Hi there Yogis,

I am so happy.  I have been asking you for a little feedback for some time, just a little, and acknowledgement only to know you are out there benefitting from my various musings… and in the main, most of you, (not all of you – there are exceptions) have remained aloof – left me guessing if you are out there or not.

But guess what!  I am so busy. My students are returning to yoga after the anxiety of covid and lockdowns – thank you, thank you – I am after all a teacher.

Plus,  people love my dolls, have ordered Angel Paintings, and I can hardly keep up with the people who want my renovated, reconditioned “trauma” bears.  The ambos love them especially and yesterday I gave the balance of my small ones suitable for their ambulances where space is at a premium, how good is this!  So, God is looking after me.  The photo on the left is of my work table where there is a little family waiting to be sent to their next home.  If you have a special person who needs a YOGAFIRST CARE-BEAR to love, make an appointment to come and see me and collect one.  Or PayPal $15.00 for a package and an express sack and i will send you one or two bears.  There is no charge for the bears, just for the packing and postage. Let me know the person and I will chose something appropriate.  They are “care/trauma bears”.… for someone in recovery, in trauma, or someone in aged care – you know what I mean.  They are not children’s stocking stuffers – remember the yamas.

If you want to see my own “designer dolls”, (more like fabric sculptures than dolls), you will find them (and me) at The Mt.Macedon Gallery beside The Trading Post,  starting on Saturday morning the 8th October, and then on Sunday the 16th.  I will be there between 10am and 1pm.  My work will be there from the first week in October.  The Gallery is open Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, from 10am to 4pm.  If you order a YOGAFIRST CARE-BEAR, you can pick one up from me at this time.  They are not on display, I will bring one from home for you.  Email me to make sure there is one ready for you.

Did you watch the funeral of the Late HMQ?

It was fascinating.  Like my son when he was young, I sat in front of the telly with my sketch book and captured the images that stood out to me.  Little details and big that I thought I might forget (everything is about the detail).  It too 30 years to plan the funeral, but I liked Prince Philip’s better – his was so GREEK and so sparse, mind you it did happen during Covid.

I did record both (HMQ’s and Philips), but I am sure there will be DVD’s or some such that one will be able to buy with the full production.  I will buy one.  There were so many “angelic” images.  Great for later artistic,  angel research.

 

STUDIO YOGA CLASS TIMES (yogabeautiful.com.au)
Fees FROM 3rd October (new term) $220 per term.
Monday – the 1pm class ONLY deferred until term 4 (re-starting 3rd October).  This hopefully will allow everyone to take care of families and school holidays for that 1 hour per week.
Monday 2.15 class as usual
Tuesday 1.30 Teaching at Windarring
Wednesday 1pm Hatha and 2.15 teacher training as usual
Friday 2.15 as usual.

GALLERY at MT.MACEDON 8th and 16th October from 10am to 1pm.

ZOOM TEACHER TRAINING 6.30 Monday (The Sutras)  STUDIO TEACHER TRAINING 2.15 Wednesday in the Studio.

NEW – SATURDAY BOTANICAL ART CLASS: “GIVE IT A GO” with Jahne.  4 x 2 hour classes from SUNDAY 9th October, 2.30pm to 4.30 $75 for members of The Botanical Art Society of Australia, ($85 non-members). Location: Woodend, Victoria.

FOR BOOKINGS, ENQUIRIES – NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: yogafirst2@bigpond.com

I WILL SEE YOU IN CLASS (or at the Gallery)

NAMASTE – JAHNE

 

 

Dear Yogis,

My mind is always involved in yoga musings, even if I am not always available to teach it with you.

I am most intrigued with how things are working out with Covid.  Everyone is relaxing their requirements for vaccinations and masks, but it is best to be careful in situations where there are groups.  I always wear a mask in the supermarket for instance.    I remember when a person kept in hotel isolation before ventilation was an issue, apparently catching the virus without going out of the hotel.  That was then, this is now.  We have been taught to be anxious over the last three years and must learn to relax.

The school holidays have begun for some, but I am still keeping to the schedule below, and would love to see you.

 

STUDIO YOGA CLASS TIMES
Fees FROM 3rd October (new term) $220 per term.

Monday – the 1pm class ONLY deferred until term 4 (re-starting 3rd October).  This hopefully will allow everyone to take care of families and school holidays for that 1 hour per week.
Monday 2.15 class as usual
Tuesday 1.30 Teaching at Windarring
Wednesday 1pm Hatha and 2.15 teacher training as usual
Friday 2.15 as usual.

ZOOM TEACHER TRAINING 6.30 Monday (The Sutras)  STUDIO TEACHER TRAINING 2.15 Wednesday in the Studio.

