Mindful Nature Connection

My life’s work is to reconnect modern people with their undomesticated wild essence and the “more than human world.” I blend my passions for yoga, spirituality, mysticism and wild places to lead our society to a greater nature connection and deeper care for our precious planet.

I am the founder of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, where I also serve as Director of Outdoor Education and Programming. I am a 500-hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher and a Level 2 Mindful Outdoor Guide. I have studied under Tom Brown, Jr. at the legendary Tracker School in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, and hold a Master’s Degree in Health Arts and Sciences from Goddard College. I am the author of “Rewilding: Meditations, Practices and Skills for Awakening in Nature”.

Humans are disconnected from the natural world. On a personal level, separation from nature affects us physiologically and spiritually. On a larger scale, it means we are ignoring and abetting the endangerment of our local environs and the planet itself. Mindfulness, or non-judgmental present moment awareness, offers a gateway to reestablish a powerful bond with nature.

Through the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, my colleagues and I train Mindful Outdoor Guides to rebuild personal and societal connection with the natural world. These ambassadors of people and place help their communities become more aware, awake, and alive outside. Our goal is to shepherd our society back to our rightful role as caretakers and stewards for the natural systems we all depend upon. We must change cultural attitudes while there is still time to leave clean air, clean water, and a temperate planet for our descendants.

For thousands of years, humans lived intimately with the natural world. People were closely connected with their local food sources, fully present in their physical body moving across the land, using their senses to ensure safety and survival. We were once in the wild and of the wild.

Today, we live mostly indoors—and our vital wildness has gone dormant. We are a terrier when we were once a wolf. The average person spends 90% of their time inside, and an average of 11 hours a day looking at a screen. This statistic is pre-pandemic; we have yet to see how COVID-19 may drive an even more digital lifestyle. As a result, we’re more isolated, unhealthy, anxious, and depressed than ever. And our planet has suffered alongside us. Our natural resources are depleted, wild spaces are diminishing, and the crushing creep of climate change will eventually change our society irrevocably.

But what if we could change this trajectory? Building a mindful nature connection allows us to shed the effects of over-civilization and explore an inner wisdom that is ancient and profound. We can become our wild, wise, and alive selves and take our rightful place as caretakers of this precious planet.

I provide a framework to slow down, open our senses, and reconnect with an innate wisdom that is older than language. Mindfulness, or curious and compassionate present moment awareness, serves as the gateway to build and strengthen our nature connection. We can become fully awake, alive and aware in our environment through simple exercises to:  

• Engage and explore our senses
• Orient to place and acknowledge the original inhabitants of the land
• Closely observe the earth and our nonhuman counterparts
• Move across the land with awareness
• Meditate in nature, center ourselves outdoors
• Reclaim our ancestral skills such as foraging, birthing fire, building shelter, tracking animals
• Recognize and express gratitude for the wonder that surrounds us

I founded the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership in 2018 to share the process of building mindful nature connection with communities far and wide. To date we have trained 130 Mindful Outdoor Guides who serve their communities as ambassadors of people and place, helping others rekindle their intimate connection with the natural world. The program consists of two 9-day modules, each with approximately 75 hours of instruction:

• Level 1: Forest Community
• Level 2: Aligning with Nature

Broadly, potential mindful outdoor guides are embedded in two communities: Conservation and human services. Conservationists are seeking new tools to connect people with nature. Human services workers (social workers, educators, yoga and mindfulness teachers) are exploring nature connection as a pathway to healing and growth.

Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guides act as change agents in their communities, and key partners in rebuilding meaningful nature connection. They serve a wide range of audiences and missions including work with veterans, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, the elderly, children, and the general public. Throughout their training, Mindful Outdoor Guides provide insights and wisdom into the challenges their unique communities face when re-establishing and recognizing the inextricable link between themselves and their environment. 

 Our work is guided by indigenous wisdom and a land ethic which includes the seventh-generation principal. Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guides are teaching skills and imparting knowledge in an effort to shift the public consciousness. We see this as our best chance to provide our descendants with a planet that is not just inhabitable, but bountiful. Every action we take today should focus on the conditions we hope to pass on to our descendants in the year 2230.

Strengthening our mindful nature connection provides an antidote to society’s separation from the systems that sustain us. It invites us to change our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in relation to the other living things with whom we share this planet. The practices to build nature connection are simple and accessible to all people. As we hone our skills to observe and interact with our environs, we strengthen our empathy. Greater empathy leads to kinder and more compassionate interactions with other life forms. This is the first step to deeper care for the living earth which we pass to our descendants.

