activities, and personal development.
Retreats · 1983
Residential yoga retreats
Kripalu's core offering is an overnight retreat experience combining yoga classes, meditation, movement, educational workshops, communal meals, and time in the Berkshire natural environment. Programs range from introductory experiences to specialized retreats involving outdoor recreation, mindfulness, healing practices, or personal development.
Yoga education · 1972
Kripalu Yoga
Kripalu Yoga combines physical postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and elements associated with kundalini yoga. Its teaching emphasizes awareness of prana, compassionate self-acceptance, nonjudgmental observation of the mind, and applying insights from practice to daily life.
Professional education · 1972
Yoga teacher training
Teacher education has been part of Kripalu's mission since its early years. Training programs develop knowledge of yoga practice, teaching methods, anatomy, meditation, and the principles of the Kripalu approach, supporting both new and experienced instructors.
Wellness education
Ayurveda programs
Kripalu offers education and workshops connected with Ayurveda, presenting traditional health and lifestyle concepts within its broader retreat and integrative-wellness curriculum.
Integrative health education
Integrative Yoga Therapy
The Integrative Yoga Therapy program applies yoga practices in health and therapeutic contexts. It forms part of Kripalu's professional and educational offering for people interested in using yoga alongside broader approaches to well-being.
Meditation education
Meditation and mindfulness programs
Meditation programming teaches attention, awareness, and reflective practices in retreat and online formats. These offerings are commonly integrated with yoga, nature activities, and Kripalu's emphasis on observing mental activity without judgment.
Leadership development
Conscious leadership
Kripalu's conscious-leadership work extends its contemplative and self-awareness framework into organizational and professional settings. Programs address leadership behavior, attention, values, communication, and the relationship between personal practice and institutional culture.
Digital education · 2020
Online wellness education
After the COVID-19 closure, Kripalu increased its online services, making yoga, meditation, and other educational content available beyond the Stockbridge campus and supporting a hybrid model alongside residential retreats.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2020
Pandemic shutdown and digital pivotStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic made residential retreats and in-person group programming impractical.
Action taken
Kripalu closed its physical center, reduced its workforce substantially, simplified its eventual onsite offering, and expanded online services.
Aftermath
The center reopened in 2021 and continued rebuilding residential operations while retaining a larger online component than before the pandemic.
2010
Expansion of residential accommodationOtherBackground
Growing demand for residential programs required additional guest capacity at the Stockbridge campus.
Action taken
Kripalu completed a six-story housing annex containing 80 guest rooms and incorporating sustainable design elements.
Aftermath
The annex increased the center's ability to host overnight retreat participants and strengthened the campus's role as a large-scale wellness destination.
1999
Transition from religious order to secular nonprofitStrategyBackground
The change followed the 1994 resignation of founder Amrit Desai and a broader institutional reassessment of Kripalu's authority structure and public identity.
Action taken
Kripalu reorganized its institutional identity as a secular nonprofit rather than continuing as a religious order.
Aftermath
The center continued teaching yoga and contemplative practices while expanding education, professional training, outside presenters, wellness programming, and more conventional nonprofit governance.
Recent events
- 2023
Kripalu rebuilds residential programming after the pandemic[1]
Other
Reporting described the center's recovery, including renewed overnight programs, a reduced but growing workforce, simplified onsite services, and increased online activity.
- 2021
Kripalu reopens after pandemic closure[1]
Other · Product generation
The Stockbridge center resumed in-person operations after its pandemic shutdown while maintaining an expanded online offering.
- 2020
Kripalu closes during the COVID-19 pandemic[1]
Other · Leadership change
The center temporarily closed its in-person operations during the pandemic, laid off most of its staff, and increased its emphasis on online programming.
- 1999
Kripalu changes from a religious order to a secular nonprofit[1]
Other
The organization completed a major governance and identity change, becoming a secular nonprofit rather than operating as a religious order.
Sources2 sources
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