Yin/Insight Yoga Retreat

The Yin/Insight Yoga Retreat is a weekend yoga and meditation retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, led by Sarah Powers and Ty Powers, founders of the Insight Yoga Institute. It is held in social silence and pairs yin and yang yoga with mindfulness meditation and psychological inquiry. It suits practitioners who already have some yoga and meditation experience and want a quiet, nourishing weekend to recharge their body/mind integration.

What to Expect

The retreat rests on three elements practiced together. Mindfulness is the attitude of letting go of any motivation to manipulate the moment, and learning to observe without willful interference. Yoga is a set of behaviors that encourages a holistic experience of body, heart, and mind. Psychological inquiry, done in receptive states of body-mind awareness, helps you capture and refine insights into yourself and your relationships. Practiced regularly, these three make it easier to come home to your direct experience in a fresh and creative way.

Expect many sessions of meditation coupled with yin and yang yoga, time alone for reflection, and partner inquiry sessions that deepen psychological insight. Because the retreat is held in social silence, the weekend leaves room for introspection, with conversation reserved for the guided partner work.

The rhythm is steady. On the opening day, check-in begins at 2:00 pm, followed by a Kripalu Yoga class, dinner, and an evening program session from 7:30 to 9:00. Full days begin with Kripalu Yoga at 6:30 am and a silent breakfast, then a morning program session from 9:00 to 11:30. After lunch comes an afternoon session from 2:30 to 4:00, another yoga class at 4:45, dinner, and a short evening session at 8:30. On the closing day, morning yoga and silent breakfast lead into a final program session from 9:00 to 11:00, then lunch and departure. Actual times may vary, and the schedule provided at check-in has the details and room locations.

About Sarah Powers and Ty Powers

Sarah Powers and Ty Powers are the founders of the Insight Yoga Institute, and they teach this retreat together. Sarah is the author of Insight Yoga and Lit From Within: Yoga, Teachings, and Practices to Illuminate Our Inner Lives, both recommended reading for participants. Their approach joins yin and yang yoga, mindfulness meditation, and psychological inquiry.

The Setting

The retreat takes place on the Kripalu campus in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, designed to help you unplug and feel grounded. Options include single-occupancy private rooms and shared dormitory rooms. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room holds your bags until then. Three nutritious meals are served each day, and breakfasts are silent. Your stay includes access to the Kripalu grounds.

Before You Go

A prior understanding of both yin yoga and mindfulness meditation is recommended, and participants are encouraged to have at least one year of yoga experience. The retreat is offered in English and is held in social silence throughout.

Your registration includes more than ten yoga and movement classes each day, guided meditation sessions, partner inquiry facilitation, three meals daily, campus accommodation, and use of the grounds. Healing Arts sessions, items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe, and private instruction are not included.

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