My path in life has woven together the study of spirituality and mysticism with my hunger to explore wild places and to be in direct contact with the natural world. I came to Kripalu to train as a yoga teacher in 2004. I have grown with this community and with this organization over the past 16 years holding a variety of positions progressing from volunteer dishwasher, yoga instructor, and program manager for residential volunteers and intern programs, to my current position as the Director of Outdoor Education and Programming.

Throughout my evolution with Kripalu, I have always felt a pull to integrate Kripalu’s teachings into the more than human world. There is a certain alchemy that happens when we bring yoga, mindfulness, and meditation outside of four walls. I was inspired, in part, by Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods,” which asks: “Where will the future environmental stewards and protectors of the earth come from if children grow up without a personal connection to nature?” My role within Kripalu presents the opportunity to bring forth an element I believed was missing and to provide a powerful way to forge this connection which many adults are missing today. 

When I was a young child my parents built our home in the forests of Connecticut. We lived “off the grid” during that time: heating with wood, pumping water from a well, and using kerosene lanterns and candles for evening illumination. I had what I would call a feral childhood, wandering the woods, climbing trees, and exploring the wild places nearby. Nature become a constant companion. Even as a young person, I noticed a certain meditative flow state that occurred when I was in direct contact with my environment, although I may not have had the words for it at the time.

Over the years I began to understand that my childhood, with hours spent outdoors, was not typical. Nature provided solace through trying times I experienced as a child and into the turbulence of adolescence and young adulthood. Nature has been a source of incredible inspiration and spiritual power in my life. I believe these early experiences played a role in my desire to explore life’s big questions and the intersection of nature and spirituality which I continue to this day. 

When we connect to our true wild essence through the generative powers of nature, we can drastically improve our personal wellbeing and planetary wellness. I support people as they undertake this work for themselves, and as they acquire the skills to guide people from diverse backgrounds to re-establish a powerful nature connection. I have worked with many audiences, age groups and backgrounds in a variety of outdoor settings from remote wilderness to easily accessible green space.  

My evolution within Kripalu from a volunteer to my position as the Director of Outdoor Education and Programming provides me with an intimate understanding of the organization’s history and appreciation for our deeply held values. This has allowed me to meaningfully contribute and carry forward Kripalu’s mission and vision over the years, always approaching my work with a sense of inquiry, searching for ways to help Kripalu grow and evolve.

The time I have spent on this land has afforded me a deep sense of place on Kripalu’s 125 acres, and in the forests of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. My connection with and care for this place have helped crystallize my thinking which is reflected in both the launch of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, as well as the writing of my book, “Rewilding: Meditations, Practices and Skills for Awakening in Nature.” I possess immense and enduring gratitude for this wild world, this place, and this work. 

For three years I worked as a Wilderness Guide leading adjudicated youth in North Carolina. The program uses the challenges associated with remote wilderness travel in a group setting as a metaphor for life. Individuals are brought down to the basics of survival. They examine their relationship with themselves, their group, and the land around them. The importance of decision making, leadership development, and removal of digital and social distraction all contribute to the potential for learning and growth. The overarching goal is to bring their life “back home” into a new focus or new light.

This work is incredibly powerful, and also incredibly taxing. Participants learn, change, and grow, but it is through hard won, small changes over time. Patience is required. When I am honest about my time doing this work I recall my true exhaustion, both from the physical movement across the land and water, but also on the emotional toll of leading young people through a journey that aims to create life-changing transformation in a short period of time. This work has given me the endurance and patience to coach others through challenging moments in their lives, while simultaneously experiencing my own. 

Since establishing the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership in 2018, I have worked with over 130 individuals seeking to strengthen their own personal nature connection, and bring the tools of mindful outdoor experiences to the unique populations they serve.

During the first two years of program development, it became clear that the program held a special significance for the veteran community. The combination of mindful outdoor experience and tools that soothe the nervous system and help manage stress drew professionals from the veteran populations at higher rates than other unique audiences.

I recognized that a Mindful Outdoor Retreat specially tailored for veterans and their loved ones could support whole-person healing for the warriors we welcome back home. The Mindful Outdoor Leadership program could be adapted to serve the warrior spirit, helping veterans cultivate an awareness of the vital power of their mind-body connection.

I assembled a team of key experts with extensive military and first responder backgrounds, yoga and meditation certification, and who have completed Mindful Outdoor Leadership Level 1. Together we crafted a 5-day experience for veterans and their loved ones, which was slated to run in November 2020.

