Good morning Yogis,

I hope you are all well, keeping happy, keeping busy.  Yesterday Woodend ran out of Vitamin C entirely.. no powder, no tablets, no fizzy… nothing.  If any of you are having the same problem let me know, and I will pass on where I can get them.  Because it is raining and I can’t sweep leaves to relax, I am making soft, wildly colourful masks.  How are you keeping busy and calm?

 

How are you managing with yesterdays meditations?

Here is a new “breath”.

THE MORNING DEW BREATH

Breathe gently through the nose AND THE MOUTH.  At first put all your attention on the INHALE.  As in every breath we take, exhaling is most important and should be done as slowly as possible, and as delicately as possible.   No force used.   Notice everything that is going on in the body whilst you slow your inhale as much as you can.  As thoughts and feeling arise, exhale them in a calm and purposeful manner – acknowledging as you do this that no emotion is permanent.

Now pay attention to the EXHALE.  Keep the breath slow, soft and even.

As you slowly exhale imagine the whole world being your body (or your body as the world).  Perceive every organ and all of your senses.

This state of awareness will soon flow through the entire body.  Sit, practising this exercise for ten minutes.

 

Keep well, keep happy.

 

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

Dear Yogis,

THE RAINBOW BREATH

I have been a student of many yogis, and the most gentle of these were Tibetan.  From them I learned the prostration and gentle aspects of breathing.  It is the breath that I would like you to focus on as we get through this time.  I presume that you are doing your yoga first (even 7 minutes of practice) to prepare for the sitting.

This is the beginning of series about the exercises I do to maintain my physical body, my mind and my heart through this time –  My focus is to come out the other side of this crisis (crisis of Faith?), stronger not weaker.  My practice is to deal with each day in a yogic way.. loving each minute, each day no matter what. Every day it becomes more apparent that we have to look after our body (and lungs) in a Yogic way.   Breathe. Breathe, Breathe.    Not, “almost Breathe”, not pant.  Consciously BREATHE.

Remember the principle of the body, language and mind.  The physical aspect  is represented by the head. Language is located at the throat, and the heart represents the mind. Each of these three aspects is represented by a syllable which are in actual fact older than Buddhism itself, being used by the ancient people of India.  These syllables let your body vibrate as soon as they are chanted (said).  As we have learned in our classes, they influence the nervous system and thereby have a direct effect on the chakras.  The sounds that the Tibetans have attached to these exercises are OM AH HUM.

As you sit preparing for this exercise, imagine a figure floating in front of you about 30 centimetres in free space.  This figure can be the Buddha, Christ, or any other Being which emanates qualities that you find worthy of striving for.  The figure in front of you is golden, clear, vibrating and surrounded by a golden light in all directions of the heavens.  It can be sitting or not sitting.

Direct your attention to the perfect physical energy of this being.  All physical tensions are dissolved in the white light streaming from the top of its  head flooding your entire body.    Illness, and any inclination to treat YOUR body badly, are dissolved in this energy.  Now recite the OM several times and let the vibrations of this syllable flow through every fibre of your being.  Your body is light, floating.  Continue experiencing this “lightness of being”.

Now direct your attention to this Diety’s throat chakra . Its language related energy streams towards us in a red colour.  From its throat to your throat flooding it with strength and creativity.  Everything that stands in the way of your creative energy falls away, dissolved.  Blockages that stand in the way of your personal development disappear.  During this visualisation allow AH to stream, vibrate,  through the body.

The Heart Centre of the Diety is the next point of attention.  A Blue HUM sound surrounds and radiates from the Heart Centre.  This allows you to see reality clearly.  Flase hopes, and confusing imaginings are dissolved in this clear blue.  All obstacles that distract you from a clear view of your reality are dissolved in this beautiful blue, cooling the body and calming an agitated mind.  Imagine this whilst singing/saying HUM several times.

For me, the image is sometimes that of the Buddha, sometimes QuanYin the female aspect of the Buddha… sometimes The Jesus.  The Tibetans are not concerned about the visualisation.  It does not have to be this or that.  However, keep in mind that the more that you visualise it, the closer you approach it and the more you become similar to it, as you intensively dedicate yourself to this exercise.

