Berkshire Yoga Festival 2026

Yoga Nidra is both an ancient practice and a timeless state of being. As a state, it is the sublime experience of resting at the edge of deep, where dreamless sleep meets unbound awareness. As a practice, it is a step-by-step methodology that moves one progressively into that state. In addition to being an effortless way to reduce stress and enter meditative awareness, Yoga Nidra reveals pristine awareness or “clear-seeing,” elevating how you perceive yourself and the world.
In this session, we outline the deep insights about the practice and address its relevance as one of the most powerful healing modalities for mitigating many of the challenges of modern life, as well as the science of helping lead us to resting effortlessly in the pristine joy of being. The class includes practice(s) as well as theory. Please bring what you need to be warm, comfortable, and able to rest on your back (e.g., a blanket, pillow, thick mat).

Bring something comfortable to sit or lie down upon and to keep you warm.
 
Join Ingrid on a channeled meditation journey where she guides you into experiencing your boundless, non-physical self and then welcomes you back into the warm embrace of your awe-inspiring physical body. We’ll start with 15 minutes of gentle movements to oil the joints and then will either sit or lie down for 30 minutes of meditation. You’ll feel refreshed and full of wonder!
 
Ingrid A. Marcroft
Co-Founder, Upper West Side Yoga and Wellness, NYC

The Upanishads state that there are two ways to quiet the consciousness:  A complete elimination of desire and pranayama.

Join Paul Menard as we take the time to dive into breathing with the intention of moving into quiet. Together we will explore pranayama as a means to soothe, focus and free consciousness. Time will be spent preparing the body and mind to accept the gifts that pranayama has to give and practicing breathing techniques as a pathway to stillness.

“Pranayama Regulates not only the flow of energy but also restrains the movement of the mind. Pranayama clears and soothes the febrile brain which hampers right thinking and reasoning, and the mind is lifted toward meditation. “ BKS Iyengar

Discover the voice of your soul in this transformative workshop with internationally touring world music artist, teacher, and author Girish.

Science is proving what ancient cultures and our inner wisdom already knows: your voice can become one of the most powerful agents of transformation in every facet of your life. Sharing his own experience as a sound healer, musician, yogi, and former Hindu monk, Girish offers tools and practices to find and express your true voice in this interactive and inspiring workshop.

Discover and express your true voice and reclaim the healing potential that resides there. Girish will share several enjoyable and practical techniques, based on his decades of sound healing experience, that you can incorporate into your daily life. You will discover what 21st Century neuroscience reveals about these practices, many based on ancient yogic teachings, and learn new and inspiring ways to support and open your voice. You will discover unique, liberating methods to clear old patterns that block your natural expression and fulfillment. You will feel how opening your voice leads to powerful transformation in every dimension of your life.

This session offers a deeply calming, pranayama and meditation-centered experience designed to quiet mental noise and restore inner steadiness. Drawing on Satvavajaya, the yogic and Ayurvedic art of guiding the mind toward clarity, participants will be led through simple, accessible inner practices that support calm, focus, and nervous system balance. With minimal movement and extended guided stillness, this session invites participants to experience calm as a skill that can be cultivated intentionally and returned to in daily life. The emphasis is on slowing down, listening inwardly, and reconnecting with a felt sense of ease and clarity.

Morning is the ideal time to explore our inner fire through a step by step approach to kapalabhati as a cleansing kriya that prepares us for pranayama.

We will work with breath, attention, and focused effort to experience prana as a conscious internal offering. Participants will learn how when kriya is properly targeted, it can refine energy, clear inner space, and build a momentum that supports steadiness and clarity in both asana and pranayama practice.

This deeply restorative session offers a gentle arc into Yoga Nidra designed to soothe the central nervous system and invite profound systemic rest. Beginning with simple Qigong warm-ups and joint-opening exercises to prepare the body, participants are guided into a state of relaxed awareness in which body, heart, mind, and spirit can reorganize and repair. Rather than fixing or forcing, this practice creates the internal conditions for healing, integration, and emotional settling. Ideal for anyone seeking rest, renewal, and a felt sense of inner safety and coherence. Suitable for all levels

Join musician, former Hindu monk, and author, Girish, for a deep dive into the healing practices of Bhakti Yoga in this transformational 90 minute journey through Breathwork, Chanting, and a Mantra-infused Restorative Savasana practice.
We'll share an entirely new Breathwork experience in this upcoming session with Girish, diving into the powerful BREATH OF LIFE practice from the monasteries of Tibet, followed by a deeply healing Vocal Yoga session, preparing us for some sweet call-and-response Kirtan before transitioning into a restorative Savasana practice, serenaded with live music and chanting.
Girish is an internationally touring world music artist, teacher, and author. He began his music career as a jazz drummer, spent five years as a monk in a Hindu monastery, returned to music as a session tabla player on more than a hundred world music albums, and for the past twelve years has written, recorded, and performed his own original music and taught Sanskrit mantras and chanting in music festivals and yoga studios all over the world. His seven albums have received critical acclaim from O, The Oprah Magazine, Yoga Journal, and The Guardian, among others. Girish's book, Music and Mantras, continues Girish's mission to share the art of meditation through music and mantra with the world.