Our society is poised for a shift of mood and perception. We are at a unique moment when more people are staying home, commuting less, slowing down and more fully engaging with living things nearby. Whether it is a pet, a houseplant, a tree outside their window, or the animals that live in their backyard, people are becoming more cognizant of the more than human world that surrounds them.  

Kripalu has been a resource for helping people create purposeful, focused change in their lives for almost 50 years. The practices of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda which we espouse are nothing new; they are rooted in ancient, enduring wisdom dating back thousands of years. Our role is to give this ancient wisdom new life and continued relevance in contemporary society. The School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership has most recently joined the ranks of our well-established schools of Yoga, Yoga Therapy, and Ayurveda. We are pioneering the use of mindfulness, or non-judgmental present moment awareness, as a doorway to build nature connection and the development of a land ethic. We are interweaving the complimentary disciplines of yoga, mindfulness, spirituality, and ancestral knowledge to significantly improve our health and the health of our planet. 

As with yoga, fostering a mindful nature connection is not about forcing, but about letting go. It starts with simple, small change – people coming outside on purpose, interacting mindfully with their surroundings for a few minutes a day. One breath, one moment to stop and observe, one connection with another living thing. Through these simple steps we can we elevate the human experience and re-awaken our authentic spiritual connection with nature.

Our primary activities focus on putting these tools in the hands of guides who lead others to build and strengthen their nature connection. Mindful Outdoor Guides attend two 10-day training modules: Level 1: Forest Community and Level 2: Aligning with Nature. As Guides complete each 75-hour module they hone their personal nature connection as well as their teaching and facilitation skills to support others as they reawaken to the natural world.  

Kripalu is a leader in the field of yoga and mindfulness research. We use evidence-based research to “prove” what leaders of the ancient wisdom traditions have long known. Approximately half of the research papers published in yoga research in the United States have come from our research team and network. Our recent publications speak to the measurable benefits of RISE, our signature mindfulness-based stress reduction program for work-place settings.

With a research model like that of our RISE program, we can partner with leading researchers who administer pre- and post- assessments that include relevant measurement scales, and conduct qualitative follow-up interviews to determine whether our program leads to significant change in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. We seek to understand the impacts the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership will have for empathy, stewardship and environmental behaviors, as well as stress reduction and resilience.

Since its inception, the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership has trained 130 Mindful Outdoor Guides. A core tenet of Kripalu’s approach is to foster programs that have a “multiplier effect” meaning the tools and techniques are put in the hands of the Kripalu trained teachers who go on to reach thousands of their own students, spreading Kripalu dharma much further than we ever could on our own.

In 2020 we were slated to double the number of Mindful Outdoor Guides who have completed Level 1 or Level 2 of the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership. This would be achieved with five 10-day programs in the school of Mindful Outdoor Leadership as well as a number of shorter form nature connection programs offered as an entry point for the full training. These programs would reach 220 individuals. Our growth trajectory within 5 years will depend on the routes we use to scale which will discuss more fully below. Conservatively, we project training 400 mindful outdoor guides annually by 2025, and serving an additional 80 individuals through short-form programs. Each of these 440 people would have a “multiplier” effect.

Addressing our relationship with the natural systems that sustain us is work that cannot wait. We will expand our impact through a number of channels.

Historically Kripalu has welcomed 40,000 visitors annually. While in-person visitation is paused, our online audience is growing rapidly. We will pilot our first remote Mindful Nature Connection program in July 2020, discussed more fully below. When in-person programming resumes, we will integrate the approaches used in the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership into all outdoor experiences at Kripalu. Transforming one’s relationship with the natural world will become the backdrop to the other transformative work guests undertake during their visit.

Kripalu holds a deep commitment for supporting veteran communities: The Mindful Outdoor Retreat for Veterans scheduled for November 2020 was offered at no cost to veterans and their families before any additional funding was secured. Within one year we seek to develop other veteran focused offerings with the partnership of Kripalu trained teachers who have extensive military experience and the partnership of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership was built on Kripalu’s 125-acre campus. After two years of operation in this location we have a clearer understanding of the inputs required to create transformational nature experiences. This model can now be adapted to new ecosystems and sites. Within 5 years we hope to widen the program geographically by partnering with other campuses across the country to deliver the program in new regions.  

