Kripalu Yoga – Serenity Yoga Center

Breathe

Conscious breathing – full diaphragmatic breathing, also known as Yogic breathing. Simple conscious breathing every day can have dramatic effects on the way we feel, on our outlook, and how we conduct ourselves in the face of challenges. Be aware of inhalation and exhalation and you become fully present – the breath is the key to ‘staying in the moment’.

Relax

Who among us does not hold tension in various places in our bodies – chronically tight shoulders and hips, clenched jaws – these can be the result of muscular tensions manifested in our bodies from emotional or energetic stresses in our lives as well as physical stresses. Breath does not move easily when our bodies are in ‘fight’ mode. Softening each part of our body brings a physical release of muscular tensions, and as we soften our bodies, our gaze also softens – we become receptive to the positive effects of conscious breathing.

Feel

Feeling is not just about ‘having feelings’ – it is also about awareness of the physical, emotional and energetic sensations we are experiencing. When we feel actively, we are focusing on awareness of sensations and feelings and thoughts, but avoiding engaging in their ‘story’. Our curiosity can benefit us here, motivating us to explore the sensation, being aware of where in our body it is more intense or less intense and what happens if we shift an arm, a leg, exert more or less effort.

Watch

We are not just participants in our life experiences, nor are we the master – we are witnesses who can be both in the experience and also allow the experience to unfold as it is meant to. Stephen Cope writes “In the zone of the witness, our attention is focused on “how is it?” rather than “why is it?” or “do I like it?” When we cultivate our witness consciousness, we are fully present for each experience as we observe with compassion and without judgment. Witness consciousness has great benefit on and off the mat.

Allow

Just as we can soften parts of our physical body, we can soften our resistance to our experiences, our sensations, allowing the experience to unfold without judging it, and observing our responses with compassion – and this gives us the freedom to fully explore each experience guided by the inner wisdom of our body.

Kripalu Yoga empowers individuals to discover and listen to their inner wisdom through increased awareness of body, mind, and spirit. Working with the classic asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), meditation (observing the activity in your mind or focusing on something specific like breathing or gazing at an object), and relaxation, Kripalu Yoga teachers offer students a natural, experientially-based approach to on-the-mat Yoga practice, inner and outer alignment, skillful living, and life as a path of inquiry – our daily Yoga ‘off the mat’. Kripalu Yoga is compatible with all other styles and traditions of Yoga practice, and our teachers often incorporate aspects of other traditions into the practice.

What is unique about Kripalu Yoga is that it helps you find your own Yoga, a practice that is well suited to your unique body. You do not strive to be ‘better’, or to ‘look good’ in a pose. Rather you focus on what the pose feels like in your body. So if you have pain in your shoulders when you reach your arms out from your sides and lift them until they frame your head, then you try reaching your arms forward and then lifting them, or you just place your hands on your hips. And if you cannot touch your toes when you bend forward, you ‘let go’ of that goal and focus on what you feel and where you feel it – if you feel a strong stretch in the back of your thighs, then you are doing the pose as it is intended; if you feel it in the back of your knees instead of your thighs, then you bend your knees until you feel the sensation move to the back of your thighs. This is your Yoga, and we help you discover it, explore it, and work to whatever level of challenge suits you in a class (and that can vary week to week). Your body is the best teacher you will ever have, and we are there to be your guide to learning to listen to the inner wisdom of your body, mind and spirit.

Many of our Serenity teachers were certified at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health; others have trained in other traditions or styles of Yoga. All of us have practiced several different styles of Yoga, including Iyengar, Ashtanga, Anusara, and all of our personal Yoga experiences and practices inform our teaching. We teach from our own Yoga experiences and from the sound foundation and principles that we learned in our various trainings.

A hallmark of Kripalu Yoga is a Mantra consisting of – Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow. We try to incorporate each element into every class.