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Kripalu looks to expand its influence nationally
Feb 22, 2011 8:39 am
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Kripalu, in the Massachusetts Berkshires, is looking to expand its influence nationally."]
[/caption]Following a top-level management shakeup, the 150-acre Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the nearby Berkshires, is reinventing itself with an eye to grow its regional and national impact beyond the 32,000 visitors a year it currently draws to its new-age retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. According to a story in the Berkshire Eagle, David Surrenda, 64, an entrepreneur and specialist on holistic practices in the workplace, was named the organization's new CEO in October 2010 and is now conducting a top-to-bottom review of operations that has already forced 60 layoffs and will include marketing, fundraising, curriculum and staff deployment. Salaries, frozen for several years, are also being reviewed by a compensation specialist for potential upgrades. Surrenda, the Eagle notes, is a New York City native who attended camp in Columbia County, earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1969, and then moved from work at VA hospitals in Massachusetts and California, where he treated Vietnam War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, to leading a number of holistic-oriented academic programs in CA universities. Kripalu bills itself as the largest holistic and yoga center in North America, training and graduating at least 500 yoga teachers a year, and with 30 affiliated yoga studios and 6,000 certified yoga alumni worldwide. "Some Kripalu devotees call it the Mother Ship, while the busy programming office is referred to as Mission Control," the story by reporter Clarence Fanto reads. "Kripalu's ambitious goals include partnerships with other institutions in the area, including Berkshire Health Systems and individual health professionals. Nursing homes, schools, community centers, and even Weight Watchers International are on the list for exploratory discussions." Surrenda said he sees Kripalu as becoming a leader in changing the nation's healthcare in light of congressional stalemate on the issue. "Kripalu, which originated as an ashram led by yogi Amrit Desai in 1972 at two remote locations in Pennsylvania, relocated to Stockbridge in 1983 on the site of the former Shadowbrook Jesuit novitiate, which was closed in 1970," Fanto writes. "The guru, married with three children, was forced to resign in October 1994 after admitting to inappropriate sexual liaisons with three female acolytes, violating his oath of celibacy. Many of the 350 residents left after the scandal, and Kripalu morphed into a retreat and educational facility.
[/caption]Following a top-level management shakeup, the 150-acre Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the nearby Berkshires, is reinventing itself with an eye to grow its regional and national impact beyond the 32,000 visitors a year it currently draws to its new-age retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. According to a story in the Berkshire Eagle, David Surrenda, 64, an entrepreneur and specialist on holistic practices in the workplace, was named the organization's new CEO in October 2010 and is now conducting a top-to-bottom review of operations that has already forced 60 layoffs and will include marketing, fundraising, curriculum and staff deployment. Salaries, frozen for several years, are also being reviewed by a compensation specialist for potential upgrades. Surrenda, the Eagle notes, is a New York City native who attended camp in Columbia County, earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1969, and then moved from work at VA hospitals in Massachusetts and California, where he treated Vietnam War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, to leading a number of holistic-oriented academic programs in CA universities. Kripalu bills itself as the largest holistic and yoga center in North America, training and graduating at least 500 yoga teachers a year, and with 30 affiliated yoga studios and 6,000 certified yoga alumni worldwide. "Some Kripalu devotees call it the Mother Ship, while the busy programming office is referred to as Mission Control," the story by reporter Clarence Fanto reads. "Kripalu's ambitious goals include partnerships with other institutions in the area, including Berkshire Health Systems and individual health professionals. Nursing homes, schools, community centers, and even Weight Watchers International are on the list for exploratory discussions." Surrenda said he sees Kripalu as becoming a leader in changing the nation's healthcare in light of congressional stalemate on the issue. "Kripalu, which originated as an ashram led by yogi Amrit Desai in 1972 at two remote locations in Pennsylvania, relocated to Stockbridge in 1983 on the site of the former Shadowbrook Jesuit novitiate, which was closed in 1970," Fanto writes. "The guru, married with three children, was forced to resign in October 1994 after admitting to inappropriate sexual liaisons with three female acolytes, violating his oath of celibacy. Many of the 350 residents left after the scandal, and Kripalu morphed into a retreat and educational facility.