Dear Yogis,

The school holidays will soon be finished and life can get back to the usual routine.  It doesn’t make any difference to me, except in school holidays I have more time to do my own thing – which at the moment is making dolls, and soon (of course) I will hold classes.  Remember the long lost wisdom of making things with our hands – a skill that our ancestors innately knew.  You will be able to join us for an evening of doll making – as I take you take  you through the steps of making your own magic doll.   Come andd see the dolls I make at our open day, and decide what kind of doll you will make.  You can discuss times and dates with me then.

Magics Dolls have also been known throughout history as Medicine, Spirit or Healing Dolls.  Our sculptural works are created with natural and recycled materials. 

I stopped making dolls when I lost everything in the Ash Wednesdays fires.  I stopped a lot of artistic things then because it was as if all the creativity just left me, and I haven’t really been able to get it back.  Somehow, now I am just full to bursting with doll making ideas, just like before the fires.  It has long been believed that creator of the doll is able to weave a wish for oneself or the recipient, into the creation.

I have always loved rag dolls.  When I was a child I had a china doll.  She lived on top of the wardrobe, but I never felt it was really mine because I had to ask to play with her.  She was too precious to play with.  Maybe she was passed to my sister, who knows.  My favourite doll was a simple rag doll. There were a number of them.  They were not expensive, made out of fabric scraps.  When I was growing up there was always patchwork and doll making happening because there were always scrap fabrics to be used.

With my children I kept up the tradition although I was not a patchwork person, but I did make block squares blankets and quilts, and i particularly remember a black doll my son had.  He used to take it to school with the anticipated result.  It was always being taken and buried or hidden by the other boys, so I was always on rescue missions both to find the doll and clean/repair it.

I still love working with well worn textiles that tell a story. Antique fabrics, even old fabrics from friends, doilies, simple linen scraps, threadbare wool.  I love them all.  This week I repatriated a pair of large 100% cream linen “safari” shorts the size of a small tent,  from the op shop.  These are perfect for doll clothes and rescues them from landfill perhaps.

My first sewing machine practice happened on a Singer hand operated machine, and then to the sophistication of a treadle (I am looking for one if you have one in the garage) which I learned to use at the Singer Children’s Sewing classes at their shop downstairs on the corner of Swanston and Latrobe Street in Melbourne, and when I first started making dolls on my own I was given wool sweaters and socks that had been badly laundered, and fabric scraps not suitable for my mothers patchwork.  I even made clothes for them.

I have a deep commitment to wherever these dolls will take me.  It is not only me who is craving this kind of connection with a doll, but I am creating a modern heirloom that everyone, not only children can hold, love and pass on.  You can do this too at our up-coming doll making classes.  It is not about complications, it is about simplicity and heart.  The Spirit of the doll you will be working with.  The “dolls for children” (some are for adults) have the look and feel of a toy that is not the usual mass manufactured item.  A doll that is a bit more sophisticated and has personality – a GENTLE SOUL  that is not trying to teach or tell, just there to give the child comfort.

 

CURRENT STUDIO/ZOOM SCHEDULE: (Studio Yoga – Mondays at 1pm are Full)  (PLEASE BOOK AHEAD – NO YOGA STUDIO DROP-INS, sorry)

ZOOM: Mon. 6.30 FREE OF CHARGE Teacher Training, Tues. Herb workshop 7.30 ($50 per month – part of the Bach Therapist Course only).
STUDIO YOGA:Mon. 1pm (full) 2.15pm, Wed. 1pm Restorative(vacancy for July only), 2.15pm  Friday  2.15 Restorative.
Fridays only – If you book you can join us at 3pm for a short meditation session on Fridays only.  Because it is the end of the class and I need to plan, you will need to book.

CONSULTATIONS: Zoom Tarot/Bach/QHHT HYPNOTHERAPY (a very powerful form of hypnotherapy), Bowen or a combo – by appointment only.  $85 To discuss or book,  email  yogafirst2@bigpond.com

MONTHLY LUNCHEON:   Thursday 28th July at 12noon at “The Vic” in Woodend (If you are running a bit late, relax, it’s OK – drop in for dessert.  We have the meeting room, so it is separate and quieter).  Please let me know if you can join us.  We will post an invite closer to the day.   RSVP PLEASE

WEEKLY MEETINGS:  We have free Teacher Training zoomed on Mondays 6.30pm, and we began our yoga teacher asana class/meeting in the studio WHICH WE HAVE ORGANISED FOR EVERY SECOND SUNDAY BETWEEN 2 and 3pm.  NEXT STUDIO TEACHER TRAINING CLASS Sunday 31st July at 2pm.

