Dear Yogis,

Just to bring you up to date.  Have computer probs, but nothing that would make a difference to you – but makes me consider if I really, really want to do my yoga (or anything) on line via ZOOM.  The answer is easy.  No.  Once I have got my new camcorder, I will be loading every class I can onto VIMEO.  Seems a way that is more compatible with ME.   Re yesterdays newsletter.  If you want Paul Grilley videos – let me know.

On the technology note.  I considered a new printer.  The guy in my local store said wait at least a month.  All the good printers are unavailable due to the fact that so many more people are working at home, and hardly any commercial flights are coming from China.  The same goes for camcorders (mine was the last in its class in Victoria), and anything else technological.  There are a lot of industries suffering, but stores selling tech are booming.

With regards to classes.  Like every yoga studio we are not booming in this time of covid… but we are still here.  I am loving the new personal class structure.  Consequently,   I am  reinstating a floor exercise (with stretch bands)  class on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 6.30. and Saturdays at 10am.   I can take a maximum of four persons in my space… the classes will not require authentic ability, but they will not be easy. For ALL  classes, all the covid requirements remain valid as per the web site.  We need pre-payment for a ten week consecutive class pass- no casuals.  If you miss a class, you still are responsible for paying for that class. Unless there is an unexpected vacancy in the week you miss, you can’t do a make up class.  That’s the way it is during covid, we need to keep the class communities stable.  Go to “Classes” on this web site for details.  The photo above is of a poster available on etsy www.myyogabooks.etsy.com of the entire poem “ON BEING HUMAN”.  Also available on “www.jahnehopewilliams.net”

THE THERAPY OF YOGA…

The life of yoga is a life of continually, in each moment,  liberating ourselves from ourselves by engagement with the reality of the world around us however uncomfortable that may be initially.  It is a Bodhisattva path which puts the spiritual needs of the world first as it manifests in each concrete situation.  Therefore, it is a PATH OF THERAPY. (Unless of course you choose to see it as a fitness regime which many do). It is not simply the therapy of an individual –  client by client – but the mind of each client which seeks the healing of EVERY ENCOUNTER.

The yoga approach is to see whatever is happening as an opportunity for liberation.  To know what is happening, when it is happening.

The Master Dogen wrote:  “When one studies Buddhism one studies oneself; when one studies oneself one forgets oneself; when one forgets oneself one is enlightened by everything and this very enlightenment breaks the bonds of clinging to both body and mind not only for oneself but for all beings as well.  If enlightenment is true, it wipes out even clinging to enlightenment”.  

Yoga therapy as we do it in this studio sees the dilemma which brings a client to the therapist is some manifestation of the client’s Buddha nature calling to the client to liberate themselves from that conditioning.  It is an opportunity on the path to enlightenment.  None of us are “there yet”.  The client and I set out together.  Eventually they will have to walk the path alone, and for themselves.  Like learning to ride a bike,  in Buddhist training – yoga training, we benefit from having a “good friend” beside us.   (PS a good friend is not someone who tells you what you want to hear and takes you home the pretty way – a good friend loves you enough to tell you the truth, sometimes the difficult truth for both the giver and the receiver).

To begin your path at this studio, please enquire to me personally:  yogafirst2@bigpond.com

Have a wonderful day..

Namaste:  Jahne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Yogis,

Before we start I have some Secondhand Paul Grilley DVD’s for sale, donated by a client with the money to go to the Foundation.  Anatomy, Chakra Theory and Yin Yoga.  $100 for the three or $45 each.  Normal Australian price $65 and more, each.  Email if you are interested: yogafirst2@bigpond.com

Let us talk about MUDRA, rather than the engaging dream I had last nite – more of that later…. I began by thinking that Mudra was another weird Indian “thing” and a Western way to make more money.  I was wrong about the first and probably right about the latter – unfortunately.

Put simply, Mudra is a gesture or touch which has an effect upon our state of mind…Since body and mind are a unity, the attitude of the mind and the body reflect each other.  This can work in cause and effect in either direction. To put it simply, a Mudra is a hand gesture that guides the energy flow to specific areas of the brain. There are many types of Mudras designed to bring different benefits, depending on what we specifically need. They are done in conjunction with breathing to increase the flow of Prana in the body. By practicing a particular mudra, a connection is developed with the patterns in the brain that influences the unconscious reflexes in the different areas. The internal energy is, in turn, balanced and redirected, creating an impact on the sensory organs, tendons, glands and veins veins.

Think about this.  When you are feeling tired, your body slumps, and when you are feeling on top of things you straighten up.  Our language reflects these attitude “putting your back into…”, “keeping your feet on the ground”, “putting your heart into…”.   When we talk about emotions we most usually speak in a language reflecting the body.  Being “close” to someone even if we are physically not.

