Vanished User 1004 (talk | contribs) →Recent operations: Web searches are not sources. The article or articles need to be included directly. See talk. |
Calamitybrook (talk | contribs) →Facility: more accurate |
||
(9 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
{{Synthesis|section}} |
{{Synthesis|section}} |
||
A November 2003 report by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Source Water Assessment and Protection stated that Kripalu's privately owned and maintained water supply system was subject to a "high threat" of contamination from possible pesticide overuse or fuel spills. The state agency recommended, among other things, that the area be monitored, and that all residents be educated in environmental protection. The date of this report is Nov. 23, 2003, as recorded at the botton of the left-hand column of its first page. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/drinking/1283014.pdf|publisher=Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) |title=Report For Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health}}</ref> |
|||
In 2006, state environment regulators entered into a [[Consent Order]] with Kripalu Center in Stockbridge for Water Supply violations. According to a DEP report regarding this, changes required by the order were to "result in construction of an alternate groundwater source or a secure connection to the Lenox municipal water system." This report said that Kripalu, "which functions as a Public Water System, agreed to address changes at the facility that affect the delineation of the current Zone I of the well." <ref name=MassDEP06>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/curren03.htm |title=MassDEP: 2006 Enforcement Actions |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection |quote=MassDEP entered into a Consent Order with Kripalu Center in Stockbridge for Water Supply violations. The Center, which functions as a Public Water System, agreed to address changes at the facility that affect the delineation of the current Zone I of the well. Under today's Order those changes will result in construction of an alternate groundwater source or a secure connection to the Lenox municipal water system.|date=11/22/06 |accessdate=2009-09-20}}</ref> |
|||
In December 2007, the state amended this order, extending its compliance deadline to Aug. 1, 2009. This amendment cited construction plans affecting the well zone. "<ref name=MassDEP07>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/enf07.htm |title=MassDEP: 2007 Enforcement Actions |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection |date=12/21/07|quote=MassDEP entered into an Amendment to a Consent Order with the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge providing for an extension of the deadline to comply.. |accessdate=2009-09-20}}</ref> |
|||
==Recent operations== |
==Recent operations== |
Revision as of 05:17, 9 February 2010
Former names | Yoga Society of Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Location | Stockbridge, Massachusetts |
Type | Retreat |
Opened | 1966 1983 |
Kripalu Center is a non-profit organization which runs a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Kripalu generated revenue of $27.4 million in 2008.[1] Its 160,000 square-foot facility near Tanglewood Music Center is a former Jesuit seminary built in 1957 in a spare architectural style in a rural area of the Berkshires, employs about 400 people, and can accommodate more than 650 nightly guests. Kripalu was named 2000 "Best yoga spa" by Self Magazine.[2]
History
In 1965 Amrit Desai founded the Yoga Society of Pennsylvania, later called Kripalu, to provide yoga classes and training for yoga teachers. Desai is a native of Halol, India, where he met guru Swami Kripalvananda for whom Kripalu is named, and who followers believed was the 28th incarnation of Shiva, the supreme god of Hinduism.[3] During the 1970s, Desai established yoga retreats (ashrams) run by mostly unpaid followers in Sumneytown, PA, and nearby Summit Station.[4]
Kripalu acquired its Stockbridge property in 1983, and soon after, Kripalu legally became a religious order. Residents took vows of celibacy and obedience to Desai.[4]
In 1994, Desai admitted to having sex with followers and resigned.[4][5][6][7] Kripalu paid $2.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by more than 100 former residents. Kripalu financed the payment partly by selling its adjacent Foxhollow property. Kripalu had purchased Foxhollow to provide housing for its most senior members.[4][8]
During 1999, Kripalu switched legal status from a religious order to a non-profit organization,[4] and according to its recent tax filings, is a "charitable and educational organization" exempt from paying federal taxes under rule 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service.
As of 2009, Patton Garrett Sarley Jr. was chief executive of Kripalu, and his wife Mary Sarley was its president.[1] At the time of Desai's 1994 resignation, Sarley resigned as chief operating officer. Kripalu re-hired Sarley in 2004 "with the help of a nationally recognized non-profit executive search firm," retained when Kripalu was experiencing "negative trends in mission viability and financial viability".[1][9][10]
Facility
The building that currently houses Kripalu stands near the site of the gilded age mansion "Shadowbrook Cottage," reputedly the largest private residence in the U.S. at the time of its completion in 1894 and later destroyed by fire. It was named for Shadow Brook, a minor stream to the west of the site referred to by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his 1852 Wonder Book. [11][12] The Jesuits moved away in 1970 due to a dwindling number of seminarians. Thirteen years later, Kripalu acquired the 160,000 square-foot building with which the Jesuits had replaced Shadowbrook Cottage.