In this current moment, much of the country is still coming to grips with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kripalu community is not immune to significant impact. As a 501c3, our Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership have had to face difficult decisions in recent months. As our mission squarely focuses on health and wellbeing, Kripalu made the necessary decision to close its physical campus through the remainder of 2020. We are deeply committed to keeping our guests, staff and the populations we serve safe and healthy. Putting our in-person programming on hold drastically impacts every facet of our operations, and represents our most significant barrier at this time. A team of staff has been put in place to oversee a re-opening that is safe and appropriate.

Specific to the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, we are challenged by a the lack of adequate, permanent infrastructure to house the outdoor program. In our first years piloting the program we have rented a large event tent and portable bathroom facilities to provide accessible learning environments. As we make plans to re-open the physical spaces of Kripalu in a post-pandemic world, integration of outdoor learning spaces will become more important.  

COVID-19 has impacted our program’s trajectory, as it has with so many other aspects of life. Kripalu has entered into a period of pause to understand the changes this pandemic will have within our community and organization. We are beginning to adapt our business model to ensure we can reach people where they are, which is increasingly at home. 

To continue building community-wide nature connection during this in-person pause, I will offer the first series of online programming aimed at engaging with the land you live on in July 2020. This program, Deepen Your Mindful Nature Connection Practice, will integrate live instruction, Q+A and individual practice and journaling in the field. This new offering will serve as a template for future remote offerings for the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership. 

All resources are currently being funneled to organizational preservation and program transformation. As such, physical infrastructure for the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership has been put on hold for the immediate future. We are exploring partnership with two local funders to assist with these necessary upgrades in the coming years. 

Kripalu has a rich history of measuring and quantifying the benefits of yoga and mindfulness with the help of key partners. Kripalu’s research team leads the study of Kripalu programming impact, both within the retreat center and the programs we provide for organizational partners. The team is advised by Kripalu’s Research Director and primary investigator, Sat Bir S. Khalsa, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the first scientists to focus on yoga research; and Jeff Dusek, PhD, associate professor, Case Western Reserve University. Kripalu’s School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership may provide a new lens through which to examine the benefits of mindfulness work in outdoor environments.

We also partner with two entities that have deep connections to our geographical home, Yokun Ridge in the Berkshires: The Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans, on whose ancestral lands Kripalu is located, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Berkshire Sanctuaries, which stewards over 1,000 acres over the ridgeline from Kripalu. Red Eagle (Shawn Stevens) of the Stockbridge Munsee tribe, and Becky Cushing, director of the Berkshire Sanctuaries, are faculty members.

Through our work serving the veteran community we partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs which committed the time of volunteer clinicians for the Mindful Outdoor Retreat program slated for November 2020. 

Kripalu is North America’s largest and most established yoga and holistic retreat center. We offer 700 programs each year that deliver life-changing, immersive experiences to 40,000 guests. Kripalu programs are led by the world’s most accomplished teachers in yoga, self-discovery, and holistic health and are designed to provide people with applicable tools for daily living.

As a 501c3 nonprofit educational organization, our mission is to empower people and communities to realize their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga. More than just poses on a mat, we believe yoga is an accessible practice that inspires connection, compassion, and joy.

Our vision is to create a more compassionate, connected, and awakened world. The School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership helps bring this vision to life as does our ground-breaking, evidence-based RISE Resiliency Training. RISE provides frontline professionals in high-stress, high-stakes professions such as teaching and healthcare with the tools to manage and reduce stress and increase mindfulness, empathy and resilience. Kripalu also oversees a number of scholarship funded programming including the Schwartz Teaching for Diversity Fund which spreads yoga and Ayurveda to underserved communities across the country.  

The School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership operates as a unique business unit within this context. Programs are offered in a fee for service model with scholarships available to participants with financial need. As a value proposition, the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership gives participants new tools to create impactful programming through nature connection, not to mention opportunities for their own personal growth. 

Kripalu is a registered 501c3 educational nonprofit organization. Fundraising plays an important role in ensuring that we can carry forth our mission and vision. Our work is funded partly through the support of many generous individual donors and institutional partners. Guest registrations and program fees play an important role in Kripalu’s financial picture.

While gifts and grants have never been the sole source of income, they ensure that all those who wish to attend Kripalu will have access through scholarship funding. Program fees and registrations cover programmatic and operational expenses, but innovation requires the support of our community. Philanthropic support ensures that the physical spaces of Kripalu continue to provide a sense of retreat and refuge. The upkeep and periodic large-scale upgrades necessary to support the infrastructure which was originally built as a Jesuit Monastery in 1957 are substantial.    

