Tzivia G.

The experience at Kripalu changed my life. I had been looking for something to pamper myself with for my birthday, and a friend recommended Kripalu. I was in real need of relaxation—my daughter was going through adolescence, my partner was having back problems, and we were facing financial challenges.

Over the years, I had taken a yoga class here or there but I didn’t have a practice. At Kripalu, I started with gentle yoga. I enjoyed how the teachers talked and what they said, and I so enjoyed the gentleness and slowness, which was not typical for me. At one point, we did Happy Baby pose. Rocking back and forth was such a joyous feeling. I found myself crying, releasing all the stress. It’s so rare to have the space to be in your body and your breath and have everything be right just the way it is.

The whole atmosphere at Kripalu was very accepting, loving, and nurturing. The food was so healthy and made with such care. It made me think about what I eat, and how. I also took a workshop about setting intentions for your life, which focused on thinking from the inside. I think people spend so much time rushing around, trying to cover up our emotions, because we’re afraid to see what comes up. I relate to that. Kripalu gave me that chance to relax and just feel.

Before Kripalu, the demands of my daughter, partner, and everything in life took over. As a result of my time there, I now create space and time for my inner life. I pay more attention to what I need to take care of myself. I go to yoga at least once a week—and I do yoga poses at various times throughout the day. I try to take the self-loving approach from the yoga mat into the world. I even transformed a room in my house into a place for yoga and meditative writing. I made it a happy, calm room in a shade of yellow.

A friend had recommended Kripalu to me, and I recommended Kripalu to my sister, who needed a spiritual retreat and relief from stress. Her experience changed her life, too! I think it’s so important that we have a place to go when we want to check in with our hearts and souls and remember who we really are and how we want to live.

—Tzivia G., writer, Northampton, Massachusetts