Kripalu Yoga Center perfect for health retreat

At some point during your yoga career, whether you are a beginner or someone farther along the path, you may hear the dharma call to deepen your practice and decide to head off to a yoga retreat.

Or maybe you just need a really good massage and a facial.

In either case, the intrepid yogi or yogini will find a special place at Kripalu Yoga Center for Yoga and Health, the mother of all yoga centers in New England, a six-hour drive away in Lenox, Mass., right across the road from Tanglewood, the summertime music mecca.

Located in the Berkshires, Kripalu is surrounded by more than 350 wooded acres on an estate once owned by industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The center is housed in a former Jesuit seminary, constructed in an architectural style one could only call neo-Catholic.

But instead of black-robed novitiates pacing the halls, people from all over the country attend Kripalu for its innovative yoga classes and holistic health services. About 25,000 people each year pass through Kripalu’s portals, which says something about the growing popularity of yoga and the center’s success in meeting their needs.

Kripalu has been around for about 30 years and is no flaky funny farm filled with touchy-feely gurus promoting enlightenment. Instead it is a well-run and well-maintained institution with professional, certified instructors who offer meaningful- and often fun – programs.

“We’re trying to create an environment where people can come and experiment with different types of tools that will let them live a more fuller life with less stress,” Cathy H. Husid, Kripalu spokeswoman, said this week. The concept involves, she said, “learning lessons on the yoga mat that you can bring into your life once you get off the mat.”

About 500 programs a year are offered, the most popular being Kripalu’s “Retreat & Renewal,” in which guests design their own program and take advantage of the center’s health services. There also are programs for children during school vacation, and even teenagers can find things to do.

Several special events are coming up, including a conference on yoga and Buddhism and another on psychotherapy and spirituality.

This spring and summer, the sports courses kick in: yoga and hiking, yoga and kayaking, yoga and horseback riding, and of course, yoga and golf.

A special feature of Kripalu is its healing arts services, including Ayurvedic treatments, ancient Indian health practices that help balance one’s life. Guests can enjoy everything from Thai massage to acupuncture to shirodhara, a treatment with warm oil poured on the forehead.

“People love our facials,” Husik said.

Accommodations run from the simple – shared dorm rooms with plenty of closet space and ear plugs for non-snorers – to comfortable, private rooms with baths.

Lights are out at 9:30 p.m. to allow quiet time for those who want to get up for the 6 a.m. yoga practice, but there are plenty of places to hang out later, including the comfy sun room with its magnificent view of the mountains and Lake Mahkeenac.

Can we talk about the food? It’s vegetarian, of course, because the principle of ahimsa, nonviolence, is taken seriously here. But it is vegetarian with imagination, which means it’s very good.

All meals are served buffet style in the Dining Chapel, and lunch is the big meal of the day. Pad thai, three-bean chili and rice, and a crusty pot pie made with mushrooms and seitan were all recent, delicious entrees. Soup is frequently served and always inspired, whether it’s French onion soup laced with tarragon or creamy sweet potato soup with cilantro. Artisan breads are served every morning at breakfast and often at other meals.

So good is the food that Kripalu has put out a cookbook of its favorite dishes.

Highly caffeinated folks will be in for a shock at Kripalu; no caffeinated beverages are served. The only buzz you’re supposed to get there is from a good yoga class, though the truly desperate can always drive to the coffee shop in Lenox.

People keep returning to Kripalu, which means compassion in Sanskrit, because they can “connect with a likeminded community,” Husid noted.

But mostly they return because “it feels like home,” she said.

On the Web: www.kripalu.org.