Dear Yogis,

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT TEACHER TRAINING IS THIS SUNDAY AT 2PM IN THE STUDIO ($20 per 2 hour session).

FRIDAY 6.30PM: TAROT READINGS AVAILABLE WITH ME.  ZOOM.  For Regular taroistas and teachers the cost is $75
SATURDAY: 2pm deferred because of the Studio Teacher Training on Sunday in Studio
SUNDAY 10am GITA STUDY – Zoom or Studio –this session may be duplicated during the afternoon Teacher Training to enable everyone to come.  TEACHER TRAINING – STUDIO – 2PM Our regular monthly class – a duplication of the morning Gita Study plus Q and A..

ALL ZOOM/STUDIO SESSIONS.  The Gita,  Rumi, Tarot and Studio Sessions are charged on a session basis.  If you have not caught up with payment recently, please go to www.yogabeautiful.com.au and click on PAY VIA PAYPAL in the bottom left hand corner and catch up with your payment please.

 

THE BARDO THODOL

HOW ARE YOU LIVING – ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT “WHAT COMES NEXT”?

We are almost finished THE GITA FOR OUR SECOND READING, AND AS THERE IS ALREADY SOME INTEREST, WHEN  WE FINISH,  WE COULD START STUDYING THE BARO THODOL (The Tibetan Book of the Dead), or we could explore the Bible.

Whilst the Bible seems the lesser choice of the two, The King James version (called “The Book of Books”) has had a very exciting history.  It has always been a “revolutionary document”.  It has caused the death of kings, started wars, propelled explorers, and instigated revolutions, as well as being the most published (and maybe read) book in the world..  I think it would be a good study, especially as we are all familiar with it although we may not consider we are.  Our government and our legal system are both predicated on its teachings for instance.   We could study the history, and then take on the actual work.

Both texts would surprise you.  In studying one alongside the other we could see what chapters in the Bible sit alongside the preparation for Dying (and living) found in the Bardo Thodol.  This should keep our minds suitably engaged at least until the end of the year.

The bar do thos grol is known in the west as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a title popularized in the West,   but as such virtually unknown in Tibet.   The Tibetan Book of the Dead was first published in 1927 by Oxford University Press.  Dr. Walter Y. Evans-Wentz chose this title because of the parallels he found with the Egyptian Book of the Dead.  The finest extant example of the Egyptian Book of the Dead in antiquity is the Papyrus of Ani an Egyptian scribe. It was discovered by Sir E.A.Wallis Budge in 1888 and was taken to the British Museum where it currently resides. Budge was a scoundrel of an archaeologist when they all were bent on discovering treasure and repatriating it to England.

Contrary to the general belief spread in the West by Evans-Wentz, in Tibetan Buddhist practice the Tibetan Book of the Dead is not read to the people who are passing away, but it is rather used during life by those who want to learn to visualize what will come after death in order that they can amend their current life.   It is this aspect that we will be focussing on when we move forward in its study probably in late June after we have concluded the Gita for the second time….

For now, we are concluding the Gita, which we have also read alongside the Bible as Yogananda who wrote a very good translation was a Christian as well as a yogi.  One book does not contradict the other, and most stories can be backed up by archaeology – see the National Geographic specials by Roland Lim currently airing on pay TV..

 

SEE YOU ON SUNDAY OR ON ZOOM.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

Dear Yogis,

FRIDAY:   NEW. ZOOM TAROT READINGS – “CONNECT WITH SPIRIT” 6.30pm to 8pm (see details below).
SATURDAY: ZOOM 2pm Tarot and Art.
SUNDAY: 10am GITA and 2pm YOGA TEACHER TRAINING IN THE STUDIO (Yes, its the 1st Sunday in the Month)

MORE ZOOM TAROT READINGS:  Connect with SPIRIT:  I am starting a regular Friday Night Zoom Group 6.30 to 8pm, where I will be doing readings.  These are like my one-on-one readings which have taken place with clients from all over the world during Covid – now it’s your turn.  It is a reading intensive for almost the whole of the 90 minutes. I will only be taking  maximum of 5 persons at this event so if you want a reading the cost is $75 per person (normally $125). To book your spot please email me in the first instance yogafirst2@bigpond.com.  Then payment can be made as usual through PayPal.

PRIVATE ONE-ON-ONE ZOOM (or studio) READINGS…
Private (one-on-one) readings with Jahne are done over ZOOM (can be in the studio if you prefer).   Payment must be made at the time of booking. Private readings are approximately 1 hour – $125 per reading…. If you are a regular “zoom Reading Client” with private or group sessions,  there is a 10% discount.
To request a private reading please email yogafirst2@bigpond.com

 

“THE MIDNITE DARNER”

Thanks for the feedback and thumbs up in the last email about mending/darning.  Today my Australian Yoga Journal arrived in the post, and guess what….there was an article on pages 24 and 25 in that journal by well known yogi Cyndie Lee (founder of OM YOGA in New York City) on mending and darning.  Apparently Cyndi is another darning afficionado.

Darning is not just about darning.  We have to connect with the damaged item, search in our stash for the perfect patch, or the perfect wool match – right colour, strength and size.  In my house as in Cyndi’s, no fabric gets thrown out.  We repurpose even the smallest piece.  The actual act of darning takes me back to my mother and father who both encouraged me in re-puposing garments.  I learned to sew by hand and then by machine with lessons at The Singer Sewing Centre on the corner of Swanston St. and Lonsdale Streets in Melbourne (probably before most yogis reading this were born).

