Meditation and Breathwork


Mind Body Knox offers weekly meditation and breathwork classes, with a donation-based class (pay what you can) offered every other week. 

Our classes are for everyone from first time meditators to seasoned meditators. Our moon studio is a small space for reflection and contemplation. We have heated wood floors and plenty of props, including meditation chairs, cushions, and blankets to make your experience accessible and comfortable.   

Some of our classes involve immersive meditation and guided imagery.  As mental health therapists, we are trauma sensitive and recognize that not everyone is comfortable sitting in a quiet, dark room with their eyes closed.  Our immersive classes involve aromatherapy and a projector and surround sound to give options to focus your attention.  We use peaceful images and sounds involving nature to help meet students where they are.  

Our aerial breathwork and meditation classes involve very little to no movement. The hammock is simply used as a space to lay for class for ultimate relaxation.

We ask that all students sign up online ahead of class.  This allows you to read and sign our waiver, as well as helps teachers prepare for class.   Please sign up at least 2 hours before the start of class as classes will be canceled if no one is registered.  

Pricing & Packages

To purchase a class pack, click “Book Now” on the schedule below. You will then be presented with the packs at check-out.

You may also purchase a pack for yourself or as a gift by visiting our "Store" page here.

In-P
erson Classes:
Single class rate $20

ALL CLASS PACKS CAN BE SHARED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

5 Class Pack - $18 per class ($90 total), 6 weeks expiration
10 Class Pack - $16 per class ($160 total), 3 months expiration
20 Class Pack - $14 per class ($280 total), 6 months expiration
20 Class Pack can be split into two payments
These Class Packs can be used for in-person and livestream



Livestream Classes:
Single class rate $18

ALL CLASS PACKS CAN BE SHARED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

5 Class Pack - $16 per class ($80 total), 6 weeks expiration
10 Class Pack - $14 per class ($140 total), 3 months expiration
20 Class Pack - $12 per class ($240 total), 6 months expiration
20 Class Pack can be split into two payments
These Class Packs are for livestream only

We also offer donation-based classes (pay what you can). See class schedule for more details. Class scholarships are available to youth in foster care, foster parents, and those in need. Contact us for an application.



What is Meditation?

Meditation is defined as a practice where an individual focuses their mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to achieve a mentally clear and an emotionally calm state.  Meditation is not about stopping thoughts; rather, we practice observing our thinking without getting caught up in our thoughts and emotions. We learn to tame this restlessness by developing an awareness for those moments when our attention has wandered off.  Each time we notice we are distracted, we build our awareness, and we bring our attention back to the breath. Through the process of meditation, the mind becomes more comfortable with this idea of sitting still, and we can begin to learn how to integrate the qualities experienced during meditation practice — calmness, focus, compassion, mindfulness into the rest of our day.  We are training the mind to stop being easily distracted and instead be more focused in the present moment. Using the breath as our anchor in the moment, we simply sit and gradually learn to let thoughts and feelings come and go.

Benefits of Breathwork Include:

Breathing techniques have an immediate effect on our mind and bodies by altering the pH of blood and changing our blood pressure. You can indirectly stimulate the vagus nerve by taking deep, deliberate breaths. Deep breathing activates specific neurons that detect blood pressure. These neurons signal to the vagus nerve that blood pressure is becoming too high, and the vagus nerve in turn responds by lowering your heart rate. Deep breathing also triggers the release of endorphins, which not only helps us to feel calmer and at ease but also combats pain.

Studies have proven a direct neurophysiological link between the breath and the brain.  Deep breathing strengthens your brain and boosts attention span.  Breathing techniques change the body’s response to stress by supplying your brain with more oxygen, which also helps with rational thinking.

Relaxation, specifically deep breathing, is one of the best ways to increase serotonin levels.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep, appetite, mood, stress, and inhibit pain. Relaxation helps to increase parasympathetic response.  Sometimes called the rest and digest system, the parasympathetic system conserves energy as it slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, relaxes muscles in the GI tract, and support circulation to the GI tract.  This is important because 90-95% of serotonin is produced in the gut. Deep breathing has been scientifically proven to affect the brain, heart, immune system, digestion, and according to new studies, the expression of genes.

Class Descriptions

Breathing for Relaxation and Realization

Breathing is foundational to our existence: it is the only major system in the body that is both completely automatic and under our voluntarily control. During times of stress, our breathing is negatively affected. Studies demonstrate that by consciously re-calibrating our breath, we can unlock an increased sense of wellbeing, including reduction of stress, anxiety, and insomnia. Further, conscious breathing has long been integral to a variety of spiritual traditions around the world, as a source of contemplation, comfort, self-awareness, and creativity. This class will offer pranayama-based breathwork techniques in a gentle, accessible format, with a focus on increased awareness of diaphragmatic breathing, the gradual slowing and extension of the breath, and the elongation of the exhale. Such methods will provide tools that participants can carry with them throughout their week and employ during times of pressure or distress. Class sessions will variously combine these techniques with guided visualizations, use of selected mantras or affirmations, brief meditations, curated sounds to aid the relaxation response, or a short yoga nidra (yogic or psychic “sleep”) session.

