Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, a 100 acre, 750-bed facility, has been a leader in yoga- and mindfulness-based education and retreat center services for 48 years.

The NEED

In 2004, the Kripalu Center was in a crisis. At the time, the projected losses for the upcoming year nearly equaled their cash reserves. Staff morale was low as was the quality of service for guests and visiting faculty. Registrations were falling and the brand was beginning to diminish in the public eye, even though the national yoga boom was reaching its peak and Kripalu was a founding member and largest overnight yoga retreat of that very movement.

Work Done

As CEO and President, Patton and Ila led an organizational turnaround and launched a rebranding, designed a three-year strategy that created novel proprietary programs, secured a $20M loan to expand/upgrade housing, instituted financial discipline, created performance-based incentive programs, and transformed the culture into one that was mission-and values-centric. Created a new institutional narrative about what a yoga center means for the 21st century, creating a new dynamism and entrepreneurial focus for the business. Developed new socially relevant and prestige-enhancing initiatives–in the areas of healthcare, young-adult education, and yoga research–that attracted philanthropic investments. Grew revenues from $14.7M to $30.6M over the next three years, making Kripalu Center one of the largest of its type in the U.S. and elevated annual fundraising revenues from $478K to $1.3M.

Endorsement

“Working at Kripalu, under your leadership, has been the pinnacle of what I’ve been searching for in all the jobs I’ve ever had: meaningful work and excellent leadership. I used to get the first, but until now, never the second. I would say to people — I want to report to great leaders — and was told that I was dreaming and it doesn’t exist. Well, it does. This is a dream come true. Together we’ve done incredibly meaningful work and contributed to changing the lives of many, many others.”

— Grace Welker, Editorial Director