Dr. Ken Nelson

Dr. Ken Nelson has been leading groups since 1975 and is one of Kripalu's legacy faculty, having also served there as a scholar-in-residence. He earned an interdisciplinary doctorate at Tulane University and once lectured abroad as a Fulbright scholar. His own practice draws on gentle and yin yoga, qigong and taiji, guided relaxation, yoga nidra and simple meditation, and he is known for keeping all of it within reach of complete beginners. Over the years he has also developed programmes in Thai-Shiatsu bodywork and in yoga for later life, and his yin yoga audio and qigong video are long-standing titles in the Kripalu shop.

Much of his recent work is with people who lead groups themselves. Together with four collaborators, among them Lesli Lang and David Ronka, he wrote Designing & Leading Life-Changing Workshops, a practical handbook for teachers, coaches and retreat leaders on building sessions where people learn through experience rather than slides. The same team runs Life-Changing Workshops, which offers trainings, mentoring and free planning tools. Ken still leads restful Slow Yoga and Qigong retreats, including a New Year stay at Kripalu with Lesli Lang and qigong teacher John Haggerty, and he shares short guided meditations and chants on his website.