Reconnect with the Living Landscape

One of the most impactful experiences at Kripalu is to be with the land. Thousands of people come each year and walk the paths, contemplate their existence while gazing at the mountainous horizon, are nourished by the waters, and enjoy the night sky.

This is an immersive weekend devoted to remembering your relationship with the natural world and experiencing the five great elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—as profound sources of healing. Through hands-on experiences, contemplative practices, and embodied learning, you’ll reconnect with the living landscape around you and bring this wisdom back to your families, communities, students, and clients.

Connection to Land and the Five Great Elements as Medicine

Reconnecting with the Healing Intelligence of Nature

In this portion of the program, you will experience:

• The Kripalu method of Mindful Outdoor Experience
• Outdoor sit spots, water meditation, and nature connection practices
• Gathering and making medicine bundles to bring home
• Night sky gazing
• Relating to the five great elements as medicines and powerful healers and enlivening the five sense organs
• Establishing a nature-based meditation practice for self and others

Lavender Distillation and Foraging Wild Plants with Hannah Morano

Honoring the Dance of Fire and Water During Summer’s Peak

Awaken and soothe your senses as we distill lavender flowers in a copper alembic still—an ancient alchemical practice that brings the elements of fire and water into harmony. As summer reaches its height and pitta energy surges, lavender’s cooling qualities offer medicinal balance. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll embody the wisdom of the plants, explore their elemental nature, and connect deeply with the land.

You will:

• Identify wild edible and medicinal plants.
• Forage berries and plants from the land.
• Immerse in the calming, cooling properties of lavender.
• Experience a guided meditation with the spirit of lavender.
• Explore the water element in the fullness of summer.
• Learn the distillation process from fresh plant material to essential oil and hydrosol.
• Learn from a local herbalist through experiential, land-based teaching.

Traditional Basket Making with Katie Hagel

Weaving Connection Through Natural Materials

In this portion of the program, you will:

• Weave a small, functional berry basket: Ideal for foraging berries, nuts, and mushrooms.
• Learn an ancestral skill: Our earth-based ancestors needed to know how to make baskets to gather nature's bounty. Today, many indigenous cultures around the world still maintain rich traditions of wild basketry.
• Share in community around the fire: Experience the simple pleasure of weaving baskets together in a relaxed, outdoor setting.
• Make it, then use it: Experience the joy of gathering wild-foraged nuts, berries, and mushrooms in a basket woven with your own hands. 

NOTE: Recommended Prerequisite: Foundations of Ayurveda