Dear Yogis,

Here we are, day four of the lock-down.  Although it was initially flagged that it may be in place until the 26th Feb not 17/18, nothing more has been said.  So we are in suspense.  Probably, as things are going well the government will be anxious to end the lockdown asap.

That being as it may, we keep on keeping on.  We still have our classes via zoom for those who want to do it this way, postponed for those who want to come to class in the studio and art etc on zoom as usual, and times below….

ZOOM/STUDIO CLASSES THIS WEEK.  Go to the home page to choose your class, pay or email to enquire.

MONDAY: 6.30 Last nite was our last Hypermobility class.  Next week will be replacing this with a class on THE BREATH.  A series of three studies following on from the workshop on the 20th
TUESDAY: 7.30pm Our Beautiful RUMI CLASS tonite.  This is such a wonderful study, and I invite you to join us even if you think it wouldn’t interest you or apply to you.  If you have been in love, want to be in love, if you meditate (if you think), you will resonate to this study.
TUESDAY BOTANICAL ART CLASS:  I will be available from next week to have an art class on Tuesday afternoon.  If you are not able to come to the Botanical Saturday Art Class, you may be able to join us on Tuesday afternoon.  They can be interchangeable.  If you miss Saturday, you can make up on Tuesday.
SATURDAY BREATH WORKSHOP: 20th February (this saturday)10am.  You may think you know everything about your breath.  Think again.  I knew hardly anything, and I meditate every day, read everyday, study everyday.  I am so excited to bring this study to you.
SATURDAY 2PM:  Day one of our Botanical art class.  If you want to come, there is a materials list.  Email me. I am told by those students who keep track that the Studio date is the 27th.  We could move that along… depends who comes to class.
SUNDAY 10AM:  THE GITA STUDY.  A highlight of the week. If you are a yoga teacher, if you are a thinking person, if you want to succeed in your life, then you would do well to join us.

ARE YOU IN HIDING?

Some of my students say they have “FOGO”.  Fear Of Going Out!  For many people, “religion” is a place to hide.  A warm, secure place to hide from fear – and there is a lot of fear and anxiety in the world now.   Hiding can be a comfortable way to live – If you are convinced you have the answers, there is no great need to ask questions.  If you live in a narrow, circumscribed world there is no need, no passion to explore new ideas.

Maybe like you, my parents especially my mother’s family stayed close to home.  They were born in a certain street with cousins and relatives around them in that street, and rarely did people move away from what could be seen as an extended family.  They didn’t go long distances.  They lived, wed, had babies, and died in the house their parents died in.  Few people moved outside the safety of their tribe.  Not my folk.  My mother moved halfway around the world.  She didn’t want to be constrained by the judgement of her relatives and neighbours.  She moved her body – but she didn’t move her mind, and interestingly when death was close, she went physically back to that street!  She was not curious, and was content to remain within the parameters she designed for herself around religious and social rules.  My mum read (and later watched) only “feel good” stories, her mind curtailed by her schooling and her church which manipulated our supernatural natures.

For things to change fundamentally for her, and for you to change and grow, a number of things need to happen.

1. You need a purpose for your life.  Something that pushes you forward out of your comfort zone, and gives your life meaning above the need to earn money.. above survival.
2. You need a role model, teacher or a mentor.  If you don’t know you can change and grow, you won’t change or grow.
3. You need a Sangha – A community.  A group who will explain you to you, and who will encourage you to expand your mind into areas that will challenge you, and support you as the going gets tough –  as it will.

No matter what or where your belief systems lives, I hope like me you have been called into an ABUNDANT LIFE,  irrespective of the circumstances you find yourselves in.  We are invited to  experience that wholeness and freedom which allows us to give away our life in both love and service to others.  Paul in his letters in the Bible to the  community of Colossians said that we are meant to be partakers of “The inheritance of the Saints in Light” (Col.1.12).  This love and service will allow you to grow beyond your survival fears deeply ingrained in our evolutionary history,  which often cause us to victimise people who are different or who think differently, instead of seeing them as a mirror of ourselves.

Today I am excited to be in a place where spirituality is being explored as never before, deeper than we have ever witnessed.   The task of faith has become therefore not the task of believing the UNBELIEVABLE, but the task of living, loving and being.  The mission is no longer to convert, it is to transform the world one yogi at a time, and thus get closer to to the source of life, the source of love and find THE COURAGE TO BE…

“I feel myself so much part of everything living that I am not the least concerned with the beginning or ending of the concrete existence of any one person in this eternal flow…” (- Albert Einstein).

 

I WILL MEET YOU THERE. ON THE MAT. 

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

 

Dear Yogis,

ZOOM DURING THE LOCK-DOWN:
MONDAY: 1pm Yoga Class 6.30pm Hypermobility
TUESDAY: 7.30pm THE RUMI STUDY
FRIDAY: 5.30pm Restorative Studio Class (depending on lock-down being lifted)  6.45 The FREE Pendulum/Tarot class.

SATURDAY: 10am THE BREATH WORKSHOP (you all should join this), 2pm THE TAROT/ART GROUP

SUNDAY: 10am, THE GITA WORKSHOP

 

THE SUNDAY GITA STUDY GROUP

To those who got there on time and ready – Thank you for coming to the Gita Study Group on Sunday morning.  