DOLL MAKING CLASS – TIMES TO BE CONFIRMED.

OPEN STUDIO. Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July,  2pm to 4pm BOTH DAYS.   I have been looking forward to this right through Covid zooms.  

Please pop in between 2 and 4pm on Saturday or Sunday and see (purchase) paintings,  my dolls and other goodies – herbs, smoking herbs, vintage items and fabulous pendulums.  You can even have a PENDULUM lesson in using the one you purchase.  Of course there will be champers and Christmas nibbles.    It is after all July and we can have a CHRISTMAS IN JULY. .  You can even come and discuss a tarot booking,  But especially look at my dolls.

 

I WILL SEE YOU ON THE MAT (or zoom).

NAMASTE – JAHNE

 

Dear Yogis,

I am hoping your absences at class are just the result of school holidays and covid, however, the break has given me a great time to catch up with doll making and “midnite darning” for various clients (and the web).  I have had some most interesting items to mend – it will be some years before they are consigned to the Salvos. Regarding the studio – I will seriously consider closing during the school holidays in future – apart from art of course.  Art and my own yoga practise does not turn off.

DOLLS
I am busy thinking about and making more dolls.  The one on my mind at the moment is a variation on an Amishdoll.  They had a particular dress, but the main difference is that they did not have faces drawn in.

The Amish believe only God can make a being in His own image..

One easy explanation would be that the Amish strive to live a simpler life, and so their dolls mimic the plain aesthetic the Amish display through their own humble, handmade clothes and possessions. The truth, however, is that Amish dolls rarely have distinguishing features like eyes, noses, mouths, fingers, or toes, and the reasons are rooted in some of the community’s most deeply-held beliefs.

The Amish look down on activities and possessions that would bring on feelings of vanity, superiority, or pride. This goes beyond dolls and other toys, as the Amish also shun printed or synthetic fabrics, musical instruments, and even electricity. Amish dolls, therefore, are plain rag dolls, sometimes stuffed with cotton or straw, made with the same natural, monochromatic fabrics with which the Amish clothe themselves: cotton, linen, muslin, and wool. The dolls are typically unadorned save for their minimalist outfits that mirror the clothes worn by Amish boys and girls.

The doll on the right, is NOT an Amish doll, but it is a rag/cloth doll of the kind I make.  They are not small, being 40 to 50cms and taller.  The sketch in the photo on the left above is of an Amish style doll that will be featured in my OPEN STUDIO EXHIBITION on the 16th and 17th of July between 2 and 4pm each day.

Amish dolls can be best described as plain rag dolls. They are used by both boys and girls, as Amish children don’t have many toys.  Amish children are also seen wrapping wooden logs in blankets and pretending they are dolls. In the past, the dolls were stuffed with rags even straw, but nowadays cotton and polyester are often used as stuffings. In the past, the dolls were not washed, and when they got dirty, a new layer of cloth would be wrapped around them.

The “Orthodox” Amish follow the teachings of a 16th century Swiss Anabaptist named Jakob Ammann, who broke with the Mennonite church to promote the idea of following the Bible more literally while forsaking the secular and scientific advancements of the time. As is often noted,  the Amish apply this line of thinking to a passage in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy that forbids man from creating “graven images” or other likenesses of man.

The Amish believe that all are equal in the eyes of God, that only God can create men and women, and so they tend to make sure that their dolls are featureless from top to bottom.  I must say that mine are not, although in the case of my Amish dolls I try to make them different and creative whilst staying within the Church guidelines.  They are faceless, and dressed in plain fabrics.

