IMPACT
Kripalu Donor Newsletter SUMMER 2019 Inside: Your gifts save lives—literally. Plus: Tell us what you savor at Kripalu. As a donor, you are an agent of change.”
Building Bridges, with Your Help
Kripalu’s mission is to empower people and communities to realize their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga. To do that well, we are committed to Kripalu being a safe and welcoming space for individuals from all communities. In essence, the world of Kripalu needs to reflect the world around Kripalu. And, to realize this commitment, we have work to do. Recently, I had the privilege to visit with leaders of retreat centers and spiritual centers on the West Coast, and learned that we are all grappling with a similar challenge: how to expand our reach so that we may better serve members of diverse communities. In a world that is growing more and more polarized, Kripalu plays an important role in creating bridges that unify. This year, Kripalu embarks on a deep inquiry to identify the barriers, obvious and subtle, that may limit or discourage access to Kripalu as a welcoming space. We’ll examine our facility, our food, our policies and practices, and our programming. We are delivering cultural literacy and cultural competence training for our faculty and staff. We—you, me, and every other member of this community—must make Kripalu a place that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive for all. As a donor, you are an agent of change. Your gifts create the foundational strength that’s needed to reach for transformational shifts. Through your own inquiry, service, and action, we call on you to help Kripalu be the change that we want to see in the world. In the words of Verna Myers, Kripalu intends to make the journey from “wellmeaning to well-doing.” That’s not a short trip. But together, we can go far. With gratitude,
Barbara Vacarr, CEO
It’s personal. It’s political. It starts with you. On November 10, Kripalu will put its regular programming on hold for The Revolution Within, a weeklong event devoted exclusively to women. Creating a world of equality, justice, and peace requires deep work. The Revolution Within explores the crossroads of yoga and activism, offering an antidote to anxiety and despair. To learn more, visit kripalu.org/womensweek. Generous donors have started a scholarship fund for this special week. To make the retreat as accessible and inclusive as possible, we need to raise another $10,000. To help, call David at 413.448.3284, or send a gift earmarked for Women’s Week scholarships.
This May Be the Most Important Gift You Ever Make What will your legacy be? A bequest to Kripalu is the gift of a lifetime, supporting work that brings compassion and joy to so many. For your free copy of Kripalu’s planned giving brochure, send a note with your mailing address to elizabethm@kripalu.org.
Your Gifts Create a More Connected World Tom Gunning and Brian Henderson, two students in the 200-hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training class that graduated in February, were moved by the experience. So moved, in fact, that they organized a class gift to Kripalu’s Scholarship Fund in honor of their teachers, Janna Delgado and Rudy Peirce. That gift may have helped to save a man’s life. But we’re getting ahead of the story. SHE ASKED THE UNIVERSE FOR HELP Marisol Ramos-Cummings started 2019 by applying to a monthlong teacher training at Kripalu. As an avid yoga practitioner, Marisol wanted to learn how to teach, so she could introduce others—moms like herself, Spanish speakers, and people of color especially—to the benefits of yoga.
Marisol moved toward the feeling. She found a middle-aged man in a long shearling coat clutching a rail. He was gasping for breath. He couldn’t walk, could hardly lift his arm over her shoulder. She raced inside for help, then ran back to stay with him while Kripalu Security brought a wheelchair.
A SILENT “THANK YOU” The next morning at silent breakfast, Marisol saw the man. He mouthed a She’d been out of work for more than “thank you.” She squeezed his arm. half a year, and didn’t know how At lunchtime, he told her he had she’d pay for the training—but she respiratory issues, and the cold and threw a prayer out to the universe. wind had triggered an attack. He couldn’t move. He was pretty sure Kripalu donors—this time, the she’d saved his life. February sangha—answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone A FEELING IN THE DARK breathe when I go by them before,” On Marisol’s first night at Kripalu, Marisol recalled a few days after the violent gusts snapped trees and pulled incident. “But I heard this. I heard it power lines to the icy ground. She in bigger places than my ears.” needed a bag from her car, but she thought twice about fetching it. And Marisol and her fellow teachers graduated on March 22. She then she stepped out into the dark. organized a class gift in honor of “I’m not a mystical person,” she their teachers, Cristie Newhart, said later. “But I felt something Sachi Taussig, and, again, Janna. in my body that night. We’d been Gratitude takes many forms. So does breathing loooong all afternoon in generosity. We thank Tom, Brian, class. And out there I felt a short, short, short breath. I’m not even sure Marisol, and you, for the gifts that open us to “bigger places” in a world I heard it. But I felt it.” that needs all our love and care.
Marisol Ramos-Cummings
Exclusive to Newsletter Readers
Savor the Memories... and Win a Copy of The Kripalu Kitchen Send us an email telling us what you love to eat at Kripalu and we’ll enter your name in a drawing for a copy of our new cookbook, The Kripalu Kitchen, signed by author Jeremy Rock Smith, our Executive Chef. Can’t pick a fave? Tell us something you wish we’d serve next time you’re here. No promises, but we’ll pitch the best ideas to Jeremy. Email tad@kripalu.org by July 15 to enter the drawing. Put “cookbook” in the subject line. No donation required to enter ... but every gift helps keep Kripalu’s offerings healthy and nutritious.
Why We Give Catherine Gamon and Dan Dietterich have been coming to Kripalu for years. Both are certified Kripalu Yoga teachers. We sat down with them on a recent visit to the center to talk about the mission and their decision to establish recurring monthly gifts to support Kripalu’s work. CATHERINE I had been coming to Kripalu for about six years when I met Dan. I really wanted him to have the Kripalu experience, too. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he took to it right away. DAN My first experience at Kripalu was very powerful and started me on my yoga journey. Shortly thereafter, Catherine and I went to a presentation by Stephen Cope about his work with the Institute for Extraordinary Living [now RISE]. I was impressed by his approach to blending Western psychotherapy with Eastern wisdom traditions. CATHERINE We also liked the idea of taking the Kripalu approach out to schools, prisons—anywhere that reached people who wouldn’t normally go to a retreat center. DAN As our connection to Kripalu grew, we started feeling less like visitors and more like stakeholders. We decided we wanted to make an ongoing commitment to Kripalu, and monthly giving kept it simple.
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kripalu.org
CATHERINE The Kripalu approach to yoga is heart-centered and empowering. This has had such a profound impact on my own life. I would love to help extend that impact. We are grateful to Catherine and Dan for their love and leadership. They’re making the world a better place. To join them, visit give.kripalu.org, or call 413.448.3284.