Let me know how you go.  We will work on other visualisations, other “breaths”, as we go.  This exercise is calming, relaxing, healing and I rest in the knowledge that this is the perfect way for this time.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well lovely ones,

Did you miss yesterday 4/4/4!  that won’t happen again for a while.  Plus this is the year dedicated to the Archangel Michael.  I thought every year was!

Another weekend self-isolating.  Well, its not “self”-isolating when everyone is isolating is it?  A retreat is self-isolating – a choice. This is quarantine.   I hope you have been keeping up with the blog and facebook especially in regard to the sense of smell and Covid.  If you notice that yours is diminishing, please self-isolate, it is said to be an indicator of the presence of the covid virus, which alters the brain, not just the respiratory system.

What wonderful things have you done at this time? (Isaac Newton discovered Calculus when he was quarantined for two weeks due to the Black Plague).   I had lots planned in the garden – nothing as fabulous as calculus  –  but it has rained almost non-stop, although I did get a great walk in yesterday, and am hoping that the rain will ease at about 5pm today (Sunday at time of writing) and I can get a walk in today.  The rain has shown up some fundamental drainage problems which need attending to before winter – nothing that moving to Bermuda wouldn’t fix!  I did however, clean the pond.  Not just a cursory clean, a major one – so the pond at least is winter ready.  In the process I discovered there is a spring under the pond, which does answer quite a few questions about how the water behaves there.

I am expecting the plumber in the morning.  I told him to bring an outboard motor or oars!

Talking about the garden.  You can regrow, carrot greens, celery, onions fennel, romaine lettuce, garlic greens, lemongrass and basil in water from the roots or in the case of basil, from a “branch”.   Don’t throw these veggies away when you top and tail.  Save the tail, sit it in water, and it will grow.  I have about 4 celery plants I have grown from the bottom of a bunch of celery.  It is handy.

Foragers unite!  I hope that you have been popping in to check on the posts at www.wildnweedy.blogspot.com.  I did put up a post for a fantastic (make it yourself) vodka skin cleanser I put together, inspired by one I used years ago and can no longer get.  Cheap as chips, and super effective.

I am puddling along with the angels…  one per day.  They are changing and morphing every day, and I am not sure where we shall end up.  But I am enjoying them.  The hardest thing is to sit with the empty canvas and just “do it”.

 

TAROT/PENDULUM

I meet my guide each day, together with members of my family who have passed over.  I understand that they are always with me, I am never alone, but the pendulum does help me to make contact, and will help you too.  It needs practice.  I am working on pendulum charts which I will put on etsy.  You can meet your guide with a chart you make yourself, but some people like charts they can download.  So, I am here to help.

I have many interests, not just one, not just yoga.  Yoga has served me well but neither yoga nor the tarot has been without detractors.  I was surprised a year or so ago when a (valued) yoga student informed me that because I did tarot, she could not continue with yoga with me. Why? The people she worked with were unhappy about it!  All this, even though she had loved it and been a wonderful contributor on every level herself to that point.  What a disappointment.

Then there was the Church Wardens (and the Bishop) not long ago, who said that they could not accept my charity gifts  because I practised and taught Tarot.  Even some art subjects I have chosen have caused people to walk out of exhibitions (flowers?).  I have always thought that the people who made these pronouncements (and death threats),  took action because I threatened a belief they held strongly…strongly enough to go against the beliefs THEY said they held.  “Love thy neighbour” being just one such belief.   Whether their actions have been right or wrong doesn’t matter to me –  I know who I am.

Thank you to all of my lovely readers, who in-spite of my rich and varied life have continued to join me on the journey.  Who knows what will come next – certainly not me. Although this quiet time means we do have time to hold the mirror up, and examine who we are, and where we are going.

 

MODULES/REGISTRATION/INSURANCE

This is a terrific time to go into your files, find where you are up to, and get up to date.  Make sure you have insured, make sure you are registered.  If you are working on modules, use this time to get ahead.  The videos need to be resubscribed if you haven’t done so.  We had videos of yoga ten years ago, and they are still there, the message is still the same. Check them out. Subscribe.  Let me know how I can help you.  Email me: yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

THE WEB

www.myyogabooks.etsy.com       All our E-Books, the Tarot, Paintings, Recipe books and so on.

www.wildnweedy.blogspot.com   Foraging, Survival, Recipes for kitchen, health, beauty..

www.yogabeautiful.com.au      Everything yoga,  and the yoga blog (including this one).

Stay well, and warm.  Namaste.  jahne