Crossing into the New Year with Dream Wisdom

Crossing into the New Year with Dream Wisdom is a healing retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, led by Bonnie Buckner. It is a weekend of dreamwork for anyone who wants to step into the new year guided by their own inner knowing, using both night dreams and daytime imagination as sources of insight. It is open to all levels, and no prior experience with dreams is needed.

What to Expect

Dreams speak in images, giving form to ideas, emotions and understandings that can feel just out of reach. This retreat treats dreaming as a pathway inward, one that can support inner transformation, reveal new potentials, inspire creative directions and clarify changes you are ready to make.

You will learn ways to dialogue with your dreaming self and explore methods for listening more deeply to what your dreams offer. From there, the work turns to experience. Practices include reflective writing and poetry, creative exploration, and gathering found objects from nature that embody the qualities and energies of a dream. The aim is to help you carry what you receive into the new year with clarity, intention and creative presence.

The retreat runs over three days, with a steady rhythm:

- Opening day: check-in begins at 2:00 pm, followed by Kripalu Yoga from 4:45 to 6:00, dinner, and a first program session from 7:30 to 9:00 in the evening.
- Middle day: Kripalu Yoga at 6:30 am, silent breakfast, a program session from 9:00 to 11:30, lunch, another session from 1:30 to 4:00, then evening yoga and dinner.
- Closing day: morning yoga, silent breakfast, a final program session from 9:00 to 11:00, then lunch and departure.

Schedules can shift, so the guest boards and the schedule given at check-in carry the final times and room locations.

About Bonnie Buckner

Bonnie Buckner leads all program sessions for this retreat, guiding participants through the dialogue, writing and nature-based practices described above.

The Setting

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health sits in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug and feel grounded. Private rooms offer single occupancy for those seeking solitude, while shared community-style dormitory options suit those who want connection or a more affordable stay. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier.

Three nutritious meals are served each day, and breakfasts are taken in silence, which suits the inward tone of the work. Your stay also includes access to the Kripalu grounds and facilities, along with more than ten yoga classes over the weekend.

Before You Go

The retreat is offered in English and welcomes all levels. Online booking is available for one or two guests. Room check-out on the final day is at 10:00 am, though you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Included are accommodations (the room type depends on your selection), three daily meals, daily yoga, all program sessions with Bonnie Buckner, and use of the grounds. Healing Arts sessions, items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe, and transportation are not included. If the program is full, you can join the waitlist and will be contacted in the order requests are received.