Kripalu Visit R&R(&E) - Finally Enjoying Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra Live Asleep.

Leaving the fast-paced city at a time when many flood to it for holiday shopping, cheer and to see the Christmas decorations in Midtown.

First night at Kripalu.  Getting comfortable.

Life is good!  I have never seen a corn muffin with kernels.

 Kripalu phone booth

Bring your own phone if you must - relic from the past. 

A trip to Kripalu for a few days in December was a really good idea.  It was a birthday present and Christmas present to myself - I have been around for half a century.  Although it was R and R, of course it was also E (education).  As a reflexologist/yoga teacher, everything offered at Kripalu is also something that is of interest to me professionally.  
By now I have a deeply rooted connection to this special place due to my chair yoga training which is based on Kripalu-principles.
 
The intention was to go from lecture to lecture.  Between lectures there was a bit of time to digest and relax; this was my daily routine: alarm; about 5:30am, personal self care (the usual) in bed, yoga at 6:30am, breakfast, lecture; 9am, noon dance or yoga, lunch, lecture, lecture, yoga, dinner, concert or another lecture or workshop; lights off at around 10pm.
There was not anything I did not like and in every workshop some of my personal conclusions about wellness, science supporting yoga and energy healing, were confirmed or questions answered.
  
However, the absolute most important thing to do was to experience Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra with Jennifer Reis live; her work had been introduced to me by Tracey Eccleston.  Jennifer Reis calls it the antidote for modern life.  Last time I was at Kripalu, I looked her up on the internet because someone asked me if I was Jennifer Reis.  As soon as I got there I started intersecting with her; at first in the staircase, then in front of the classroom, then again.  Ultimately I fell asleep a few minutes after the yoga nidra class started!  No!  Oh well, I guess that was it.  I experienced Jennifer Reis live and at the end of my first day I was just really tired, add to that her voice and lovely presence.  I slept very well and woke up when it was over.  The magic of Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra.  I bought the CD and will have her teachings with me at all times soon.  In addition I took a yoga class with her and noticed that she also includes elements of Chinese-based healing methods (the way I do).  I felt so at home. 

Of course, I also had a special interest in Ken Nelson's qi gong class and loved it as well as the way he teaches yoga.  I immediately found myself incorporate a special massage into my own practice.   

Exploring the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with Devadas Gregg Day was very interesting and what I took away from it was why everyone associated tantra with sex and information about kumbhaka (breath retention) and why it is not taught very much in the West.  I noticed that, but luckily, I personally have been exposed to it through Dr. Brown as well as Lakshmi Voelker (lymphatic breath), and of course, 20 years ago through Henry Kochan.  I personally love practicing it, but yes, I have not been teaching it very much either. 

Here is an article about Khumbhaka (also called space between breaths) by ann bui published in Yogi Times which I enjoyed reading.

the space between breaths

Here is some fun information about breath frequency and immortality copied from wikipedia.

Aging is proportional to respiratory rate (excluding exceptions), e.g.,

• Mouse: Respiratory rate = 60–230/min and Life span = 1.5–3.0 years [1]
• Rabbit: Respiratory rate = 30–60/min and Life span = 5.0–6.0 years [2]
• Monkey: Respiratory rate = 30–50/min and Life span = 20–30 years [3]
• Human: Respiratory rate = 12–16/min and Life span = 70–80 years
• Whales: Respiratory rate = 3–5/min [4] and Life span = more than 100 years

For the entire entry click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbhaka