Dear Yogis,

This week we are delving into the recent past when Mr.Keating (the then PM), said that soon Australia would be a “Banana Republic” – the poor relative of Asia.

His solution resulted in  “The Recession we Had To Have!”  It seems to me that we are sliding into recession now (we could already be there), and yogis around the globe who are feeling the pinch are doing what we did before.  To survive we have to diversify and specialise.  I don’t find that a problem because I am a bit of a butterfly doing yoga and art and….  whatever it takes to keep us afloat.

I have found that yoga in my studio has changed a bit, but not much.  I still have most of my lovely and long serving yoga students, but new students are hard to find.  Those who are less committed are saving their pennies for heating costs and the promised climbing interest rates, not yoga.

My advice to you is to do the same if possible.  Have short workshops on yoga subjects, and things that you have been using as a side hustle.  Tarot and Painting keep me afloat and I love them both which is helpful. I still do small classes of yoga, and buzz around to galleries swapping and changing displays (and selling) – I am busy,  and then I have my MANTRA MAIL where every month I send out to my yogis and taroistas news and tarot cards and whatever I think they would like.  A friendly chat once a month.  I am not sure what comes next but just depends on how hard the recession bites – there are hundreds of business in Australia every week going into bankruptcy – and it wont be me and I hope it wont be you. It didn’t happen before and it wont happen today.

If you want a monthly chat from me  (a real paper letter to your letter box) on how I have been managing the current difficulties, how I have been managing to thrive in spite of fences needing replacement, heating costs and all the usual costs and challenges email me.  It costs $55 for a MANTRA MAIL every month for three months or $175 per year.  Email me.

If you are registered with me you always get a little credit card size membership card.  This little card could save you heaps of dollars.  Some students save more than $the cost of their insurance and registration (which is what I designed it for).  Just take your card to smaller independent shops that will respond to the fact that you are a yoga teacher and ask for a discount.  Health foods, yoga clothing, equipment, Dymoks Books!…  Every little bit helps and counts.  REGISTER TODAY.  Email me for your application at yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

DON’T FORGET.  WOODEND ART MARKET ON SATURDAY AND OUR SUNDAY LUNCH THIS COMING SUNDAY

NAMASTE – JAHNE

Email – yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

 

 

INTRODUCING “WALK INTO LIFE 4.5”
A lifestyle OSTEO intervention delivered by
The Australasian Yoga Institute (established 1976)

This is a program which is a yoga movement class, plus easy, simple, monitored exercise.    It is a great idea to have a rest from yoga or any other program which challenges the body without improvement, especially from a class that is not working specifically with osteo (Not every class is, even yoga).  If participants are having to get on the floor and up again, it probably is not working for them, not ideal but it could seem as if there is no alternative – or a  teacher hampered by a misunderstanding that yoga will fix everyone…  and if they keep doing it in a way that is not encouraging improvement,  then it is putting them backward. Not helpful.

 

We have a program of graduated simple, gentle movement that a client can do daily in about 5 minutes, standing, supported by a chair or kitchen bench, and when stability and bone health is improved we enlarge upon it and begin gentle walking, changing the way they view exercise, and their lifestyle – no matter the clients age, or wellness level, abilities.

Next thing – and something to work towards.  Walking 1 kilometer (approx.) in about 15 minutes. Not running and not doing it right away, just working towards being able to achieve this.  Eventually 4.5 kilometers in one hour (even on a treadmill). Not jogging, not rushing, just achievable brisk walking that you have worked up to.

To counteract cellular decay, exercise must be administered like a precise drug. Walking too slowly fails to trigger cellular adaptation; walking too fast forces the body to shift into a glycolytic state, triggering a spike in lactic acid that disrupts mitochondrial clearing pathways. Our program strictly utilizes walking, gentle incline loading, and highly monitored pacing. Our program is an ideal, low-risk lifestyle intervention to help your clients manage their early-stage hypertension, breathing issues, insulin resistance, or osteopenia.

Through our framework, we peel back years of protective, dysfunctional patterns, structural blockages, and defensive alignments – not by replicating what we have been doing for years, but looking to a different way, the basics of which were considered by the ancient Greeks and Romans.  By stripping away our old habits, we allow the body to realign and let it breathe again, completely unencumbered.  Taken slowly, it works and we have many students who are working with us and can validate our approach.