Following are some thoughts I have had since the class, about you teaching your students or you serving your community however small or large it may be, relevant to what we discussed in the Gita Study group whilst we shared.   We are starting the Gita from the beginning again – you could join us.

Teaching is opening your door to the world.  If students come in through that door, they are admitting they have a need, but they don’t come empty handed.  Everyone who comes to yoga is in pain – mental, emotional, spiritual  or physical.  They come with anxieties and issues (and excuses) because they need guidance,  direction however, most are just “kicking tyres” as we say.  They are not serious.  They are looking for a miracle – even a small one,  AND THEY COME WITH ALL KINDS OF EXPECTATIONS.  They want change as long as they are not the ones who have to change.

When students come with their mind already made up, guess what, no-one can satisfy them (no matter how hard you try).  They go away from the class disappointed, and they blame YOU.  Disappointment is about what they EXPECT to find. It is not about your class.   Sometimes our student’s expectations are so high we cannot ever satisfy them, they therefore get disappointed.  That is why we must rest in our own teacher, our texts, our classes, our notes, our study.  We need to know who we are, and where we are, and we need enough wisdom to go out  into the world teaching and serving, and then come back to our class (or our reading/our notes) for our own healing.

In order that we can teach, we need to separate ourselves from our student’s imperfections, whilst feeling all they feel with compassion.  We have to separate ourselves from these realities in order to speak truth.  You cannot lead people you are afraid of, or bound by.  If you are not careful, you can get trapped by their expectations and needs.  This means you cannot teach objectively and therefore cannot speak the truth they need to hear.  A true friend will always tell the truth – with love.

Teaching requires – consistency, maturity, strength, and decisiveness.  And I believe,  a conviction in your heart that you have been gifted.  A total package to a Divine Vocation – YOGA TEACHER.  You will be bringing your students out of darkness into the light.  However, if you are afraid of people, if you don’t love them, then you can’t lead them and you certainly can’t teach them..

Leadership is setting the example.  You need to be both close and separated in order to love, and in order to teach..

Leadership is about having good judgement.    Truth brings the conviction necessary for change.  What separates us from illusion is truth.  If you seek comfort you will not find the truth – if you seek the truth you MAY find comfort.  ALL TRUTH IS CONFRONTATIONAL, not in a harsh way –  but you sometimes need to stand your ground and deliver a truth gently but firmly.  It is not “grey”. Truth is what brings what is necessary for change, growth and maturity.  Love is the willingness to tell the truth – and only the truth that will set you free.  Telling the truth will not make you popular, you may make enemies –  that often happens when you tell the truth.

Are you courageous enough to be a teacher? A YOGA TEACHER?

MEET ME ON THE MAT.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

 

 

Dear Yogis,

In this time of COVID and our lock down, are you standing in the “VALLEY OF OPPORTUNITY”?  or are you in the “VALLEY OF THE VICTIM”?

I was reading the story of David and Goliath.  I am sure you know it.  We are living in the time of the Jewish people, a Biblical story.  A Battle has been waging (as in the Gita).  When David is sent to see what is happening, he reports back to his father Jesse, that NOTHING IS HAPPENING.  There is this giant, Goliath who comes on to the field every day about the same time and intimidates both forces.  Goliath has killed a few warriors, and no-one now wants to challenge him.  They are scared.  They are waiting for someone else to take the trouble away. The call goes out for another champion to face THE GIANT OF COMPLACENCY!  Do you recognise yourself in this story?  Is Covid your Giant? Are you waiting for someone else to help you through this time?

Is this you hoping Your Problem (whatever it is) will be gone, that your problem will go away, that somebody or something will come up with an answer, a remedy, a cure, a pill, a vaccination?  Are you like David – too small, too inexperienced, too short, no armour…? We need a mentality that says I am going to a temporary storm that is preparing me for a great thing to come..  Like David, keep your eyes on what you can’t see, not what you can see.  It is all about FAITH and HEART.

In the story David a young shepherd boy took on the giant.  He was not afraid, he knew what he was, he knew his strength.  He didn’t need validation or permission.  He wanted to face whatever was there head on.  He was patient and faithful to the Spirit, to God in his time on the Battlefield.  He knew his duty.  He didn’t care about the bluster and intimidating antics of the giant.  He didn’t care about history, or what other people said, and he knew that no-one thought that he could win, even the giant laughed – and that was his undoing.

We are told that the giant leaned back as he laughed, his face protection slipped, and David was waiting for that moment, the moment captured in the famous sculpture of David by Michelangelo.  (That moment of Samasthiti – the pose between poses).  David launched a stone from his sling shot and the giant was vanquished.  (The stone hit him in the Third Eye – but that is another yogic story).

Are you ready for your trials? Do you know who you are? Do you know your strengths?

Krsna (God) came to the Battlefield of Life and spoke to Arjuna, who was an ordinary warrior (like you), and showed him/us how to succeed.  It is not just about about slaying the Giant, it is HOW you slay the Giant.  Join us for the Gita Study, and learn about the Giant in your life….

Get around people with dreams – their love, their positive outlook, their victories are highly contagious.

 

I WILL SEE YOU ON MAT.

NAMASTE.