TRAVEL REVIEW: Kripalu Center for Yoga 2026
The practice of yoga leads inexorably to the direct realization of an unseen power that pulls on us, guides us, draws us onward toward full integration.
-Stephen Cope, The Wisdom of Yoga
My car is so old that it has unique features. One being the radio gets louder when I spin the dial to turn it down, but only when I first start the car. The CD player works most of the time and the funny smell is only intermittent.
As I zipped north on the NY thruway, I thought about my car quirks, how she is now 21 years old and we've covered so much ground together. We laughed and we sang through the north Jersey chaos and the Hudson Valley splendor and arrived eager to savor three quiet nights in the sweet beauty of Kripalu.
Here's my 2025 Kripalu Travel Review for more details and pictures.
Three nights away from my family is hard, I miss them lots and feel indulgent to be away. The solitude shifted some things inside of me and offered space to shine a light on some elusive ponderings.
Of course there was lots of yoga, meditation and philosophy. And more things that inevitably catch me by surprise. I can barely walk down the main hallway without stopping to gaze at the mountains, as if it's the first time. every. single. time. That slows me down, in the kind of way I like.
I let loose in the unique Kriplau Yoga Dance (everyday at noon!) and really fell in love with an afternoon Labyrinth Workshop. Our gentle guide, Sudha Carolyn Lundeen, told us about the mysterious history of Labyrinths and how even drawing them and tracing them with your finger has soothing effects on the heart and mind.
Sudha smiled when students asked things like "What is the right way to walk the labyrinth?" and "Should we move to the left or stay on the path when people come up to us?" stating how the labyrinth is a metaphor for life. We may ask, "Am I on the right path?" in life and in the labyrinth. She invited us to walk in honor of someone or with curiosity offering this statement as we enter: I wonder what thoughts will arise.
May I be well
May I be happy + healthy
Then you repeat this while bringing to mind someone (or a pet) whom you love dearly. She suggested we hold one hand on our heart and the other open to connect with the person. We repeat the statements. (These are my personally chosen statements, Christine encouraged us to create them for ourselves).
Finally, we send compassion to someone or people with whom we struggle.
May they be well
This is the one practice that I plan to teach my family now that I'm home.
