The Thrive Yoga and Wellness Podcast

Join Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and Merritt Maloof Plumb Energy Worker and Reiki Master for a discussion on the second Yama, Satya.  

This discussion is absolutely beautiful because it talks about something that is so incredibly dear to us all.  

What is truth?  A

ccording to the Yamas Ahimsa and Satya are tightly woven guidelines that should be the foundation by which all yogis base their life. Endeavoring to always live in a non-violent manner towards themselves and towards others but also living a life of Truth.  

During this discussion, Merritt and Jennifer talk about how Truth, speaking and living in one's truth can manifest itself and how truthfulness, although absolutely imperative, must take second seat to non-violence.  

As we discuss truthfulness to ourselves, what does remaining true to you mean? How does truth taking second to non-violence make you feel?  What is something that is true but may not be in non-violence towards yourself or others?

Join Jennifer Dixon of Thrive Yoga and Wellness as she explores one of the fundamental yoga poses, Triangle Pose.  Here, you will be led through the various cues and things to remember when practicing this asana.  Remember, your body and experiences are unique—honor that beautiful difference and take these cues and guidelines, not rules of law.    

Things to keep in mind with triangle: 

1)front leg is straight (ish) 

2) Hips push back 

3) hands reach forward 

4) chest facing the wall to your side (so not towards the floor and not facing the ceiling) 

5) back foot can be parallel to the back of your mat or slightly pointing forward.  Keep trying!  

If you want to see more videos, be sure to like and subscribe to this channel!  We also have a library of yoga inspired workout videos available at www.thriveyogaandwellness.com/thrive-online

If you would like to watch this episode go over to our youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/cudlV5EokR4

Welcome to Sacred Spaces! A joint effort between Jennifer Dixon from Thrive Yoga and Wellness and Merritt Maloof Plumb from The Energy Center. 

 In this episode, we explore the very first yama, or ethical guideline from the 8 limbs of yoga; Ahimsa.   

Ahimsa is non-violence.   

Although it goes without saying that non-violence is not killing someone or causing injury, non-violence can be much more subtle than that and it is the absolute foundation to the first limb of yoga, or Yama.   

Non-violence extends outward but starts right within when you look at how you treat yourself. Whether it is the words you allow that internal voice to say to you or how you force yourself to do things that your body simply isn't ready to do (ahem, all you super serious yogi friends of ours!) Practicing non-violence towards yourself is key to translating a non-violent relationship with the world.  

We dive deep into what non-violence means to each of us and how it extends from within and we bring up some interesting tid bits in today's shorter episode, so sit back, relax and let us know what you think about Ahimsa, or Non-violence.

If you would like to watch this episode go over to our youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/kftZHDyeapo

Join Jennifer Dixon with Thrive Yoga and Wellness and Thrive Online your go to online yoga community with yoga inspired workouts you can do from the comfort of your home that will challenge you, help you build strenth, flexibility, burn calories and reach your wellness goals.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to do Warrior 1, or Virabhadrasana 1 in sanskrit.  This is a basic yoga pose found in many different types of yoga classes and has many different ways you can practice.  Here, Jennifer talks about "best practices" you can do to help keep your back safe and pain free.

Key points to remember: 

1) Your front foot is pointing straight ahead 

2) Your back foot is at a 45 degree angle (so pointing the front corner of the mat) 

3) Feet are working towards heel to heel alignment, but that doesn't have to happen, you can have your legs wider for stability as well as to allow the hip flexors to relax and stretch 

4) Your hips are trying to be level and squared to the front 

5)Your arms are straight up, pinky fingers rotating towards each other 

6) Chest is proud, but don't stick your ribs out. 

7) Try to square your shoulders off to the front and hold your shoulders down and away from the your ears. 

8) Gaze is towards your fingers or up at your third eye 

9) Front knee is bent towards 90 degrees 

10)  Back leg is working toward being straight 

11) Your belly is IN (A LOT) 

12) Your tail bone is lengthening down

Remember, always keep your stomach muscles engaged and try not to tilt that tail bone out.  (this cue can reduce back pain)  This is a great pose to build strength and flexibility at the same time!!  You are opening up the back leg's hip and psoas, creating space in the back and in the shoulders and tremendous strength in the front leg and abdominals.

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer or if you would like to practice with Jennifer in person and you’re in the Chattanooga, TN area, come to Thrive Yoga and Wellness.  We offer almost 40 classes each week in a variety of modalities from beginners to advanced, to chair and seniors all the way to super physical HIT yoga.  It’s a great studio in the suburbs with ample parking and the community vibe even the folks at Cheers would be proud of.  (How’s THAT for showing my age?!?!)  The Thrive website is www.thriveyogaandwellness.com.

Or if you’re not in the area and still want to practice with me, you can totally do it for free, virtually.  I even have a free free 5 day HIT (High Intensity Training) Yoga challenge you can sign up to do and get 5 free HIT Yoga classes delivered straight to your inbox.  It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work.  You’ll take your yoga skills and strength to a whole new level and be sore in the best possible way that you won’t want to stop on day 5!  I can’t wait to practice with you!  Check it out at www.thriveyogaandwellness.com/thrive-online-hit-yoga-challenge.

In the video, I was practicing on my still kicking Manduka Eko Mat which I love and have had going on 5 years, it is FINALLY starting to die...it is sad. :(  Time to go shopping!

This post was written by Jennifer Dixon MBA ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher.  She is the lead teacher in the Thrive Yoga and Wellness 200 hr Yoga For Every Body Teacher Training program: the Chattanooga area’s ONLY modular 200 hr Yoga Alliance approved Teacher Training program that allows you to train when YOUR schedule allows.  With two semesters each year and plenty of opportunity to practice and train year round, this is the BEST yoga teacher training program for busy folks.

