Dear Yogis,

I am excited.  The Bach Remedies have not only brought people to me, but I can also work in garden and know I am helping others, not just enjoying myself.  I can teach. How good is that!  And i can start writing little books again.  I am going to do three little books (like Beatrix Potter’s “Bunny Books”).  Bach for Bees and Insects, Bach for plants and Bach for Animals.  There are a lot of books out there about Bach for people.  My books will be sold with a little set of remedies. A kit.   

I am especially looking forward to treating BEES with Bach Remedies.  No, I won’t be rubbing their little tummies with remedies, but I am giving a squick spray at the door, or when the hive cover is removed.  Bach is especially gentle (being an energy remedy) in settling a hive after relocation, or when re-housing a swarm, or helping an aggressive queen re-adjust.

Just think, I have been working with Bach Remedies since 1973, and have only now begun to learn about helping bees.  I have always used Bach in the garden.  At present I am using them to control thrip, snails and slugs, and assisting in plant recovery when the danger has passed.

And they WORK.  To learn more you could come to the herbal workshop on Tuesdays at 7.30.

HERBS IN THE KITCHEN:   I do know that in the kitchen I do everything the hard way – I use a knife to chop, a hotplate to heat and scales to weight things… you may have a thermomix!  But whatever you use, please start to recognise plants around you.  They make such a difference not just to the way you live, your level of wellness, but also how much money you have in your purse at the end of the week.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10.30 in Woodend,  I will be taking a couple of students for a walk along the creek and surrounds to identify herbs (Not a suitable walk for dogs, prams or small children – we will plan another walk to incorporate small people).  You are welcome to join us.  Please email me if you are interested. yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

COMPASSIONATE “CRAFT” COMPANIONS:

In 2014 (yes that long ago), a collaboration took place between textile artist Celia Pym and Dr. Richard Wingate of the Developmental Neurology Department Kings College London.  Celia is active in creating works that make use of knitting and darning,   Richard is researching the psychological effects of anatomic training on medical students.  They discovered that darning and surgery have something in common MENDING.  So they conducted an experiment in which Celia worked in a corner of the dissecting room to darn for three months.  Every day Celia mended clothes brought in by Medical Students and teaching staff.  From those who brought things to be mended she heard about their feeling for their clothes and the process of the damage, and from this she would gain some understanding of their habits and lifestyle.

In the dissecting room, students work on cadavers every day.  Some students were disturbed by the unfamiliarity of the work, and in these moments they would sit by Celia while she worked.

Celia said “I go into training room, and I darn whilst talking to the students.  No matter how well the repairs go, the item will never be new again, but it will be able to be used and loved.  It is the same with the body.

Darning and surgery is a shared experience... They both share DISSECTION – dissecting the damaged area, VERIFICATION – assessing and interpreting the the degree of damage, and SUTURING – stitching.  Over the course of this experiment and going forward, Richard observed that Celia reduced the tension in the training room, and having similar healing intentions to the students, helped still their minds.

Whilst not all The Compassionate Companions will be happy with incorporating craft into their repertoire, there are a few (like me) who see it as the key to their usefulness.  Think about it.  How many tense persons are there in waiting rooms, about to go into surgery, in recovery, or having various kinds of chemotherapy?  Mending applies to all of these, and bringing calmness to the patients goes a long way to helping a good recovery.  I am sure how much easier it is to talk to strangers if your hands are busy…

I feel that in the process of mending I am in fact, mending more than just the garment. The process enables people to approach me, or the (Compassionate Companion) for advice and also to talk candidly about the meaning implied in restoring a treasured piece of clothing. Sometimes, the garment will have been the property of a loved one who has died, so repairing it, she says, enables the relationship to continue. The act of mending artfully is a form of caring and memorialisation.

