Open Your Heart Through Movement: A JourneyDance Retreat

Open Your Heart Through Movement is a JourneyDance retreat at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, led by Toni Bergins, the creator of JourneyDance. It is a four-night yoga and dance retreat for anyone who wants to move through emotion, come back into the body and quiet the mind, whether or not they have ever danced before.

The practice is somatic and ritual-based. Through movement, music and presence, you are guided to feel what is there, release it and let joy return. The retreat falls at the turn of the year and is shaped for people who want to arrive in the new year open and connected to themselves.

What to Expect

JourneyDance is described as a practice of emotional release, embodiment and soul reclamation. Within guided ritual, you are invited to move through the full range of feeling. Grief is allowed to surface gently, held by rhythm and the people around you. Anger is released safely and without shame. Joy is welcomed back. The intention is to energize the body, settle the chatter of the mind and reconnect with the heart.

Over the retreat, you can expect to:

- Awaken the body and release stagnant energy
- Shift from mental noise toward embodied presence
- Take part in rituals of intention, self-love and somatic connection
- Dance in community and be witnessed in your wholeness

The days follow a steady rhythm. On the opening day, check-in begins at 2:00 pm, followed by a Kripalu Yoga class from 4:45 to 6:00, dinner, and a first program session from 7:30 to 9:00 in the evening.

Each full day begins with Kripalu Yoga from 6:30 to 7:45 am, then silent breakfast. Program sessions run from 9:00 to 11:30 in the morning and 2:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon, with lunch between them and another yoga class at 4:45. On Wednesday there is also an evening session from 7:30 to 9:00.

On the closing day, there is morning yoga, silent breakfast, a final program session from 9:30 to 11:30, and then lunch and departure. Times can shift, so the schedule given at check-in and the Guest Boards hold the final word.

About Toni Bergins

Toni Bergins is a yoga teacher, the creator of JourneyDance and the author of Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life Through Movement. She leads this retreat herself, bringing her own method to a group setting where the emphasis is on safety, presence and shared movement.

The Setting

The retreat takes place on campus at Kripalu in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug and feel grounded. You can choose a single-occupancy private room for solitude and rest, or a community-style dorm, which fosters connection among participants. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier.

Three nutritious meals are served each day, and breakfast is taken in silence. Access to the Kripalu grounds is part of your stay.

Before You Go

No dance or movement experience is needed. The retreat is open to all levels, and the program is taught in English.

Your stay includes all JourneyDance sessions, accommodation, three meals a day, more than ten yoga classes over the retreat, and use of the grounds and facilities. Healing Arts sessions, items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe, and travel to and from the venue are not included.

On the day of departure, room check-out is at 10:00 am, though you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm. If the program is full, a waitlist is available, and space is offered in the order requests were received.