Find the Joy Within: A Retreat on Yogananda’s Path to Lasting Happiness
Find the Joy Within: A Retreat on Yogananda’s Path to Lasting Happiness
13930 Expanding Light Dr, Nevada City, CA 95959, USA
January 22 - 24, 2027
Retreat Highlights
- Learn to spiritualize daily life through the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda
- Guided Hong-Sau meditation and Ananda Yoga sessions
- Practice Yogananda’s Energization Exercises to awaken energy and vitality
- Gain tools to live with calmness, clarity, and inner joy
- Discover how to listen to your soul’s guidance
- Explore how challenges can become catalysts for spiritual growth
- Quiet time for self-reflection, nature walks, and inner renewal
- Supportive community atmosphere at Ananda’s Expanding Light Retreat Center
About this Retreat
Bhawani is an E-RYT 200-hour certified Ananda Yoga Instructor, Ananda certified Meditation Teacher, and a long-time meditator. Inspired by yoga since the age of 18, Bhawani’s creative, playful approach makes her classes fun, as well as a relaxing and centering experience. She is passionate about helping people live in a balanced way and reach their highest potential through relaxation and dynamic energy awareness. Bhawani loves to be outdoors and connect with nature. She holds a Master’s degree from CIIS in East-West Psychology, with a specialization in Spiritual Counselling. She is part of the team that hosts Ananda Yoga Retreats several times per year.
Since childhood, Yogesh was aware of the paramount need to find happiness and help others to be happy. In 2013, he took discipleship to Paramhansa Yogananda, simultaneously taking up residence at Ananda Village. Serving at the Crystal Hermitage Gardens and on The Expanding Light staff with the Karma Yoga program, Yogesh also helps lead Ananda Yoga weekend retreats and sadhanas. He delights in the adventure of living for God and sharing the adventure with others in a spirit of acceptance and freedom. Yogesh strives to be “even-minded and cheerful under all circumstances” and to see every challenge as an opportunity. With kindness, enthusiasm, and devotion, he aims to share in a way that is practical, relatable, and fun. Always helpful and sincere he easily helps others experience divine friendship by being a divine friend to others himself.
Details of this retreat
True joy isn’t something you have to chase. It’s your soul’s natural state, waiting to be awakened.
You’ve chased happiness: the next goal, the next relationship, the next vacation. And each time, it slipped through your fingers. Maybe life looks “successful” from the outside, but inside you feel stressed, overloaded, or quietly aware that something essential is missing.
Paramhansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi, taught that what’s missing was never out there to begin with. The joy you’ve been searching for is your own true nature, waiting beneath the noise of daily life. You don’t have to earn it or create it. You only have to remember how to find it.
This weekend is your invitation to stop searching and start discovering. Drawing on Yogananda’s timeless teachings, supported by modern insights into the mind, you’ll learn simple, practical ways to quiet the restless thoughts that cover your joy, and to return to it again and again, whatever is happening around you.
What You’ll Experience
Simple techniques to calm the mind and release negative thought patterns
Practical tools to move from stress to joy, anytime and anywhere
A deeper understanding of happiness as your soul’s true nature
Meditation and yoga practices you can continue in daily life
The warmth and inspiration of like-minded seekers
A renewed sense of peace, purpose, and quiet confidence
What Awaits You During This Retreat:
Quiet the Mind: Learn simple techniques to ease stress, calm restless thoughts, and create space for inner peace.
Release What Dims Your Joy: Recognize the habits and attitudes that drain your happiness, and discover how to replace them with more uplifting ways of thinking.
Shift Your Inner State: Practice powerful tools to move from negativity and tension toward gratitude, optimism, and cheerfulness.
Awaken Your Natural Joy: Explore Yogananda’s wisdom on the soul’s innate happiness and how to experience it more deeply in daily life.
Strengthen Your Spiritual Connection: Experience Ananda Yoga® and meditation practices that help you turn inward and reconnect with your higher self.
Receive a FREE copy of "How to Be Happy all the Time" by Paramhansa Yogananda, as part of your retreat!