In the same way I learned to read the tarot and tea leaves, I learned to embroider from my father, and knit, darn and mend from anyone in the family. It was almost by osmosis.  Learning without learning – just doing.   I wish I had learned to mend shoes – my dad had lasts and used to do that too.  There were NO shops in our district for years.  Everything was delivered by horse drawn carts, and then by small rickety vans.   The milk delivered into billy cans hung on the fence, ice in chunks for the “ice-chest” (before refrigeration) the bread a couple of times a week, vegetables and fruit from the Chinese Market gardeners (plus we grew our own), and household linens and stuff from the Jewish travellers who even took Lay-by.   It was a different life.  Covid has had me focus more on those times.

Because I learned to be self sufficient in my youth,  Covid was just a reminder of how things were way back then.  I felt comfortable there.  Now, I had another skill I could bring to the mix – YOGA.  The idea that mending is a meditation, and like working in a garden,  is the opportunity to slow down, think (meditate) and give thanks.  The patience comes from hours on the mat.

THE YOGA OF DARNING

Mending, Sewing on a patch, and darning socks or sweaters is like practising yoga – The word Vinyasa comes from the Sanskrit which means “Placing in a special way”.  Each yoga movement is in three parts –  arising, abiding and dissolving.  Both the movement of the needle and the ageing of the garment all have these elements.  The arising, the abiding and the dissolving which allows another arising and so on.  Stitch by stitch,  breath by breath the garment is made whole but only in the moment.  As soon as it is mended, once again it is moving through time to its dissolution.  Nothing is forever, nor would we want it to be.  Honouring each thing and loving it whilst it is in our care is an important aspect of personal responsibility.

I also repurpose jewellery from the op shops.  Cleaning and repairing so they can sell the good bits, breaking into groups what is left to be given to schools for their craft classes… nothing is wasted.  Nothing is landfill.  Everything can be used again (and again).

Whether we are speaking of sweaters, socks, shoes, jewellery, whatever personal items come into our hands, I am aware that they belonged to someone who loved them – and I feel the vibrations of that person.  They may not have understood who grew the fibre, dyed it, made it up or sold it, but the important thing is I DO.  I honour those makers when I mend something and I honour the garment or article by giving it a new life.   A beautiful, careful mend done with love is a badge of honour.

For me mending, darning, doing more with less, re-using,  re-purposing and recycling –  is an art form and an aspect of MY YOGA PRACTICE.  If we all supported this attention, this interdependence, it could create a global awareness and activism towards a more sustainable way of life.  

All you need to start is a needle and thread.. and please teach your children.

 

I will meet you on the mat.

Namaste – Jahne

Dear Students

Another week has rolled around..  whatever else you choose to do, please support ‘REAL YOGA’ (the kind that is not about the perfect pose).  We miss you, and I am sure your other teachers do too.

MONDAY.  1pm Studio Yoga, 6.30pm TEACHER TRAINING (zoom) – “Forgiveness Pt.3. This is a free session.
TUESDAY. 7.30 RUMI (zoom)
WEDNESDAY. Studio 5.30 Yoga.

We have had wonderful classes, especially the Sunday morning Gita.  We are nearly to the end of the Gita readings, and are considering an ongoing class which will compare THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD to the Ancient Biblical Scriptures…  I am looking forward to it.  Whilst most students were reluctant so speak of or read about God, quite a lot of interest has grown around this subject, and I would like to continue.  If you would like to join us on a Sunday morning you are more than welcome.  If you are serious about your studies I would suggest it is something that you need.  This also applies to the FREE Teacher Training Classes we have on a Monday at 6.30pm.  If you want to progress you should join us.  At the moment we are exploring forgiveness.  You may think this is not yogic, but we disagree.  There is a lot we have to forgive ourselves (and others) for – on and off the mat.  Of course, if what you are looking for is a fitness class or to teach a purely fitness class, well, we have never taught that, and we won’t be in the future.

 

THE MIDNITE DARNER

The last few nights I have been catching up with my darning (I call myself “THE MIDNITE DARNER”).  It is the best time of the day for me, and I get heaps done at this time.  The rest of the day is just a practice run.  You may think of darning as a waste of time.  For me it is like yoga teaching, those people who don’t think they are worth my effort, are probably the ones who shine once I have “darned” their yoga souls. Teaching, darning, gardening, mending – they are all the same.  Making something when nothing was there.  Manifesting.  The question is – WHAT ARE YOU MANIFESTING?

If you want your precious items mended or darned, please email me a picture of the problem, I will give you a quote – yes, mending is an art and is not done on a machine in 5 minutes –  and then you can post it to me,  and I will post back on completion.  In Japan, darning is recognised as an art, and darned items are precious.  The darn is a badge of honour and often done in a contrasting colour to show it off, and to recognise the value and esteem in which you hold the item.  Like my hat which is almost all darn now, but there is no way I will throw it out – I will wear it until it is absolutely falling to bits  with no rescue possible, and then it can live on the hat rack after a life of good service.  ART.

Darning is a way to help the world.  A lost ART FORM and way of re-using and honouring your best pieces…  Even Vivienne Westwood celebrates (and has spoken openly and often) about buying less and loving our items of clothing more….  Look at your wardrobe, and send me things to darn that need help being beautiful once again.. Even jeans. 

I am going to start accumulating jeans and other discarded items from the op shops, mending them – making them better than they were in the beginning without the badge of honour,  and having a monthly sale and demonstration.  I will have lots at the upcoming “RESCUED – THE LOST ART OF DARNING DAY….” wait and see.  

Darning is like yoga.  I take an article has been discarded, forgotten, relegated to the back of the wardrobe.  Perhaps a garment that has a big hole.  I darn and blend it once again into the fabric of the garment – It is a long job that takes time and patience…however,  if the damage was recognised and caught whilst it was a small hole not yet a threat to the whole garment, energy,  time and money would have been saved.  The garment made new, sometimes better than it was originally.  

See you on the (mended) mat

NAMASTE.  JAHNE