As the impacts of COVD-19 pandemic wear on, philanthropy has also become an important piece of Kripalu’s preservation. As our in-person programming is on pause, we have turned our focus to our own strategic evolution. Guided by our organizational values, Kripalu is exploring new ways of connecting and creating community and social impact in this time of physical distance. What people want and need is evolving, but our role in helping people sustain themselves in turbulent times is more relevant now than ever. Our first steps have included adoption of online programming, enhanced digital resources, and a meal delivery service.  

Kripalu 2019 Financial Snapshot

These summaries are drawn from internal accounting. Kripalu’s audited financial statements will be available after October 15, 2020.

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FY2019 USE OF FUNDS

Program services $29,526,464

Promotional expenses $2,503,559

General administration $2,878,383

Retail shop cost of sales $1,897,231

Fundraising $322,615

Total $37,128,252

FY2019 SOURCES OF FUNDS

Retreats, education, etc. $30,146,693

Retail sales $3,307,397

Healing Arts $3,038,902

Donations $1,585,312

Other $1,121,195

Total $39,199,500

Kripalu Donors Above $10,000: 2019 Gifts

$100,000+

Bronner Charitable Foundation

OJAS STUDIO Scholarships

VBS Foundation

$50,000–$99,999

The Angell Foundation

Sarah Hancock

Carol S. and John J. O'Neil III

The Schauble Family Foundation

The Willow Tree Fund

$25,000–$49,999

Estate of Beth A. Dropkin

John and Arlene McLaren

$10,000–$24,999

Anonymous (1)

Berkshire United Way

Jennifer C. Berrent and Carolyn Eaton Taylor

Dina and John Chu

The Daly Family Foundation, Inc.

Marcia and Jonathan Feuer

Eileen Fisher Foundation

Alice and Jaclyn Houseknecht Foundation

Tara & Jim Knicos Foundation, Inc.

Jane and Peter McLaughlin

Anne C. Mitchell

Molly and Jeff Morgan

Alexandra Ottaway

M K Reichert Sternlicht Foundation

Laura S. Rodgers Fund of the Community Foundation

of New Jersey

Sara and David Rolley

Janine Shelffo and Steve McGrath

Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation

Robert and Margaret Thomas Fund #3

Yawkey Foundation

The School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership is among many transformative programs and initiatives at Kripalu for which we seek support from generous individual donors and institutional partners. We have secured lead gifts from an individual anonymous donor and have engaged two grant partners in support of the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership and our work with veteran populations. We have identified a number of additional potential partners with whom we are in early conversation. One of note: a Kripalu trainee who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs has offered to collaborate on an application for federal funding in support of our work with the veteran community.

We seek to raise funds for the delivery of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership ($241,010), and capital costs to improve outdoor infrastructure for the school ($200,000). We also seek to underwrite a portion of costs associated with a team of researchers to measure changes in empathy, stewardship and environmental behavior as well as stress reduction and mindfulness ($200,000). 

Our 2020 program budget was originally projected at $241,010. This included 9 programs, ranging from 3-10 days, serving 212 people. Expenses for delivering the program include facilitator wages, program staff expenses, program supplies, participant room and board and overhead costs related to department expenses, seminar expenses and incremental costs.   

Our society is facing a pivotal moment. Kripalu is undertaking significant transformation to serve society in our new reality. The support of the Elevate Prize and network will help inspire a movement to re-awaken our connection with the natural systems that sustain us. Through our partnership we can combine the foundation’s influential network with Kripalu’s committed community to create meaningful change for our societal relationship with the earth. With your help we can deepen our engagement with the Mindful Outdoor Guides we train, and the diverse communities they serve. We will be able to quantify and measure the benefits of building a mindful nature connection. Our 125-acre site will be made more accessible for outdoor programming, and the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership will be adapted to new regions and ecosystems furthering our impact across the United States. 

Build the Mindful Nature Connection Movement

• Deepen engagement with current and future Mindful Outdoor Guides and the communities they serve
• Expand messaging to reach the full Kripalu community and beyond
• Bring the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership to new ecosystems and regions

Measure the Impacts of Building a Mindful Outdoor Connection

• Engage a research team to measure changes in empathy, environmental and stewardship behaviors, stress reduction and resilience.

Conduct necessary physical upgrades to outdoor spaces to ensure we can continue to grow the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership

• Secure permanent, accessible yurts and bathroom facilities. 

• Universities and other appropriates sites to host School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership programming  
• Organizations supporting health and wellness initiatives for veterans and their families