Yoga & Ayurveda with Jen Jones

10/07/2025

🍂 Almond-Date Tonic

As the air becomes cooler and lighter, our bodies naturally crave warmth, stability, and nourishment. The same wisdom applies as we move into the later stages of life: fluctuating and declining estrogen and progesterone can create internal dryness and depletion, especially in the deeper tissues.

The fall season mirrors the aging process — both invite us to slow down, replenish, and nourish from the inside out. This is the time to choose foods and rituals that rebuild moisture, strength, and ojas — the body’s essence of vitality, immunity, and radiance.

In honor of this fall transition, I made this tonight for Dan and me — and we both loved it.

This simple tonic is perfect for fall weather — and a supportive drink for the body as it ages.

🥛 1 cup homemade almond milk (warmed)
🌰 2 medjool dates (pitted)
✨ A pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg (omit nutmeg if making in the morning)

Blend together until silky. It’s grounding, stabilizing, and deeply satisfying.

In Ayurveda, almonds and dates are considered ojas-building foods. In Western terms, you could think of ojas as your body’s vitality — steady energy, hormonal balance, and deep nourishment that keep you strong as you age. 🌿

10/04/2025

✨ There’s something about this practice that I just loved. It left me feeling grounded and uplifted — steady, yet ready for the day ahead.

We begin close to the earth, gradually rise, and return to stillness again — a flow that balances stabilizing and gentle activation.

🎥 Rooted Rise Practice — https://youtu.be/opEl6jxBvh0

This practice begins grounded close to the earth with crocodile, child’s pose, and thread the needle to establish breath and foundation. From there, energy l...

10/04/2025

When I was in my Ayurveda Health Counseling program, I remember working with another student in her mid-60s. She told me, “Start now. Be proactive about strengthening your bones and reducing the risk of osteopenia. If I knew then what I know now, I would have taken preventative care more seriously.”

That conversation has stayed with me. As I continue developing my therapeutic protocol for constipation and perimenopause, I find myself wondering: why aren’t we more proactive about learning and preparing our bodies for the shifts that occur in perimenopause and menopause? Why don’t we talk more about how to prepare and support our bodies through these transitions?

Perimenopausal and menopausal changes can be both sudden and gradual — from shifting digestion, sleep, or bone health to hot flashes and night sweats. Ayurveda teaches that support is possible at every stage, using steady routines, nourishing foods, and simple herbs to ease the transition.

Menopause is a natural transition — not something to “prevent,” but a time to recalibrate, turn inward, and strengthen vitality and inner stability. Ayurveda doesn’t aim to suppress symptoms, but to help the body prepare and find balance, so the transition feels steadier, clearer, and more supported.

🌿 Want to learn simple Ayurvedic ways to care for your body through this transition?

✨ Follow along with my journey of writing a therapeutic protocol for Constipation & Perimenopause on Instagram → .jones.stuart

09/18/2025

✨ Quick + Nourishing Dinner Bowl ✨

Some nights call for super simple dinners — especially when the day is full with school and evening activities. Tonight’s meal came together fast because I prepped the sweet potatoes this morning before we left, and got rice soaking. 🙌

🍚 I cooked the rice in bone broth for extra nourishment.
🍠 Roasted sweet potatoes.
🫘 Made this easy spiced black bean recipe.
🥑 Added avocado, lime, and fresh parsley.

It was quick, grounding, and so satisfying!

👉 Ayurveda Tip:

Leave off the avocado if you’re feeling excess Kapha (heaviness, sluggishness, congestion).

Swap sweet potatoes for kale to lighten it further.

Swap parsley for cilantro if you prefer.

🌿 Simple Black Bean Recipe

1 can black beans, rinsed

½ onion, chopped

1 Tbsp ghee or olive oil

½ tsp cumin seeds (or ½ tsp ground cumin)

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

1 cup water or broth

(optional) ½ tsp turmeric

How to Make:

Warm ghee/oil in a pot. Add cumin to release aroma.

Sauté onion until golden.

Stir in coriander, paprika (and turmeric if using); cook 30 sec.

Add black beans, salt, and water/broth. Simmer 10–15 min.

Serve warm over rice with roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, lime, and parsley. 🌿

09/06/2025

🌿 Like Increases Like, Opposites Reduce 🌿

One of the simplest teachings in Ayurveda is that balance comes through opposite qualities. And the truth is — we do this instinctively! On cold days we crave warm soup, hot cocoa or a spicy tea, and on hot days we reach for cooling drinks and foods like coconut water, berries, and cucumbers.

