Awaken: A Weekend Yoga Immersion

Have you been practicing yoga and sensing there's more to the story? More depth, more meaning, more to understand about what you're actually doing and why it works? Awaken is designed for exactly that — for the person who is sincerely interested in yoga and ready to discover the philosophical framework that makes yoga so much more than an hour on a mat.

This is a weekend spent in good company, with room for questions, conversation, and practice. You'll leave with a grounding in yoga's core teachings that will inform and enrich everything you do on the mat, and off it. Not a teacher training program, not a retreat — a genuine immersion into the heart of what yoga is and how to live it.

What We'll Explore

Yoga is a complete system — philosophy, anatomy, and practice woven together. The asana practice most of us begin with is not a stepping stone to something more spiritual; it is itself a rich and inexhaustible source of inquiry. The body is always changing, always present, always offering something worth paying attention to. What the broader teachings of yoga give us is a framework that makes the whole practice more legible — and more alive.

Over the course of the weekend we'll move through three pillars of that system:

Samkhya is the ancient philosophical system that forms the metaphysical foundation of yoga. It offers a remarkably clear account of consciousness and matter, and of what it means to be a human being navigating this life. We begin here because everything else — the koshas, the eight limbs, the practice itself — makes more sense when you understand the worldview it comes from.

The human anatomy of yoga — what the tradition calls the koshas — is a layered model of the self that yoga practice is designed to influence. Understanding this map changes how you practice, because you begin to understand what you are actually working with.

The eight limbs of yoga, as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is the practical path — the actual framework for how to live as a yoga practitioner. Most people who practice yoga know asana, the third limb. The other seven are equally rich, equally practical, and equally worth your time.

The Schedule

Friday Evening | 7–9 p.m. We begin with a two-hour introduction to Samkhya — the metaphysics of yoga and the philosophical foundation of the entire practice.

Saturday Morning | 9–10:30 a.m. & 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Join one or both of our regular Saturday classes — a Level 2 class and a beginner-friendly back care class — both included in your registration.

Saturday Afternoon | 1–5 p.m. We explore the human anatomy of yoga — the layered model of the self that yoga practice is designed to influence — and begin our study of the eight limbs of yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Sunday | 9 a.m.–12 p.m. We close with a practice session and continued lecture and discussion on the eight limbs of yoga.

About Your Teacher: Jessica Girija Jewell

I've been practicing yoga for 27 years and teaching for 12. In that time, yoga has been many things to me — a physical practice that has grown slower and richer with the years, a healing tool, and perhaps most importantly, a framework for learning to live with greater kindness and compassion. The philosophy has helped me understand who I am, why I'm here, and how to be in this world. It is the most useful thing I know, and I love teaching it.

My approach is conversational and accessible. I am not here to lecture from a distance — I'm here to learn alongside you, to answer your questions, and to make these teachings as alive and useful for you as they have been for me.

May 15–17, 2025 | Yoga Together Lincoln Sliding scale: $175–$275 — pay what reflects your means, all are welcome.

Sign up here: https://www.yogatogetherlincoln.com/services-7