The Opening the Heart Workshop

For nearly five decades, the Opening the Heart workshop has offered a place to find, feel, and release the emotions we carry, within a view of health that honors mind, body, and spirit. This healing retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA is an intensive weekend for those ready to meet their inner life with honesty and care.

Led by Al DeGroot, Judy Kushner-DeGroot, and Lee Perlman, with Qigong teacher Daisy Lee among the featured teachers, the workshop rests on a simple principle: true health emerges when we make peace with our emotional world. If you have been carrying hurt, feeling held back by limiting beliefs, or longing for more authentic and trusting relationships, this weekend offers a safe, supportive setting in which to begin.

What to Expect

Opening the Heart is an experiential journey that combines time-tested exercises, practices, and teachings with individualized attention inside a caring, dynamic group process. Days begin with Kripalu yoga and move through program sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening, with nourishing meals between them. Breakfasts are held in silence.

Through this work, participants explore the possibility to:

- Feel more vitality by opening to and expressing emotions in healthy ways
- Discover the ways they are not broken, but profoundly whole
- Find more freedom from limiting beliefs and embrace new parts of themselves
- Build skills that increase authenticity, empathy, and trust in relationships
- Let go of hurts more easily and grow resilience to adversity
- Gain clarity of vision and purpose for moving toward their best possible future

The presenters invite you, though it is not required, to write in advance about what brings you to the workshop, the major traumas and exultations of your life, and what you hope to gain. This helps the team serve you better once you arrive.

About the Lineup

Daisy Lee is a Qigong teacher. She was born into a family that valued holistic health and spirituality, which laid the foundation for her lifelong journey into Qigong. Raised in a culturally rich environment, she was exposed early to traditional Chinese medicine and related practices, and she first encountered Qigong at community wellness events as a child. Her early years were spent learning from local masters, and that curiosity about the connection between mind, body, and spirit shaped her path.

Al DeGroot is a senior facilitator of the Opening the Heart workshop and one of the presenters guiding the weekend.

Judy Kushner-DeGroot is a life and relationship coach and one of the workshop's presenters.

Lee Perlman is a facilitator of the workshop and part of the presenting team.

Venue & Logistics

The workshop takes place at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA. Your stay includes more than ten daily yoga classes across the program, three nutritious meals a day, and access to the Kripalu grounds. Accommodations range from private rooms to community-style dorms, intentionally simple to help you unplug and feel grounded.

Check-in begins at 2:00 pm on the opening day, and rooms are ready by 4:00 pm; a luggage room is available until then. On the closing day, room check-out is at 10:00 am, and you may remain on campus and take part in the program until 2:00 pm. Schedules may vary, so check the Guest Boards or the schedule provided at check-in for details and room locations.