The Holy Wake-Up Call: A Midlife Awakening

The Holy Wake-Up Call is a weekend yoga retreat for people in midlife who sense that something is asking to change. Led by yoga teacher Coby Kozlowski at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, it treats midlife less as a crisis and more as an invitation to a deeper truth and a closer relationship with life itself.

The retreat draws on the yogic view that a lifetime moves through four stages. Midlife marks the threshold into the third, the forest dweller phase, a season of turning inward, listening more closely and remembering what matters. It suits anyone standing at that threshold who wants time, company and structure for the questions it raises.

What to Expect

The program is built around four questions: Who am I now? What is my deepest longing? What wants to emerge next? How do I want to live the second half of my life? Coby Kozlowski guides the exploration through Instinctive Meditation®, yogic philosophy, journaling, meaningful conversation and movement, with room for a little laughter along the way.

The retreat runs from an evening arrival to a late-morning close. On the opening day, check-in begins at 2:00 pm, followed by a Kripalu Yoga class from 4:45 to 6:00, dinner, and a first program session from 7:30 to 9:30 in the evening.

Full days begin with Kripalu Yoga from 6:30 to 7:45 am, then a silent breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00. Program sessions run from 8:30 to 11:30 in the morning and 2:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon, with lunch between them and dinner at 5:30. An optional evening session from 7:30 to 8:30 closes the day. On the final morning there is yoga, silent breakfast and a last session from 9:00 to 11:00, then lunch and departure. Actual times may vary, and the schedule given at check-in confirms room locations.

About Coby Kozlowski

Coby Kozlowski is a yoga teacher and a member of the Kripalu faculty. She leads all of the program sessions on this retreat, which bring together Instinctive Meditation®, yogic philosophy and reflective practice.

The Setting

The retreat takes place on the campus of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, designed to help you unplug and feel grounded. Private rooms suit those who want solitude, while shared community-style dorm rooms suit those who want connection with other participants. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier.

Three meals are served each day, and breakfasts are taken in silence. The grounds are open to guests for reflection and rest between sessions.

Before You Go

All levels of yoga and meditation experience are welcome. The focus is self-inquiry and life transition rather than physical mastery. The retreat is taught in English.

Your stay includes more than ten yoga classes over the retreat, three meals a day, the program sessions with Coby Kozlowski, access to the Kripalu grounds and your accommodation, which varies by room type. Healing Arts sessions and purchases from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are not included.

On the day of departure, room check-out is at 10:00 am, though you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.