During the 1970s, while studying under Indian guru Kripaluananda, yogi Amrit Desai began to feel his body move in a spontaneous flow of postures without the direction of his mind. This deep release of prana (life's energy force) brought about a profound transformation in Amrit, so he developed these movements into three stages of practice which he could then teach to others. In honor of his guru he named this yoga "Kripalu"
This was the beginning of The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, located in the Berkshire region of western Massachusetts. This center has helped guide thousands of people along their path of self-discovery by teaching a system of yoga developed over a 20-year period by yogi Amrit Desai and the original Kripalu staff.
A brief description of the three stages of Kripalu yoga are:
willful practice - focusing on alignment, breath, and the presence of consciousness
willful surrender - concious holding of the postures to the level of tolerance (edge) and beyond, deepening concentration and focus of internal thoughts and emotions
meditation in motion - the body's complete release of internal tensions and a complete trust in the body's wisdom to perform the postures and movements needed to release physical and mental tensions and enter deep meditation
If you wish to study further about Kripalu Yoga go to www.discoveryyoga.com . Click on "Resources" then read the article by **Deva Parnell titled "Kripalu Yoga,Theory and Practice." Another article by Deva Parnell is " What is Kripalu Yoga." The link is on the home page of Discovery Yoga website.
**Deva Parnell is the owner of Discovery Yoga Studio in St. Augustine and also one of the original staff of Kripalu Yoga in Massachusettes.
