Rolf Gates is the Director of the Kripalu School of Yoga and one of the most widely read voices in contemporary American yoga. A former US Army Airborne Ranger and social worker specializing in addiction, he has practiced meditation since the 1990s and brings that eclectic background to his practice and his teaching. He conducts vinyasa intensives and 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings in the United States and abroad, and he co-founded the Yoga, Meditation, and Recovery Conference at the Esalen Institute and at Kripalu. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Boston area as a marathon runner, long-distance cyclist, and champion wrestler, he is the descendant of six generations of ministers. He lives in Santa Cruz, California, with his wife, Mariam Gates.
I have been assisting Rolf’s Kripalu 200-hour yoga teacher trainings at Kripalu since 2025.
Books
- Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga (2002)
- Meditations on Intention and Being: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Mindfulness, and Compassion (2015)
- Yoga Friends: A Pose-by-Pose Partner Adventure for Kids (2018), with Mariam Gates
- Daily Reflections on Addiction, Yoga, and Getting Well (2018)