It works the same way with our routines. To balance out stress or busy days, grounding ourselves with a simple, nourishing meal can make all the difference. Our homeschooling days can get pretty full, so I focus on lunches that are easy to digest, simple to prepare, and calming to my system.

✨ Today’s lunch: a cozy chicken soup.

To make it gentler on digestion I could have used basmati rice, but my kiddos really wanted noodles — so I used Bionaturae gluten-free rotini. And just as important as what you eat is how: taking time to sit down and eat in a relaxed way can shift the energy of your whole afternoon. 💛

🥣 Chicken Soup Recipe

1 cup chopped leeks

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 cups cooked chicken

2 ½ cups gluten-free rotini noodles

7 cups homemade bone broth

½ tsp salt (or more to taste)

½ tsp pepper (or more to taste)

½–1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

A handful of fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Sauté leeks, garlic, carrots, and celery in a little oil or ghee for about 5 minutes

2. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and cook another 5 minutes.

3. Add noodles, cover, and cook until tender.

4. Stir in chicken and warm through.

5. Serve with parsley sprinkled fresh over each bowl.

09/05/2025

🍲🥖 Homemade Spelt Bread

I made this homemade white spelt bread tonight to go along with our chicken soup — and it turned out so delicious!

💡 Why Spelt Flour?
Spelt is an ancient grain that many people find gentler on digestion than modern wheat. Even in its lighter white form, it still brings B vitamins, minerals like iron and magnesium, and a naturally nutty, slightly sweet flavor. Whole spelt has even more fiber and nutrients, but white spelt makes a softer, easier-to-digest bread — perfect for a cozy loaf at home.

🍞 White Spelt Bread – One Loaf

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups white spelt flour

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon raw sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

¾ cup warm water (105–110°F, add a splash more if dough feels too dry)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

In a small bowl, stir warm water and sugar until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top, stir gently, and let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and oil. Then, add yesst mixture. Stir until a rough dough forms.

Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise 1–1.5 hours, until doubled.

Punch down, shape into a loaf, and place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover loosely and let rise 30–40 minutes, until puffy.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, then check — it may need up to 5–10 minutes longer depending on your oven. Bread is done when golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.

Cool on a rack before slicing.

✨ Warm, nourishing, and perfect with soup!

09/03/2025

✨ Book Share: Ayurveda for Yoga Teachers & Students ✨
by Siva Raakhi Mohan, MD, MPH

My Ayurvedic teacher, John Immel, often says that Ayurveda is the medical theory of habits. I love this framing, because Ayurveda is really about looking deeply at the lifestyle and dietary choices we make every single day — often unconsciously — and asking: are these habits supporting my health or eroding it?

For the 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training, we’re using Ayurveda for Yoga Teachers & Students. It’s a beautiful resource for both teachers and practitioners who want to look more closely at their health and habits through an Ayurvedic lens. Dr. Mohan presents foundational concepts in a clear, accessible way, and one of my favorite images in the book illustrates how our body and emotions reveal the qualities of our life experience. From there, she invites us to reflect:

Do I want these qualities and feelings?

Am I content with my current energy level, digestion, and overall well-being?

Or do I feel ready to begin making different choices?

That’s the heart of Ayurveda: learning to choose differently. Change isn’t always easy, but small steps add up. Imagine making just one supportive change every two weeks — that’s 26 shifts in a single year. The transformation can be profound.

💡 Note: The first chapter or two carry a bit of a strong critique of the Western medical model. I mention this only because it might feel intense for some readers. If you keep going, that tone softens, and you’ll discover a wealth of wisdom and practical gems.

🌿 Highly recommend this book if you’re ready to explore your habits and health more deeply.

09/01/2025

🍂 Happy September! 🍂

As summer winds down, many of us feel the natural pull to re-establish rhythm and routine. In Ayurveda, routine isn’t about rigidity — it’s the foundation that creates freedom and flow.
When our basic needs are supported, stability and security give us the ground we need to rise into creativity, spontaneity, and even the spiritual realms. This is also reflected in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which begins with food and shelter at the base and culminates in self-expression and self-actualization at the top.

