The Expanding Light Retreat

What The Expanding Light Retreat does

The Expanding Light Retreat is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 and headquartered in Nevada City, California. It offers public retreat programs, spiritual growth retreats, spiritual travels, and yoga teacher training services, serving individuals seeking immersive yoga, meditation, and spiritual-development experiences. The organization operates with a small team of 11–50 employees and functions in the wellness/conscious-living segment alongside its affiliated Ananda community context.

The underlying delivery model is place-based and experiential: multi-day residential retreats and certification-track yoga training conducted at the Nevada City site. The business model is consistent with a non-profit retreat operator — program tuition and retreat fees are the presumed primary revenue mechanics, but pricing is not publicly disclosed and the website returned only a loading/verification screen at time of capture, so current rates, capacity, and occupancy cannot be characterized. As a non-profit, there is no equity capital structure, public ticker, or venture funding to analyze.

The company's most notable operational signal is longevity — over four decades of continuous operation since 1983 — alongside a stable, small employee base. No technology platform, digital product, AI/ML capability, partnerships, acquisitions, leadership changes, or funding events are documented in the available source material. This represents a significant data gap; further primary-source disclosure (financials, program catalog, leadership roster) would be required for rigorous investment analysis.

Name

The Expanding Light Retreat

Website

https://expandinglight.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Expanding Light Retreat is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 in Nevada City, California, offering public retreat programs, spiritual growth retreats, spiritual travels, and yoga teacher training services to individuals seeking yoga and meditation experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Yoga and Wellness Retreat Services

NAICS

All Other Traveler Accommodation (721199), Accommodation (721)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Wellness Retreat Centers (Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness) (THAGAMAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wellness Retreats & Immersions (Multi-day, Digital Detox, Mind-Body Programs) (THAJAHAB), Yoga & Meditation Experiences (Studio Classes, Guided Meditation, Mindfulness) (THAJAHAA), Meditation Retreats, Workshops & Immersive Programs (HSADAJAF)

Keywords

• Yoga retreat services
• Spiritual growth programs
• Yoga teacher training
• Wellness retreat center
• Spiritual travel experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Nevada City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Core offering

The Expanding Light Retreat operates a residential retreat center offering public yoga and meditation retreat programs, structured spiritual growth retreats, organized spiritual travel experiences, and certified yoga teacher training programs. Programming is delivered on-site at its Nevada City, United States campus to individuals seeking personal wellness and spiritual development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Retreat Programs Multi-day residential yoga and meditation retreats open to the general public, designed for individual practitioners seeking immersive wellness and personal growth experiences.
• Spiritual Growth Retreats Structured residential retreats focused on spiritual development and personal transformation, delivered to individuals at the Nevada City campus.
• Spiritual Travels Organized spiritual travel experiences for individuals seeking pilgrimage-style or destination-based spiritual journeys facilitated by the organization.
• Yoga Teacher Training Certified yoga teacher training program for individuals seeking professional or personal yoga instruction credentials, delivered as a structured residential curriculum.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Direct peers

• Ananda Village: Spiritual community and retreat center also located in Nevada City, CA, rooted in the same Paramhansa Yogananda / Self-Realization Fellowship lineage as The Expanding Light. The two are effectively sister operations and the most directly comparable peer by mission, location, and programming.
• Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health: Large non-profit yoga, wellness, and retreat center in Stockbridge, MA, offering multi-day retreats, yoga teacher training, and holistic health programs. Closest direct competitor in scale, programming mix, and non-profit retreat model.
• Esalen Institute: Iconic non-profit holistic education and retreat center in Big Sur, California, offering residential workshops, spiritual growth retreats, and personal transformation programs. Highly comparable in mission, format, and non-profit retreat model.
• Omega Institute for Holistic Studies: Non-profit educational retreat center in Rhinebeck, NY, focused on wellness, yoga, meditation, and personal development workshops. Direct peer by multi-day residential program structure and non-profit model.
• Spirit Rock Meditation Center: Non-profit meditation retreat center in Marin County, California, offering multi-day silent retreats and mindfulness programs. Comparable by retreat-led, spiritual/mindfulness focus, and non-profit operating model.
• 1440 Multiversity: Non-profit retreat and learning campus in Scotts Valley, California, offering personal and professional development, wellness, and mindfulness programs. Comparable in residential retreat format and non-profit structure, though more recent and broader in scope.
• Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat: Long-established ashram-style yoga retreat center offering yoga teacher training, meditation programs, and residential retreats. Direct peer in yoga training and residential spiritual retreat format.
• Yogaville: Integral Yoga ashram and retreat center in Buckingham, Virginia, offering residential yoga teacher training, meditation retreats, and spiritual programs. Comparable as a long-running, lineage-based yoga/meditation retreat and training center.

Broad incumbents

• Chopra Center: Wellness brand offering meditation retreats, certification programs, and digital content. Comparable in meditation/yoga retreat programming and teacher training, though broader in scope and more commercial/brand-driven in delivery.

Others

• BookRetreats.com: Online marketplace aggregating yoga, meditation, and wellness retreats globally. Not a direct operator, but a relevant channel/discovery layer for guests searching for retreats like The Expanding Light, and a useful comparator for category-level demand signals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ExpandingLight1
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheExpandingLight
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-expanding-light-retreat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Expanding Light Retreat