Personal Retreat
Here’s a wonderful way you can combine personal quiet time and spiritual inspiration. Come almost any day of the year and stay as long as you like.
You can enjoy the following each day:
- Two guided sessions of yoga postures, Energization Exercises, and meditation;
- One guided activity per day including such things as in-depth instruction in meditation, healing prayer or chanting workshops, an Ananda Yoga® class, helping in our vegetarian kitchen, a guided tour of Ananda Village, and more;
- Personal services at The Expanding Light (offered for $75 per hour), including: spiritual counseling; private yoga sessions; private yoga therapy sessions;
- Long walks on our beautiful 800 acres of forest and meadowland; massage at the Center for Radiant Health – at an addition charge.
Group Retreats
Beautiful things happen for groups who share an Expanding Light Experience!
Bring your group for your own program, or join in one of our many scheduled programs.
You will~
- Develop greater harmony and happiness within the group
- Enjoy a new level of personal interaction
- Share a relaxing, beautiful, uplifting environment
- Learn together – leaving you with an extremely positive shared experience and language
- Discover how to bring a more harmonious energy into your place of work or service
Meditation
Meditation is recommended everywhere these days for the tremendous benefits it can bring, including: reducing stress and stress-related problems like high blood pressure, insomnia, mental clarity, calmness, and spiritual upliftment.
Over the past 40 years, thousands of people have meditated at The Expanding Light, creating a uniquely peaceful atmosphere. We offer you the practical, in-depth approach to meditation. These techniques can take you beyond relaxation to a profound connection with you own higher self.
You will leave feeling that you have the attitude and techniques you need to sustain a meditative practice.
Ananda Yoga
If you want truly spiritual yoga – whether you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner looking for your next step – Ananda Yoga® has much to offer. This goes beyond “workout yoga;” it is a powerful, yet gentle, classical approach that gives you vitality, relaxation, healing, and above all, spiritual deepening. It’s an invaluable aid for deeper meditation and higher consciousness. Come experience yoga’s original spiritual essence, as well as its many scientifically proven physical and psychological benefits.
Holistic Health
Few people realize that the secret of health is high energy and making choices to improve one’s energy. At The Expanding Light our health programs are based on the proven practices of Paramhansa Yogananda. One of the central elements is how to work with energy – to attune to it, increase it, and direct it. Our programs will help you learn tools and techniques to transform your lifestyle to bring about more radiant health.
Some of our Holistic Health programs include:
- Ananda’s Radiant Health Training
- Yogananda’s 7 day Cleansing Diet
- How to Live with More Energy
- The Chakras: Inner Guide to Self-Realization
- Restorative Yoga for Women
- Ayurvedic Healing Retreat in Kerala, India
Spiritual Growth
The programs offered vary widely in their topics and approaches, yet all come from discovering a center of calmness within yourself and learning to apply that creatively to any aspect of your life. Spiritual Growth programs are centered around Mindful Living, Strengthening Your Inner Life, Spiritual Relationships and Sacred Teachings.
TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS
Meditation Teacher Training
Meditation is becoming well known in today’s world as an invaluable tool for enhancing one’s quality of life – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Meditation teachers are needed and wanted in yoga studios, churches, businesses, health clubs – the list goes on and on.
The Expanding Light has been offering meditation teacher training programs for decades. Our curriculum prepares to you teach meditation skills to anyone and in any environment.
Ananda Yoga Teacher Training®
A Spiritual Approach to Yoga
Go beyond physical exercise into the deeper realms of Yoga. It’s a life changing experience – for both you and your students – as you experience Ananda’s unique, integrated approach to working directly with the body’s subtle energies for spiritual growth and wellness on all levels.
Level 1: 200-hour Yoga Certification
Learn about Yoga’s spiritual dimension, as well as its physical dimension, with this life-changing immersion into the science of yoga.
Level 2: 500-hour Yoga Certification
Level 2 explores the deeper aspect of Ananda Yoga®, with a focus on meditation, yoga philosophy, Pranayama, asana, refinement of teaching skills, and personal spiritual growth.
Bridge to Ananda Yoga
Many teachers of other styles want to transfer into Ananda’s Level 2 certification track – once they experience the power of Ananda Yoga Teacher Training. This program will be a combination of on-site training, distance learning, and at-home practicum. Visit our website for more information.
Ayurvedic Yoga Retreat in Kerala, India
Ayurvedic principles can enhance your yoga practice and your yoga classes. Learn how to achieve optimal health of body and mind to help you and others find Self-Realization.
Karma Yoga
This work-study program is rich in opportunities for joyful learning and spiritual growth. Spiritualize your life with a two-week to three-month stay in an ashram environment. This program is designed to balance body, mind, and soul using the tools of yoga philosophy and meditation to transform consciousness as you live and serve with others. As a Karma Yogi, you serve 6 hours a day, 5 ½ days a week and become an important part of the day-to-day functions of The Expanding Light Retreat.
Follow and share a nonsectarian approach to yoga inspired by Parmhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda. While at The Expanding Light, you can participate in daily yoga classes, meditations, and an extensive study of Raja Yoga designed specifically for participants of the Karma Yoga program.
“The Karma Yoga Program has been a pivotal point in my life. Working with people who are here to serve God and the collective whole is truly inspirational. It has given me the opportunity to feel the flow of this amazing community. I’m indebted to this place.”
Nature and Spirit
Let Nature be your teacher….
Attune yourself to nature’s wavelength of peace and joy. The Expanding Light offers a variety of programs to let you experience nature; Sierra Cycling, Meditation in Nature, Cycling at Ananda Village, to name a few.
Ananda Village, home to the Expanding Light Retreat, is one of the most successful spiritual communities in the world and is based on the twin principles of “simple living and high thinking.” Ananda Village and the Expanding Light Retreat were founded 40 years ago by Swami Kriyananda, one of Paramhansa Yogananda’s foremost disciples.
Yogananda, Ananda, and The Expanding Light Retreat respect all spiritual traditions and all cultures. People from every faith and background – and those who are simply interested - are genuinely welcomed here. The techniques taught at The Expanding Light support your own personal spiritual transformation.
Visit our website for more information on all these programs, additional teacher trainings, and much, much more!