Conservation easements for 225 acres of the 300-acre property were sold by Kripalu in 1997, under the U.S. Forest Legacy Program for the Yokun Ridge Reserve area.[13][14]
In 2008 Kripalu began construction of a 34,000 square-foot housing annex on the Stockbridge property, as well as improvements to its sewage treatment plant and parking lot. Construction was to be financed with proceeds of a $20 million tax-exempt bond issue through Mass Development, a quasi-governmental economic development agency, with Berkshire Bank as lead lender.[15][citation needed]
A November 2003 report by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Source Water Assessment and Protection stated that Kripalu's privately owned and maintained water supply system was subject to a "high threat" of contamination from possible pesticide overuse or fuel spills. The state agency recommended, among other things, that the area be monitored, and that all residents be educated in environmental protection. The date of this report is Nov. 23, 2003, as recorded at the botton of the left-hand column of its first page. [16]
In 2006, state environment regulators entered into a Consent Order with Kripalu Center in Stockbridge for Water Supply violations. According to a DEP report regarding this, changes required by the order were to "result in construction of an alternate groundwater source or a secure connection to the Lenox municipal water system." This report said that Kripalu, "which functions as a Public Water System, agreed to address changes at the facility that affect the delineation of the current Zone I of the well." [17]
In December 2007, the state amended this order, extending its compliance deadline to Aug. 1, 2009. This amendment cited construction plans affecting the well zone. "[18]
Recent operations
Kripalu's 2008 revenue grew 7 percent to $27.4 million, up from $25.6 million in 2007, while expenses grew 9 percent to $26.23 million.[1][9]
Payroll and employee benefit expense for 2008 was $13.23 million, up 4.4 percent from 2007. A 35 percent increase in pay and benefits was granted to Patton Garrett Sarley Jr., and his wife Mary, who, as lead officers obtained combined 2008 executive compensation of $584,000. In 2008, more than $1.9 million was spent on the salaries and benefits of a dozen employees who earned $100,000 or more. Amrit Desai's estimated annual compensation was $350,000 to $450,000, including housing and other benefits, at a time when Kripalu residents were serving as volunteer staff.[19]
In January 2009, Kripalu eliminated 35 full-time and 26 part-time positions, roughly 15 percent of its staff, and forecast up to a 30 percent decline in 2009 revenue. All bonuses were eliminated for 2009. Senior and executive pay were cut 5 to 15 percent, according to a local press report. Program cuts were also announced.[20]
Kripalu Yoga
Kripalu Yoga is a form of Hatha Yoga that it calls therapeutic and spiritually focused. It uses yoga concepts of inner focus, meditation, standard yoga poses, "breathwork", "development of a quiet mind", and relaxation. Kripalu emphasizes "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.[21]
As of 2008, Kripalu said it offered more than 750 programs and spiritual retreats attended by about 25,000 people annually,[22] including training and marketing support to teachers of its yoga; a semester-long program for young adults; projects in music, weight loss and post-traumatic stress disorder; and folk remedies for disease.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "2008 Form 990" (PDF).
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|retrieved=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ "SELF's Spa Awards 2000". about.com. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Stripping the Gurus -CHAPTER XXIII - UP THE ASANA". Strippingthegurus.com. 2005-05-15. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
{{cite web}}
: C1 control character in|title=
at position 20 (help) - ^ a b c d e f "History of Kripalu Center". Kripalu.org. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "FAMOUS YOGI RESIGNS, ADMITS HE HAD SEX WITH 3 FEMALE FOLLOWERS". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1994-11-03. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ "Boston.com Local Search - Boston Globe Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. 1994-12-22. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ Keegan, Paul. "Yogis Behaving Badly". Healingsearch.com. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^ Edwards, Johnny (2008-07-14). "Yogi brings life lessons back home 071408 - The Augusta Chronicle". Chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ a b "2007 Form 990 Statement 14 Explanation of Relationship".
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help); Text "urlhttp://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2007/231/718/2007-231718197-04862cde-9.pdf" ignored (help) - ^ "Cafeteria-style yoga - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. 2004-07-18. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "History of Lenox, Massachusetts - The Berkshires". Berkshireweb.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Shadow Brook Introductory to "The Golden Touch"". Classicauthors.net. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Forest Legacy Needs Assessment for Massachusetts" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Land Acquisition and Protection Program.
- ^ Berkshire Eagle 03/07/2008
- ^ "Report For Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP).
- ^ "MassDEP: 2006 Enforcement Actions". Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. 11/22/06. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
MassDEP entered into a Consent Order with Kripalu Center in Stockbridge for Water Supply violations. The Center, which functions as a Public Water System, agreed to address changes at the facility that affect the delineation of the current Zone I of the well. Under today's Order those changes will result in construction of an alternate groundwater source or a secure connection to the Lenox municipal water system.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "MassDEP: 2007 Enforcement Actions". Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. 12/21/07. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
MassDEP entered into an Amendment to a Consent Order with the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge providing for an extension of the deadline to comply..
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Tesher, Ellie (1995-08-11). "How a spiritual centre heals itself". Toronto Star-Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Kripalu latest to trim work force Jan 2009". Cache.zoominfo.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "The Kripalu Approach: Yoga for Everybody". Yoga Therapy Ireland magazine. Autumn 2006.
- ^ "About Kripalu". Kripalu.org. Retrieved 2009-09-20.