(PS:   THE 10,000 STEP PROGRAM we are all encouraged to complete in a day  is just a marketing ploy invented by a Japanese firm YAMASA TOKEI  to sell their pedometer – http://www.yamasa-tokei.co.jp/ was founded in 1942 and produced the first commercial pedometer in 1965 in Japan..  “Manpo-kei” means 10,000 steps in Japanese and is their trademark.  It was a hit, not just in Japan, around the world – BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HEALTH.  It will not help people dealing with osteoporosis, osteopaenia, and other difficulties caused by injuries, or approaching age.)

We have ongoing classes, private “interventions” in our studio in Woodend with Jahne, and teach yoga teachers our program – Look at OSTEO WALK in our banner on the landing page.  

For further information and to speak to Jahne,  Email yogafirst2@bigpond.com and arrange an appointment.

Dear Yogis,

This page is a change of format.  This page will chat about what we are doing, and courses.  If you want to know the classes and news for this week, then go to the landing page on www.yogabeautiful.com.au

 

GLUTES TO THE MAX – A course in YOGA FOR OSTEOPOROSIS (certificate presented at the end)

For many years I thought and taught, and acted as if I was unbreakable, and taught classes that mirrored that attitude.

Then on Christmas eve before last I had a tumble (helped by the cat, and doing four things at once!).  The doctors dismissed it (on the basis I was a yogi and I would be fine) until I had to use a cane, and couldn’t manage stepping up a gutter without help.  Then they clicked in with xrays etc – Diagnosis, not terrific, and now I realise I have osteoporosis and osteopaenia.  Almost immediately, I noticed a subtle shift in my yoga teaching long term. I became more cautious, careful.  Questioning sensations in my body and asking questions of my students in class that I wouldn’t have even noticed earlier. It wasn’t that my body had changed overnight, but my relationship to my body had.

For the last year or so, I have had to concentrate on body confidence, rebuilding the muscles, strength and stability.  It’s not about doing big showy poses, it is about learning how to build the subtle muscle movements which make the big difference – with a focus on THE GLUTES. So many of my senior students say the same.

In this my latest course, I am hoping to remind you  that movement isn’t only about stronger muscles or healthier bones. It’s also about rebuilding body confidence, and about learning to trust yourself again. I will be TEACHING YOU TO TEACH THROUGH THESE CHANGES, I will work with you to help others, whether you’ve received a diagnosis yourself or you’re simply working through changes in your class or community that come with getting older. This is about AGELESSNESS.

 

ABOUT THE “OSTEO” COURSE (8 WEEKS)

I know (if you are like me and I think you are) that you will have…a packed timetable, and sometimes back to back classes – It looks like success!

However,  if  like me you have experienced “damage” over the last two years, or you can’t teach because you are unwell, injured or have to miss a class, then no classes means no income.  If what you have built is a studio with a  full teaching schedule, you will discover that as you get older it is not a sustainable career. It can feel like being on a treadmill .  When you and your clients’ usual movements are no longer possible, then something needs to change, and it is you.

What you will be working for in this course is adjusting your teaching schedule and methodology to give you a sustainable career, and a youthful body no matter your age. You could call it OSTEO YOGA or YOGA FOR AGELESSNESS, or BLUE ZONE YOGA.  No matter what you call it, it is different.

A sustainable yoga career is a different way of working entirely.

 

During this 8 WEEK COURSE you’ll explore:

• How breath-centered āsana combined with a focus on STABILITY and the glutes can support the lower back, neck, jaw, shoulders, hips, sacrum, and joints
  while improving mobility and structural resilience
• Practices that help regulate the nervous system, improve sleep quality, increase energy, and support recovery from stress and fatigue
• Therapeutic approaches for working skillfully with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, addiction, and chronic illness

How to reconnect with deeper sources of nourishment, purpose, and inner stability while cultivating a more empowered relationship with your health and wellbeing

INCOME
OSTEO YOGA allows me to work not just in front of a class, but also one-on-one as a ‘Yoga Personal Trainer”.  This means I can charge a professional rate which is always higher than a general studio yoga class.   One to one consultations, therapeutic group programs, and work in clinical settings generally command significantly higher rates than teaching a general yoga class in a studio, although classes specifically designed to improve osteo conditions can attract better fees.

 

If you would like to take this opportunity, Please contact me via email, and I will send you an application. yogafirst2@bigpond.com

Namaste, Jahne