Taking Refuge: A Winter Loving-Kindness Retreat

Taking Refuge is a winter loving-kindness meditation retreat led by Rebecca Kronlage at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Over four days, it brings together loving-kindness meditation, gentle yoga, contemplative silence, mindful movement and reflective journaling, drawing on Buddhist and yoga traditions. It is open to practitioners of every level, including people new to meditation.

The theme is winter itself: a season of quiet wisdom, when nature slows and turns inward. The retreat offers a pause from the noise of daily life and a way to practice what it calls gentling ourselves, which means slowing down, softening and replenishing body, mind and heart.

What to Expect

The retreat runs from an opening afternoon to a closing midday, and the rhythm of each day is steady and unhurried. Check-in begins at 2:00 pm on the first day, followed by a Kripalu Yoga class from 4:45 to 6:00, dinner, and an evening program session from 7:30 to 9:00.

On the full days, Kripalu Yoga starts at 6:30 am and runs until 7:45. Breakfast is silent, from 7:30 to 9:00. Program sessions meet from 9:00 to 11:30 in the morning and again from 1:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon, with lunch between them. A second yoga class takes place from 4:45 to 6:00, then dinner.

On the final morning there is yoga and silent breakfast again, then a last program session from 9:00 to 11:00, and lunch and departure after 11:30. Across the retreat you will practice daily loving-kindness meditation, move through gentle yoga and mindful movement, spend stretches of time in contemplative silence, and set aside time for reflective journaling. The aim is a direct experience of greater peace in body, mind and heart, and a sense that mindful awareness, compassion and embodied presence can become a refuge in everyday life.

About Rebecca Kronlage

Rebecca Kronlage is the presenter of this retreat and guides the loving-kindness meditation and the program sessions.

The Setting

Kripalu in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is a center for yoga and health, and guests stay on campus for the length of the program. Accommodations are intentionally simple, designed to help you unplug and feel grounded. Options include single-occupancy private rooms and community-style shared dorms. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier. Check-out on the last day is at 10:00 am, though you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Three meals are served each day, and vegetarian options are available. Breakfast is eaten in silence. Guests also have access to the Kripalu grounds and facilities.

Before You Go

No prior experience is needed. The yoga classes and meditation instruction are accessible to beginners while honoring more established practitioners. The retreat is taught in English.

Your stay includes more than ten yoga classes a day, three meals daily, access to the grounds, the meditation instruction, silence periods, mindful movement sessions and journaling time, along with your accommodation. Healing Arts sessions, items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe, and transportation are not included. Online booking is available for one or two guests. If the program is full, you can ask to be placed on a waitlist. Actual times may vary, so check the Guest Boards or the schedule given at check-in for room locations.