If you would like to watch this episode go over to our youtube channel here:  https://youtu.be/YAxRpplF3jc

Join Jennifer Dixon and Merrit Malouf Plumb for a tip toe into the world of the Yamas and Niyamas.

The yamas and niyamas are the first two limbs of the Astanga yoga lineage and offer yogis guidelines by which to live.

Although these do call for restraint, it is not in an effort to keep us from happiness, rather the restraints are there to help us continue to live morally.

There are 5 yamas and 5 niyamas. For a lot of this discussion, we used the book, The Yamas and Niyamas Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele. if you would like a link to this book, go here: https://amzn.to/2NR9ei1  (this is an amazon affiliate link FYI).

In today's discussion we tiptoe into all 10 of these guidelines and over the course of the next 10 weeks, we will dive into each in more depth.

The 5 Yamas are:

1) Ahimsa - Non-violence

2) Satya - Truthfullness

3) Asteya - Non-stealing

4) Brahmacharya - Non-excess

5) Aparigraha - Non-possessiveness

The 5 Niyamas are:

1) Saucha - Purity

2) Santosha - Contentment

3) Tapas - Self Discipline

4) Svadhyaya - Self Study

5) Ishvara Pranidhana - Surrender

Each week, we will dive a little further into each of these concepts and we'd love to start a conversation! 

Have you ever studied the Yamas and Niyamas? What do you think about these guidelines? Be sure to drop us a comment down below-we'd love to know what you think or if you have any questions.

If you would like to watch this episode go over to our youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/H8t819RmZtI

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer or if you would like to practice with Jennifer in person and you’re in the Chattanooga, TN area, come to Thrive Yoga and Wellness.  We offer almost 40 classes each week in a variety of modalities from beginners to advanced, to chair and seniors all the way to super physical HIT yoga.  It’s a great studio in the suburbs with ample parking and the community vibe even the folks at Cheers would be proud of.  (How’s THAT for showing my age?!?!)

Or if you’re not in the area and still want to practice with me, you can totally do it for free, virtually.  I even have a free free 5 day HIT (High Intensity Training) Yoga challenge you can sign up to do and get 5 free HIT Yoga classes delivered straight to your inbox.  It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work.  You’ll take your yoga skills and strength to a whole new level and be sore in the best possible way that you won’t want to stop on day 5!  I can’t wait to practice with you!

In the video, I was practicing on my still kicking Manduka Eko Mat. (that is an affiliate link, it doesn’t cost you a dime but it helps out a small business, so thank you!)  I wrote a blog post about this killer mat several months ago and if you’d like to check it out and why I love it so much, go here.

This post was written by Jennifer Dixon MBA ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher.  She is the lead teacher in the Thrive Yoga and Wellness 200 hr Yoga For Every Body Teacher Training program: the Chattanooga area’s ONLY modular 200 hr Yoga Alliance approved Teacher Training program that allows you to train when YOUR schedule allows.  With two semesters each year and plenty of opportunity to practice and train year round, this is the BEST yoga teacher training program for busy folks.  Gone are the stresses about missed training weekends, you don’t have to worry about exhaustion and tears from super long intense weekend trainings every month--with the Thrive Yoga Teacher Training program, you train when your schedule allows and live your best life now.  Yoga Teacher Training should be fun, come practice with us and let us show you how!  Another great perk of training at Thrive?  You get an unlimited membership to the studio for one full year while you train!  NO ONE ELSE offers this amazing deal (worth $1100!) and it’s the PERFECT way to get the training you want with the practice you need.  Our next semester starts in August of 2019!  See you on the mat soon!

If you would like to watch this episode go over to our youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/cU-QEj7S5pY

Join Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Teacher and Merritt Plumb from the Energy Center as they explore the relationship between the Chakras and 5 Elements. 

Learn how your basic knowledge of these subtle energy centers and elements can help to influence your yoga practice and beyond.

Based on the last 12 week's of discussions, we summarize the locations of the Chakras and their respective elements. It's a fun, educational and thought provoking conversation tying up the Thrive Yoga and Wellness Last 90 Days Celebration.

Be sure to subscribe to this channel to learn about the chakras, 5 elements and more!

If you would like to watch this episode go over to Youtube Channel here: https://youtu.be/oFP4D8CcnUo

Join Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher as she breaks down one of the more fundamental yoga poses, Child's Pose or Balasana Pose. 

Welcome to the first episode of Sacred Spaces, a joint effort between Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 of Thrive Yoga and Wellness and Merrit Plumb of The Energy Center.   This is the first installment of a series dedicated to diving a little deeper into the stories behind yoga classes. 

 In today's story, we talk about an ancient Hindu Story that teaches us why the soul is in each of us.  

Here's a summary: 

Many years ago, Brahma realized that the soul was in trouble. He held a council with other deities to discuss how to protect the soul. One suggestion was deep in the earth. Brahma said, no no that won't do, the humans will dig for it and find it. Another suggested the top of a mountain. Again, that wouldn't do because the humans would climb and find it. One suggested at the bottom of the ocean? Brahma said, no no they will find it there too.  Finally, Brahma said, "I know where to hide it! I will hide it inside of them, they will never find it there!"  

Ever since, humans have been searching all over for something. Looking, every trying to find something missing, when really it is right here inside us all along.  Listen in as Merrit and Jennifer discuss this beautiful tale and how they use it in their yoga practices.

If you would like to watch this episode, be sure to head on over to our Youtube Channel.

Join Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher for a quick tutorial on how to do the Dolphin Pose. This pose is GREAT to help open up the shoulders as well as build strength in them and the triceps.