When we meditate in the Buddhist way,  we endeavour to keep our back straight.  This attitude is not just symbolic.  The body needs to be stable, balanced and close to the earth so our mind can harmonise with the body.  Take the image of the Buddha sitting in meditation with the fingers of one hand touching the earth, grounding his energy.  A mudra.

 The mudras found in Buddhist iconography are related to the meridians of acupuncture and to flows of vital energy.  It is beyond the scope of these newsletters to delve deeply into  the theory and practice of amma (acupuncture) points and meridians in detail.  It is most generally acknowledged  that touch plays a very important part in the in the restoration of body and mind with which yoga is primary concerned.  We have always acknowledged the mind and the body are a single conditioned state – and the conditioned state of mind is always the consequence to  some degree of  a separation having opened up between the mental and physical states of our being.  One way of  understanding this seeming disharmony is to realise the extent to which we are “out of touch”.  Mudras bridge this energy gap.

That is one thing we are missing in covid.  Touch.  We touch another person as Buddha touched the earth,  The Earth Grounding Mudra.  Doing a mudra we feel a flow of energy which warms us.  This touching reduces stress and develops mindfulness.

In therapy, we have found that a light touch can do more in conveying love and caring than a more forceful gesture.   Gentle touch conveys love.  The wellbeing we feel is in proportion to the love we give out.

Try using the mudras as you sit quietly, notice the changes, journal the changes… like everything it takes time.  Don’t dismiss them as “for other yogis” until you have spend some time exploring their subtle energy.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

NAMASTE JAHNE

GOOD MORNING YOGIS,   

Another icy black frost morning once again I need to break the ice for the Raven.  I will soon have to cook a warm breakfast for him… the frost is hard in the mornings.  My mum used to make a breakfast meal of weeties with hot milk for the chooks in the winter when I was little.

Here we are in the middle of a no-mans-land and I would like to talk to you about YOUR BUSINESS.  So many yogis have decided to close their studio doors.  The struggle is too hard.   Listen up! Psychic energy can help you to bring your business prosperity and growth.  Take the guesswork out of business and use your psychic energy – to live, use your SPIRITUAL ENERGY.

Using a combination of regular psychic exercises, meditation, and regular exercise (balance please in all things), you can discover the best actions to take to lead you to your goals.  It won’t help if you don’t have clue where you are going…If you take the actions the Universe recommends, checking in regularly to make sure you are going in the right direction and everything is in harmony you can move forward with confidence.

If you work in this way it will alleviate so much of the anxiety that comes with running your own business whatever it is.  If you do it this way you will feel safer making decisions, and taking steps into the unknown.

It is hard to make a living in these uncertain times, and usually there are layers of problems, not just one.  Sort out one, and there is more underneath. However, the universe wants you to have the best not by struggle, but by working in tandem with the energy she is providing for you.  Do this and you will have enough to provide for yourself and for others.

STEPS TO TAKE TO GET PROFITABLE,

1. Release any negative beliefs you have around earning money.

2. Look closely at any limitations you might have that will stop you from increasing the flow of money towards you.

3. Use the Universal energy to increase money in your life.

Your financial stability is totally connected to the beliefs you hold about money, as well as the life lessons you are currently working your way through.  You will not be able to increase your money flow, and develop a successful studio unless you re-evaluate those beliefs and release any negativity that may be standing in your way.

Change your beliefs and you will be able to increase your money flow.  It is not just about thinking differently, it is also about acting differently.  I don’t for one minute think that suddenly you will find your purse overflowing (although it might).  I do mean that you will suddenly see opportunities you hadn’t noticed before, or ways to painlessly reduce expenditure… follow the guidance of the universe and you will notice an increase in your disposable income.

As you release beliefs, fears and issues attached to money and in particular to debt, you will not only be easily able to release the debt, but you will also see the flow of money increase to a comfortable amount.

STEPS TO GET SPIRITUALLY PROFITABLE

We ask ourselves, how can we liberate ourselves from suffering.  Too many of us spend our lives ignoring it rather than working on it.   It is this ignoring of it which keeps us in the realm of suffering.  To grow pearls one needs to put grit in the oyster, and it is this grit which gives us the opportunity to liberate ourselves, and be a true pearl.

We are born weeping and we die protesting and in between we hate getting older, getting sick, becoming overtaken by circumstances we don’t like – covid for instance – and being separated from things we really do like.  We may even hate getting up in the morning.  These states can have bad consequences.

You may have many therapies and techniques for keeping these questions bound and gagged.  Spiritual enlightenment is always available, irrespective of what the past or the future may hold.  Even in the midst of the ordinary world we can establish our lives on a new basis.

Remember – even during this stage of covid you can have a personal consultation.  Please email for an appointment. yogafirst2@bigpond.com

HAVE A LOVELY SUNNY (AWAKENED) DAY

NAMASTE.  JAHNE