NEW SPRING CLASSES:
I am considering a Tuesday and Friday 7pm STUDIO YOGA class to take advantage of the warmer weather of term 4 – No response thus far, so I guess this will go no further than this page.

NEW – SATURDAY BOTANICAL ART CLASS: “GIVE IT A GO” with Jahne.  4 x 2 hour classes from Saturday 9th October, 2.30pm to 4.30 $75 for members of The Botanical Art Society of Australia, ($85 non-members). Location: Woodend, Victoria.

FOR BOOKINGS, ENQUIRIES – NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

 

NAMASTE – JAHNE

GOOD MORNING YOGIS –

“Buckle up” as they say, “it is going to be  bumpy ride”.  I have sent out this special Saturday newsletter for those people who are sincerely studying yoga and yogic philosophy, and wish to apply it to their lives.  Over covid lockdown we studied Rumi and wandered into the Qur’an, and I still do.   These words below are primarily from one of my Arabic Teachers (Luqman, at fluent Arabic)  .  I am not a good student of Arabic language, but I LOVE the philosophy.  I have tried to make things a little clearer, carrying on from yesterdays newsletter I sent around which touched on INTENTION.

 

“Assalamu Alaykum”.     What does it mean to have a sincere intention?  We have heard many times the Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that says:   ​إنّما الْاَعْمَالُ بِالنِّیَّات  “Actions are by their intention”. But, what does it really mean and why it is important to us, as Arabic and Quran (and Yoga) students, to understand?

We can start with a brief look into the literal meaning. A kind of Arabic language exercise. إنّما  Inna is a particle of emphasis. The maa after it is called the maa al-kaaffa, and it adds exclusivity to the sentence. So for example if you say, Innama ana mudarris, it means ‘Verily, I am only a teacher’  الْاَعْمَال     The root word is ‘ain-mim-lam and it is related to the act of doing something. It’s not the action itself, it’s a transitive verb which needs an object to complete its meaning.

That means that it refers to all kinds of actions, and not just a particular one. We could understand it as “Every action that we undertake”.   We can say that, so far, the Hadith means “Every action that we undertake is by, or is connected to, or is because, or is swore upon by…”النِّیَّات An-niyyah. The first two letters are the article “The” and the following are nun-ya-ha. This word means ‘intention’ and it is also related to the root nun-waw-ya. The plural of intention is نيَّات و نَوَايا.

The word nawah means, amongst other things date pit, fruit kernel and core. A similar word, based on the same root, nawa, means remoteness and distance.    We could say then that intention is the core of something, like the pit is the core of a fruit. In this example, the pit also holds within it the seed of a new fruit tree. The intention, being the pit of the action, contains in it the possibility of everything that ensues by the action.

But everything that ensues in the action, which is contained in the pit, is a possibility that has not yet been realised. There is a distance between the intention and the action.

Another way to understand this is that the intention reaches far into the distance. In, fact, it reaches further into the distance than the action itself.    With this, we may better understand this Hadith as “Every action that we undertake is connected, is because of and by, its core, which is its intention”

This hadith was transmitted by Umar ibn al-Khattab and it is compiled in the Sahihayn. Commenting on it Ibn Abbas said: “A man is protected only to the degree of his intention”.   In this context, we may say that for those who study yoga, or any discipline, it’s of the utmost importance to have a sincere intention. But what does a sincere intention mean?

A sincere intention is to do something solely for the sake of Allah/God. That is part of what the Prophet, peace be upon him, meant and what has been transmitted by our pious predecessors.    Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri said, “Sincerity is to single out the Real [God] in obedience with full intention: meaning, through obedience,  we desire only to draw near to God nothing else: not ostentation for the sake of others, gaining praise with people, loving praise from them, or something else that shows [an objective] other than drawing closer to God ” He also said, “It is correct to say that sincerity is purifying the action from being observed by people.”

We could say that having a sincere intention when studying yoga, Qur’an and Arabic is to do it for sake of drawing near to Allah. That is something that for many of us might seem obvious because it is the main reason why we are studying.

But how do we know if our intention is sincere? We can once again look at what our predecessors have said:   Dhu’l-Nun said, “Three signs of sincerity are when praise and censure from the masses are equal; forgetting to see your involvement in deeds; and wanting a reward for one’s actions in the Hereafter.”

That is, we do not care about what people say or expect their approval. We understand that our good intentions and actions are a gift from God, hence we do not look for the reward that those actions can bring us in this life, but we expect their reward in the hereafter. That is not to say that, God Willing, we might not enjoy the reward of our actions in this life, but that is not our focus and priority.

 

I will see you on the mat (if you want to discuss any of the above please email me yogafirst2@bigpond.com)

NAMASTE, JAHNE

 

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