This month in the Members On-Demand Library, our focus is on creating stability by returning to rhythm. To support that intention, I’ve also uploaded the first new practice of the month on YouTube:

✨ Finding Ease (35 minutes, mixed levels)
A grounding flow to help you reconnect with stability. We begin with seated centering and gentle movements, then build into fluid standing sequences with Warrior Lunge and Revolved Chair, before closing in soothing reclined poses. Move with breath, find steadiness, and soften into ease.

👉 Access the practice here:
https://youtu.be/H9ITh7DBZ5g

Here are a few September Ayurvedic tips for rhythm & balance:
🍁 Begin your day with a warm, nourishing breakfast (like oatmeal with dates or spiced quinoa).
🍁 Create consistency in sleep and meal times — even small shifts support your nervous system.
🍁 Add a grounding evening ritual such as a warm bath, journaling, or oil massage for the feet.

This 35-minute practice is designed to help you release tension and discover a sense of ease in both body and mind.We begin with grounding movements — seated...

08/19/2025

✨ Back-to-School Nerves ✨
Many kiddos in our area are starting school this week. Nervousness (and even excitement!) can make it tough to fall asleep the night before that first big day. I remember being young and lying awake for hours the night before school started. 😅

One of my favorite gentle supports for kids (and adults) is lemon balm 🌿. It’s a very safe herb that’s been traditionally used for teething, restlessness, relaxation, and even car sickness.

🌿 A few traditional uses of lemon balm:
- May support relaxation and a calm mood
- Traditionally used to ease occasional restlessness
- Known for its gentle, soothing flavor that kids often enjoy

💤 Sleep Soundly Tea

Kids: 1 tsp dried lemon balm

Adults: 1–2 tsp dried lemon balm

1 cup boiling water

Pour boiling water over the lemon balm, cover, and steep 10–15 minutes. Strain and enjoy about 60–90 minutes before bed. This timing also helps reduce middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. 😉

Here’s to calmer nights and an energized first day back to school! 📚✨

07/17/2025

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to teach on the Yamas and Niyamas in both the South River Yoga and Detox Yoga 200-hour teacher trainings.

Each month, I return to Deborah Adele’s The Yamas & Niyamas—a book I’ve been rereading since 2011—and her words continue to resonate deeply. They serve as a gentle reminder to check in with myself: my thoughts, my behaviors, and how I’m showing up in the world.

They invite me to reflect on my self-talk, my honesty—with myself and with others—my generosity versus scarcity mindset, and the ways I may be trying to control rather than trust the natural rhythm and flow of life.

This Tuesday in the South River training, we’ll be exploring Santosha—contentment. I’m especially looking forward to this session, as Santosha was the first yoga philosophy concept I ever explored in depth.

It has helped me find peace when life doesn’t unfold as I expected—and has taught me to be grateful for the wisdom gained through challenges and uncertainty.

“The mystics have learned that there is nothing missing; life is complete the way it comes to us in each moment. When we understand this, we sink into contentment.”
~ Deborah Adele

07/14/2025

It’s a little gray this morning in St. Louis ☁️—the kind of day where it’s easy to feel slow and unmotivated.

If you’re noticing that kapha pull (heavy, sluggish, a little foggy), this new practice might be just what you need to get moving and feel clear for the day ahead.

Awaken is a 27-minute flow designed to gently shake off the heaviness and spark energy and clarity.
You’ll move through active lunges, a dancing warrior flow, and balancing poses like stork and spinal balance.

It’s short, stimulating, and perfect for mornings or anytime you need a little lift.

👉 Watch now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EXXDNAkJvf8

This energizing practice is designed to wake up your body and mind. With active lunges, a dancing warrior flow, and dynamic balance poses like Stork and Spin...

07/08/2025

✨ “Let things break you wide open—that’s where the golden light is.” – butterflies rising

If you’ve been feeling a little foggy, heavy, or just off in the mornings… here’s a practice for tomorrow to help shift the energy. 🌞

Golden Light ~ AM Flow is a short and gentle sequence designed to get things moving—supporting lymphatic flow, waking up the body, and helping you feel clear, connected, and grounded as you start your day.

Roll out your mat, grab a strap, and press play in the morning.
A little movement can go a long way. 💛

📺 Watch now: https://youtu.be/ga5QEMEcz30

This morning sequence begins standing with shoulder stretches using a yoga strap, then moves into a few dynamic flows. Designed to warm the body and support...