[4] It taught Swami Kripalvananda's teachings, held retreats and other programs, and trained yoga teachers.

[1][5] In 1975, Kripalu bought Summit Station, Pennsylvania, including a health center that became a key element of its mission.

[1][5] The current Stockbridge, Massachusetts location, a former Jesuit seminary on a property called Shadowbrook, opened in December 1983.

[9] Kripalu Center also offers a semester-long program for young adults; projects in music, weight loss and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Independent "Kripalu" instructors pay training and certification fees, in return obtaining liability insurance and other business and marketing support.

[1][15][16] Kripalu states that its teaching is "following the flow" of prana, or "life-force energy, compassionate self-acceptance, observing the activity of the mind without judgment, and taking what is learned into daily life.

[20][21] Kripalu's principal 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) building was constructed by the Jesuits in 1957 to replace the Gilded Age mansion "Shadowbrook Cottage."