Donation Based
(pay what you can) Mindfulness Meditation

Abhaya's class offers support and guidance for those who wish to explore, establish, or deepen the practices of mindfulness and meditation. We will primarily focus on utilizing body and breath awareness to cultivate calmness and clarity. Beginners welcome. This is a donation-based series, meaning pay what you can. We want mindfulness and meditation to be accessible and affordable to everyone. We also want to honor the teacher’s time, travel, and knowledge, as well as be respectful of the space we are practicing in (and for Mind Body Knox to be able to continue to offer this service). Whether your donation is $1 or $20, we appreciate your contribution.

Immersive Meditation

Immersive meditation combines audiovisual and aromatherapy enhancing the senses to help maintain focus and present moment awareness. We realize that sitting still in a dark quiet room may not be the right fit for everyone and designed our immersive meditation classes to meet our students where they are. Our moon studio includes heated flooring, soft blankets and pillows for your comfort. Teachers will guide you through the meditation experience with instruction on maintaining focus and attention through the use of peaceful images and nature, surround sound and aromatherapy. This class is trauma sensitive and appropriate for beginners and seasoned meditators alike.

Mindfulness Meditation

Beginners welcome. Lynn’s Thursday at noon class is a weekly meditation rotation- awareness breath and body, awareness of breath, open awareness, and self compassion loving kindness.

Testimonial

"I like the non Asana mindful classes. Rachel is great and enjoyed your moon room. Great to see a yoga studio that understands the importance of meditation."

Daniel

Teachers

Dr. Rachel Golden (RYT 200)

Dr. Rachel Golden (RYT 200) has been a dedicated student of yoga since 2019, including practicing in Ashtanga, Hatha, Power, Sivananda, and Vinyasa styles. In summer 2022, she completed her teaching certification at the Sivananda Yoga Ranch in the Catskill mountains. Rachel has also completed Breathwork Teacher Training Certification through Loka Yoga School, an accredited program with the Yoga Alliance. She values yoga’s unique ability to enrich physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of life in interconnected ways, and found these benefits especially meaningful in navigating challenges brought by the pandemic. She is also an enthusiastic writer, educator, musician, reader, dog lover, and student of the Sanskrit language and classical yogic texts.

Abhaya Darpana

Abhaya Darpana

Abhaya Darpana (Rev. Dustin Davis) has worked over 25 years in the hospital critical care setting. He brings his intimacy with the illness, death, and dying processes to bear in Dharma sharing. He is also passionate about Dharma as a central support for dealing with addictions of all kinds.​Abhaya's spiritual journey includes being raised Catholic and attending elementary parochial school with Nuns as teachers, then diving deeply into Full Gospel Protestant teachings, and later involvement with Unitarian Universalism. He committed to the path of Dharma in 2010 subsequently spending several months of cumulative time in silent meditation retreats and thousands of hours in personal practice and study. Abhaya is ordained as a Dharmacharya (Buddhist Lay Minister) in the Embracing Simplicity Contemplative Order under Venerable Pannavati and the late Venerable Pannadipa and he is an affiliated teacher at Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center. His primary practices of Samadhi, Satipaṭṭhāna (4 Establishings of Mindfulness) in the style offered by Bhikkhu Anālayo, Ānāpānasati (Breath Based Mindfulness), and the Brahma Vihāras (Heavenly Abidings) spring from an affinity for the approaches offered in Early Buddhism. He also has an appreciation for the later traditions, having undertaken Vajrayāna and Zen retreats including formally receiving the 5 Mindfulness Trainings from Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2013. He has two lovely grown daughters, and an amazing canine companion named Bodhi who has served as a therapy dog in hospitals, nursing homes & addiction treatment facilities through the University of Tennessee's Human Animal Bond in Tennessee (HABIT) program.​  Abhaya is also an affiliated teacher with Lotus Light Contemplative Community Center in Knoxville, TN and serves on their Board of Directors.

Lynn Smith

Lynn Smith

Lynn Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist specializing in trauma therapy and trauma sensitive mindfulness. [She is the founder and director of The Center for Mindfulness, LLC at Mind Body Knox. ] Lynn holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Tennessee. She is a faculty member of the EMDR Institute and a Level 1 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher. Lynn received teacher training from the Mindfulness Center at Brown University where she is currently pursuing teacher certification in MBSR. Additionally, Lynn has received training in Mindful Performance Enhancement Awareness and Knowledge (mPEAK) coaching from the University of California San Diego’s School of Medicine and is a Certified Mindfulness Coach. She has participated in advanced mindfulness and breathwork training from organizations including the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Insight Meditation Society, Breath-Body-Mind, Ser Integral and the Copper Beech Institute. Lynn is particularly interested in the intersection between mindfulness practices and trauma therapy, utilizing a trauma sensitive approach to best meet the needs of her students and clients.