You’ve chased happiness: the next goal, the next relationship, the next vacation. And each time, it slipped through your fingers. Maybe life looks “successful” from the outside, but inside you feel stressed, overloaded, or quietly aware that something essential is missing.
Paramhansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi, taught that what’s missing was never out there to begin with. The joy you’ve been searching for is your own true nature, waiting beneath the noise of daily life. You don’t have to earn it or create it. You only have to remember how to find it.
This weekend is your invitation to stop searching and start discovering. Drawing on Yogananda’s timeless teachings, supported by modern insights into the mind, you’ll learn simple, practical ways to quiet the restless thoughts that cover your joy, and to return to it again and again, whatever is happening around you.
What You’ll Experience
Simple techniques to calm the mind and release negative thought patterns
Practical tools to move from stress to joy, anytime and anywhere
A deeper understanding of happiness as your soul’s true nature
Meditation and yoga practices you can continue in daily life
The warmth and inspiration of like-minded seekers
A renewed sense of peace, purpose, and quiet confidence
What Awaits You During This Retreat:
Quiet the Mind: Learn simple techniques to ease stress, calm restless thoughts, and create space for inner peace.
Release What Dims Your Joy: Recognize the habits and attitudes that drain your happiness, and discover how to replace them with more uplifting ways of thinking.
Shift Your Inner State: Practice powerful tools to move from negativity and tension toward gratitude, optimism, and cheerfulness.
Awaken Your Natural Joy: Explore Yogananda’s wisdom on the soul’s innate happiness and how to experience it more deeply in daily life.
Strengthen Your Spiritual Connection: Experience Ananda Yoga® and meditation practices that help you turn inward and reconnect with your higher self.
Receive a FREE copy of "How to Be Happy all the Time" by Paramhansa Yogananda, as part of your retreat!
Schedule
Morning
6:30 – 8:00 am Community Meditation (Join us for all or part of this silent meditation)
6:30 – 8:15 am Sadhana (spiritual practices) which consists of: Energization Exercises (20 – 25 min), Ananda Yoga Postures * (45 – 50 min), Chanting (5 min), Meditation (15 min – 30 min)
8:15 – 9:00 am Breakfast (in silence Monday-Saturday)
9:00 – 9:30 am Host check-in
10:00 – 11:30 am Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
Afternoon
Noon – 12:30 pm Meditation (5 min chanting, 25 min meditation)
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
2:00 – 4:00 pm Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
4:45 – 6:30 pm Sadhana (spiritual practices)
Evening
6:30 – 7:30 pm Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 pm Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
6:30 – 8:00 am Community Meditation (Join us for all or part of this silent meditation)
6:30 – 8:15 am Sadhana (spiritual practices) which consists of: Energization Exercises (20 – 25 min), Ananda Yoga Postures * (45 – 50 min), Chanting (5 min), Meditation (15 min – 30 min)
8:15 – 9:00 am Breakfast (in silence Monday-Saturday)
9:00 – 9:30 am Host check-in
10:00 – 11:30 am Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
Afternoon
Noon – 12:30 pm Meditation (5 min chanting, 25 min meditation)
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
2:00 – 4:00 pm Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
4:45 – 6:30 pm Sadhana (spiritual practices)
Evening
6:30 – 7:30 pm Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 pm Scheduled program, class, group activity, or free time
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Meditation Retreats, 13930 Expanding Light Dr, Nevada City, CA 95959, USA
Directions
Yes, our retreat is a little out of the way. And once you get here, you’ll be glad it is!
Our address is 13930 Expanding Light Drive, Nevada City, CA. If using Google Maps. We are located 1.5 hours away from the Sacramento International Airport, as well as the Reno/Tahoe International Airport. If you need a ride to or from the bus, train, or plane, please contact us and we can share contact information for a drivers who have helped our guests in the past.
Our address is 13930 Expanding Light Drive, Nevada City, CA. If using Google Maps. We are located 1.5 hours away from the Sacramento International Airport, as well as the Reno/Tahoe International Airport. If you need a ride to or from the bus, train, or plane, please contact us and we can share contact information for a drivers who have helped our guests in the past.