 

CURRENT STUDIO/ZOOM SCHEDULE: (Studio Yoga – Mondays at 1pm are Full)  (PLEASE BOOK AHEAD – NO YOGA STUDIO DROP-INS, sorry)

ZOOM: Mon. 6.30 FREE OF CHARGE Teacher Training, Tues. Herb workshop 7.30 ($50 per month – part of the Bach Therapist Course only).
STUDIO YOGA:Mon. 1pm (full) 2.15pm, Wed. 1pm Restorative(vacancy for July only), 2.15pm  Friday  2.15 Restorative.
Fridays only – If you book you can join us at 3pm for a short meditation session on Fridays only.  Because it is the end of the class and I need to plan, you will need to book.

CONSULTATIONS: Zoom Tarot/Bach/QHHT HYPNOTHERAPY (a very powerful form of hypnotherapy), Bowen or a combo – by appointment only.  $85 To discuss or book,  email  yogafirst2@bigpond.com

MONTHLY LUNCHEON:   Thursday 28th July at 12noon at “The Vic” in Woodend (If you are running a bit late, relax, it’s OK – drop in for dessert.  We have the meeting room, so it is separate and quieter).  Please let me know if you can join us.  We will post an invite closer to the day.   RSVP PLEASE

WEEKLY MEETINGS:  We have free Teacher Training zoomed on Mondays 6.30pm, and we began our yoga teacher asana class/meeting in the studio WHICH WE HAVE ORGANISED FOR EVERY SECOND SUNDAY BETWEEN 2 and 3pm.  NEXT STUDIO TEACHER TRAINING CLASS Sunday 31st July at 2pm.

OPEN STUDIO. Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July,  2pm to 4pm BOTH DAYS.   I have been looking forward to this right through Covid.  Please pop in between 2 and 4pm on the day and see (purchase) paintings,  my dolls and other goodies – herbs, smoking herbs, vintage items and fabulous pendulums.  You can even have a PENDULUM lesson in using the one you purchase.  Of course there will be champers and Christmas nibbles.    It is after all July and we can have a CHRISTMAS IN JULY. .  You can even come and discuss a tarot booking, 

I WILL SEE YOU ON THE MAT (or zoom).

NAMASTE – JAHNE

 

 

 

Dear Yogis,

I hope you have noticed that it is a busy month.  To add to my “busy’ness” we are having a Christmas in July OPEN DAY on Saturday the 16th as well as Sunday the 17th at 2pm.  I am not ready, but then, there is only me, if i don’t get time for something, well I don’t get time.  There is always another day, another way.

I plan to have a range of dolls available from very big to very small… I was hoping for old fashioned, hand crafted jewelled doilies, but I have used them on the dolls. There there are the paintings even some big angels are looking for a home.  Don’t hold back.  Come, experience, and leave with an art piece – even something small like a pendulum – or just say Hi in person, the first time since the Covid lockdowns.

AROUND THE HOME…

I have spent the weekend cutting back the wisteria which in spring grows “triffid like” as you watch, as you can see from the photograph on the left. It reaches for the stars and I can often be found on a ladder trying to catch up.

In my spare time this weekend I have been studying the tarot, in particular the 5D aspects.  I even pulled out my old book called “The Flight of the Feathered Serpent”.  This book on the tarot was thought to be unusual in the 1970’s when I purchased it, but is a collectors item now.  My dealer says that even with my margin notes and scribbles,  it is worth $1,300 which is not a bad investment seeing I scraped together $35 when I bought it.  I am not selling.  It is a great book and I pull it out whenever I have an unusual or difficult tarot reading coming up.  It is an inspirational book.  Unfortunately I couldn’t afford the cards when I bought the book, and it has been years since I have seen a deck.  This being the case, they are probably out of my price bracket now.

Please book a zoom Tarot reading – I would love to work with you. Email for a booking: yogafirst2@bigpond.com

I am a “midnite sewer/darner” and usually pick up sewing about 8pm even on the weekend.  I am usually wide awake (having had a 7pm short cat nap), and I get a lot done.  Unfortunately it is midnite or later when I suddenly realise the time and go to bed.  I do not do a 5am meditation, it is 6.30 before I “sit” but I sit for a long time. It is important to do this every morning, and I do.  Plus a have a spiritual reading time morning and nite, which is a kind of meditation of itself.