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:
Yoga Studio. Monday 1pm, Wednesday and Friday 5.30
ZOOM. Monday 6.30 Teacher Training – Gita.  Tuesday 7.30 Herbal Workshop, Friday 6.45 Tarot

I WILL SEE YOU ON THE MAT (with or without darning)

NAMASTE. JAHNE

 

 

Dear Yogis,

Whoopee do!  The end of the week, not that it makes any difference to me.  I work most days, and on my day off, it seems i work harder than most other days – although what I work “AT”, has changed. In my younger years, I slaved away, and like some of you out there, I took may be four of more classes A DAY!  If there was an hour to spare, I squeezed a class into it.  I remember having to take vegetables and rice to the studio to make sure I didn’t  loose too much weight.  I don’t have that problem now!  I have a web site for lots of “other” things.  www.jhwilliams.online

Now I do all different things.  I do a lot of writing (I have just found a publisher interested in my work!).  I paint from time to time.  The things I like to paint you may not like – I like abstracts although I do scientific illustration from time to time.  I like to play with paint.  I don’t like my painting being too serious.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching and that is why my writing is becoming so important to me.  I can teach, and you can learn, and I don’t have to turn up for a class.  It is all online.

I like darning and darn my own clothes instead of replacing them.  

I like kintsungi – the Japanese way of fixing ceramics with gold.  A beautiful way of saying how much you value a precious piece.

I like the Tarot – because it is helpful, and shows people stuck and confused a road out.  Don’t come to me if all you want is to find the “ideal partner”.  There is no such thing.  Every relationship takes time, forgiveness and patience.

And I like you.  I would love to help you in any way I can.  Bach therapies, the Tarot, my oils, the Ionic Spa.  Anything.  Tell me how i can help, and I will help you.  That is why we were all put here – to serve.

But whatever i do – I like to teach others how to do them.

SCHEDULE;
STUDIO YOGA – Monday 1pm, Wednesday 5.30 and Friday 5.30
ZOOM: MONDAY  6.30 GITA,   TUESDAY 7.30 HERBAL WORKSHOP (I can record, please show your interest), FRIDAY 6.45 TAROT

 

I will see you on the mat.

Namaste. Jahne

 

 

Dear Yogis,

Wednesday again. More is happening in the studio as students get over their FOGO (Fear of going out) and come back to class.  It must be emphasised that here at the studio we ask that our students comply with the covid requirements primarily because we have people coming to class who are severely immune compromised.

SCHEDULE;
STUDIO YOGA – Monday 1pm, Wednesday 5.30 and Friday 5.30
ZOOM: MONDAY  6.30 GITA,   TUESDAY 7.30 HERBAL WORKSHOP (I can record, please show your interest), FRIDAY 6.45 TAROT

DID YOU KNOW?

One of my favourite architects is CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH(1868-1928) and one of my most favourite buildings is The Hill House near Glasgow,  considered to be Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s domestic masterpiece. Working to a commission from Glasgow book publisher Walter Blackie, up-and-coming architect Mackintosh and his wife Margaret created almost everything, from the building itself to the furniture and textiles.

Mackintosh was a revolutionary designer, but the materials and techniques at the cutting edge of architectural design in 1900 haven’t withstood a century of the west of Scotland’s harsh, wet weather conditions.  In Helensburgh it rains 190 days of the year, and due to its revolutionary construction, the external render of the property has not proved watertight and the walls have gradually become saturated and are crumbling, with water now threatening the interiors. It has been likened to an aspirin in a class of water – it is crumbling.

The National Trust took the remarkable step of (hand) building a chain mail construction which totally encapsulates the house.  This method not only allows the house to “breathe” and to gradually dry out, it also (through a series of walkways) allows the public to view right around and over the top of this remarkable house – views that even Mackintosh himself would never have been able to see.

An added benefit is that when the house has dried out and the problem rectified, the whole chain mail construction, being steel, will be able to be melted down and made into something else – it is able to be recycled! The photo to the left is one of the rooms of HillHouse.   Please google it – it is worth the effort.

HERBAL WORKSHOP:  Yesterday we looked at the Rescue Remedy not just for people but also for animals, bird and even BEES (I bet the beekeepers among you have never thought of this use).  Bees are so attuned to energies around them, making Bach remedies the perfect healers for their vibrant communities…  If you  use Bach in your garden and your beehives, you have the perfect system.   I haven’t totally solved the snail problem in the garden using Bach Remedies, but I am working on it.

Considering daily use with our friends, families and clients, we related the remedies to the appropriate meridians, and how we could most effectively use the remedies with these energy channels.  I am sure that Edward Bach would have included this philosophy of healing had he known about it.  It is so remarkably able to be integrated, and still remains simple, which is what Bach designed the remedies to be.

 

SEE YOU ON THE MAT.

NAMASTE – JAHNE