Kripalu Yoga

 

Kripalu Yoga is a soft and gentle type of Yoga. It recognizes that each person is a unique individual and it teaches participants  to nurture and love their bodies at all levels.

It is most definitely not a style which is ‘guru’ based but rather lets the participating yogi decide what feels right and comfortable to them, this being on a meditative, spiritual and physical plane.

Kripalu Yoga is a relatively modern school of Yoga. It is based on the teaching of Swami Kripalvanandji (1913 -1981), an articulate narrator and accomplished musician. It was both his genuine love for people no matter the colour, creed or status, and the intensity of his spiritual practice which set him apart.

He taught a small number of close disciples, including Yogi Amrit Desai, who became the originator of Kripalu Yoga.

A lovely tribute to Swami Kripalvanandji was written by Dayashakti Scherer, it reads as follows:-

“I did not know what a human being could be until I met Swami Kripalu. I did not have a role model. I never knew compassion until I saw him”.

It is said that he actually one of the very few people who truly understood and practiced being in a relationship and in communion with everything around him i.e. from a flower, to a river, to a person.

One of the main focus areas of Kripalu yoga is indeed becoming ‘witness consciouses’ or another way of putting it would be the ability of being able to practice non-judgemental awareness.

This is a much desired competence in anybody’s evolutionary process or journey of life.

It is being able to observe ourselves from a distance and witnessing what we are feeling, thinking or verbalising e.g. not labelling things or events as either being ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Furthermore, we acquire the capacity of how to choose our thoughts and emotions, no longer being a slave to them, but rather learning to respond instead of react.

I am sure you can imagine how valuable this skill could be in commonplace life and daily work situations.

Peace of mind becomes a much more possible reality, when this way of thinking is mastered.

On a more technical note Kripalu Yoga fundamentally unites Hatha  & Raja  Yoga.

As previously mentioned this is not a ‘guru’ based style of Yoga, it being more geared towards those who are interested in using their own personal experience as guide.

A unique aspect of this form of Yoga is that postures, pranayama and meditation co-exist simultaneously.

A typical Kripula Yoga session would consist of:

• A period of centering, as in ‘turning inwards’ and tuning-in to the body, breath and mind
• Pranyayama – control and focused awareness of breath.
• Soft and gentle warm-up movements
• Simple Yoga postures (Asanas) – particularly the ones which include stretching, strengthening and balancing of the body.
• And finally a precious period of guided relaxation.

Kripalu Yoga can be truly seen as a wonderful style of Yoga in today’s rushed, busy and media orientated world.

It is one which embraces peace and most importantly self-acceptance of self in full.

Having said that it is important to remember that self-acceptance means increasing self-awareness, together with relating to oneself with compassion and kindness, this is a critical component. Otherwise, one could easily slide into the dark realms of self-loathing, this for obvious reasons has no benefit to self or mankind at a broader context.

A quote to round off this article is by the late Irish Poet  John O’Donohue.

“When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do”.

A great resource if you want to study Kriplalu yoga is the Kripalu Center for Yoga