Accommodation
PRIVATE ENSUITE - King
Equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple, a king private room can provide the peace and solitude you crave. This airy room has a king-sized bed with a private, ensuite bathroom. An inviting outdoor space awaits you outside your front door, surrounded by a serene, forest setting.
PRIVATE ENSUITE - Twin
Equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple, an ensuite private room can provide the peace and solitude you crave. These charming rooms have two twin beds with a private, ensuite bathroom. An inviting outdoor space awaits you outside your front door, surrounded by a serene, forest setting.
PRIVATE STANDARD - Queen
Equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple, enjoy your own peaceful room with a queen bed and a shared bathroom down the hall. Your room is simply and tastefully decorated, with windows opening toward the surrounding forest. A bright and airy communal lounge and kitchenette is available 24 hours a day, perfect for relaxing with a book or sharing a cup of tea with friends.
PRIVATE STANDARD - Twin
Equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple, enjoy your own peaceful room with two twin beds and a shared bathroom down the hall. Each room is simply and tastefully decorated, with windows opening toward the surrounding forest. A bright and airy communal lounge and kitchenette is available 24 hours a day, perfect for relaxing with a book or sharing a cup of tea with friends.
PRIVATE BUNGALOW - Queen
This private bungalow is equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple.
These brand new built bungalows are tucked into a gentle hillside built on spacious durable platform, bright and airy inside, with expansive windows and French-doors that connect your space to the surrounding forest. Each bungalow has a queen bed, insulated walls, and air-conditioning, with a communal shower house that is centrally located, less than a minute's walk and shared by other cabin guests, campers, and our karma yogis.
PRIVATE BUNGALOW - Twin
This private bungalow is equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple.
These brand new built bungalows are tucked into a gentle hillside built on spacious durable platform, bright and airy inside, with expansive windows that connect your space to the surrounding forest. Each bungalow has two twin beds, insulated walls, and air-conditioning, with a communal shower house that is centrally located, less than a minute's walk and shared by other cabin guests, campers, and our karma yogis.
PRIVATE CABIN - Twin
Equally appropriate for a single person or for a couple, your private cabin is tucked into a gentle hillside, bright and airy inside, with expansive windows that connect your room to the surrounding forest. Each cabin has two twin beds, with a communal shower house that is centrally located and shared by other cabin guests, campers, and our karma yogis.
SHARED ENSUITE - Twin
Share this charming room with someone else. Each room has two twin beds with a private, ensuite bathroom. An inviting outdoor space awaits you outside your front door, surrounded by a serene, forest setting.
SHARED STANDARD - Twin
Share this charming room with someone else. Each room has two twin beds and a shared bathroom down the hall, and is simply and tastefully decorated, with windows opening toward the surrounding forest. A bright and airy communal lounge and kitchenette is available 24 hours a day, perfect for relaxing with a book or sharing a cup of tea with friends.
SHARED BUNGALOW - Twin
Share this charming bungalow with someone else.
These brand new built bungalows are tucked into a gentle hillside built on spacious durable platform, bright and airy inside, with expansive windows that connect your space to the surrounding forest. Each bungalow has two twin beds, with a communal shower house that is centrally located, less than a minute's walk and shared by other cabin guests, campers, and our karma yogis.
SHARED CABIN - Twin
Share this charming cabin with someone else. The cabins are tucked into a gentle hillside, bright and airy inside, with expansive windows that connect your room to the surrounding forest. Each cabin has two twin beds, with a communal shower house that is centrally located and shared by other cabin guests, campers, and our karma yogis.
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
For over 45 years, The Expanding Light Retreat has been a sacred haven for groups seeking inspiration, clarity, and connection. Nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, our campus features an octagonal Teaching Temple, sunlit dining room, garden-view piazza, and a range of lodging options—from deluxe en-suites to cozy cabins and tent sites. Enjoy three nourishing vegetarian/vegan/GF meals daily, and peaceful gardens and meadows.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
What's Included
- Accommodations
- 3 Organic Vegetarian Meals per day
- 2 Yoga and Meditation sessions per day
What's Not Included
- Airfare
- Massages or other healing services (additional charge)
- Private sessions, such as yoga, yoga therapy, spiritual counseling (additional charge)
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