Sabbatical 2022: Yoga & Walking

I first learned of the Kripalu Center (Stockbridge, MA) through author Stephen Cope, who writes of Eastern yoga philosophy (dharma and Hindu texts) in conversation with other great philosophers, theologians, and historical figures. I thought it would be a great place to deepen my yoga practice and also spend time in a retreat atmosphere that was new for me and where I didn’t know anyone.
The buildings and grounds, previously known as Shadowbrook, served to train Jesuits for ministry and mission. Those practicing yoga in the tradition of Sri Kripalu of India bought the grounds in 1983.
Lake Mahkeenoac, the Great Pond or Stockbridge Bowl, is the ancestral homeland of the Mohican people. With the Taconic mountain range and the Berkshire Hills (and the layers indigenous, Jesuit, and of Hindu spiritual traditions) the land seems to invite prayer and pray alongside.
At Kripalu, as elsewhere during my sabbatical, I was able to contemplate paths physical and spiritual.
As so often happens when I enter into open conversation and inquiry with other religious traditions, I find my own faith in Christ deepens–becoming both simpler and more complex.
Even in the midst of Hindu gods and goddesses, new spiritual practices, and many people who shun traditional Christianity, St. Francis makes his humble presence known on a Kripalu patio.
The Kripalu labyrinth was built in 2001 in a traditional seven-circuit Cretan pattern (a little different from the more familiar Chartres pattern). I thought of St. Teresa’s Seven Mansions of the Interior Castle as I walked and prayed (and tried to ignore the demon-mosquitos).
The nicknamed “Grandmother Tree” is a Camperdown elm, grafted from its ancestor in Scotland.
I continued to hike and roam (as I skipped some of the program I was registered to attend 🙂
The Berkshire Natural Resources Council and volunteers have done great work on the trails, with surprising natural sculptures here and there.
Across the world, it seems that walkers place a rock on a memorial or marker. I used to think it was a way of saying “I was here.” More recently, I’ve interpreted them as people offering encouragement to others, saying, “I’ve passed by this way, too. Blessings to you, as you go on your way.”
Given the choice of being inside and sharing final thoughts of the retreat, or skipping, and hiking to Olivia’s Overlook, the choice was clear 🙂
Though the Berkshires are beautiful, my hikes there made me more excited for the NC foothills and Blue Ridge Mountains, my next and final part of the sabbatical.