AROUND YOUR HOME

If you are looking for yoga to effect a change, to “make you well”, to diminish your anxiety or anything else,  then stop a minute and understand that yoga is not a “pill”.  Yoga is a lifestyle, and to effect a change you are going to have to take it very seriously.  There is only one thing that can change you, and that is you.  Don’t imagine for a second that one class of yoga or meditation is going to cure your ills.  The one hour with me needs to be the “top-up” to your daily yoga program.

In the beginning this can be a 3 MINUTE MEDITATION followed by a 7 MINUTE “5 TIBETAN” REGIME.  If you have do this DAILY, then yoga will change you.  If you can only do yoga for one or once a week, and 10 minutes “when you have time?”, then probably it won’t change much at all, except you will be able to say to your family and friends “of course, I do yoga”.  It needs to be genuine LOVE of yoga and not a need or want – “If I do this yoga must to do that!!!!”  You can’t SHOP for wellness, even with yoga.

If you have been reading (or you-tubing) about a new yoga program you think will ease your pains, and expect to do it for a month and nothing more will be needed, please understand that it is highly unlikely.  It is a good place to start, but it is not a good place to finish.  A month is an introduction that is all it is.  

I would love to have you as a student, especially if it is the beginning of a lifelong practice.  What if you don’t like it?  We all get those days.  The heroes in the class pay no attention to these days and march on through them.. learning along the way what yoga really is.  It is a health regime for body mind and spirit.  It is not a magic wand.  There are no “Harry Potter Moments”.

If you are able to dedicate a small amount of every day to yoga – 10 MINUTES at the same time in the same place – then we can guarantee that life will change for you.  No complicated breathing, no flexibility,  no olympic effort required.  Just a genuine desire, having tried other things which have not worked very well,  to invest 10 minutes a day, every day, in yoga.  I wrote about the Vagus nerve last week.  A regime like this is KEY. 

 

CURRENT STUDIO/ZOOM SCHEDULE: (Studio Yoga – Mondays at 1pm are Full)  (PLEASE BOOK AHEAD – NO YOGA STUDIO DROP-INS, sorry)

ZOOM: Mon. 6.30 FREE OF CHARGE Teacher Training, Tues. Herb workshop 7.30 ($50 per month – part of the Bach Therapist Course), Friday 6.45 Tarot –  $50 for 4 Friday classes.
STUDIO YOGA:Mon. 1pm (full) 2.15pm, Wed. 1pm Restorative(vacancy for July only), 2.15pm  Friday 1pm, 2.15 Hatha. (Possible Sat.1pm Hatha or restorative).
Fridays only – If you book you can join us at 3pm for a short meditation session on Fridays only.  Because it is the end of the class and I need to plan, you will need to book.

CONSULTATIONS: Zoom Tarot/Bach/QHHT HYPNOTHERAPY (a very powerful form of hypnotherapy), Bowen or a combo – by appointment only.  $85 To discuss or book,  email  yogafirst2@bigpond.com

MONTHLY LUNCHEON:   Thursday 28th July at 12noon at “The Vic” in Woodend (If you are running a bit late, relax, it’s OK – drop in for dessert.  We have the meeting room, so it is separate and quieter).  Please let me know if you can join us.  We will post an invite closer to the day.   RSVP PLEASE

WEEKLY MEETINGS:  We have free Teacher Training zoomed on Mondays 6.30pm, and we began our yoga teacher asana class/meeting in the studio WHICH WE HAVE ORGANISED FOR EVERY SECOND SUNDAY BETWEEN 2 and 3pm.  NEXT STUDIO TEACHER TRAINING CLASS Sunday 31st July at 2pm.

OPEN STUDIO. Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July,  2pm to 4pm BOTH DAYS.   I have been looking forward to this right through Covid.  Please pop in between 2 and 4pm on the day and see (purchase) paintings,  my dolls and other goodies – herbs, smoking herbs, vintage items and fabulous pendulums.  You can even have a lesson in using the one you purchase.  Of course there will be champers and Christmas nibbles.
It is after all July and we can have a CHRISTMAS IN JULY. .  You can even come and discuss a tarot booking, 

I WILL SEE YOU ON THE MAT (or zoom).

NAMASTE – JAHNE