Dear Yogis,

What an a mazing time we live in.  Here I am after many years of yoga learning new skills, technology, and re-organising EVERYTHING.  If just learning the violin can stave off alzheimers, then turning your life inside out and starting over may be even more effective.

Thank you for supporting me in this.  I am getting into a routine of sending out ID’s, ordering the printing of tarot and tea leaf cards on time, making sure my books are available on Etsy, dealing with postage issues, learning to teach yoga via zoom (there is only ONE vacancy in the Zoom Teacher Training class), and so on.  In a week or so I am taking my computer into the kitchen for a zoom herbal class – growing, harvesting, foraging, identifying, cooking….All the things I personally like doing, and bringing to you.  Life is full and fantastic.  I could be home worrying about everything, but thanks to you, I have a mission and in spite of conditions, I am still marching on wards – “saving the world one yogi at a time”.

Because all this computer technology is new to me I have had to learn new ways of doing things.  Without a yoga mindset I could not work within this new framework.  One of the critical factors is being able to sleep deeply at night.  I can do that.  I could sleep on a washing line.  I know I need to take time to relax.  Any other way will lead to burn out.  One of my students asked “How can I step up when the moment, when big change, arises?”.

Firstly we have to redefine the question.. not only do we have to be good at waiting (locked indoors in covid), we have to love it.  Waiting or not waiting.  This is how life is.  Too many of my students live without fully engaging their minds.  They are waiting for “the next thing”.  Waiting for that something when they imagine their real lives will begin.   Sometime out there when things become normal. Not under-standing that it has already arrived.  They might say “I am bored” as Covid bites into their recreation, but that is OK because when they discover what is in front of them (and love it) they will begin.

The problem with this is that if you are not living in the moment, your true love could come and go and you would not even notice.

I believe (and have told you often) that an appreciation for simplicity, the ability to discover life’s riches in the everyday that most people wouldn’t even notice, is where success life’s richness, success and ultimately happiness emerges.

Things are going to change but we don’t know how.  When crunch time arrives to have success, you need to have integrated healthy patterns into your day-to-day life so your life flows when the pressure arrives. The perfect concentration tool IS NOT waiting in the wings somewhere for you to discover and slip into it like a new coat.

Create an easy routine that becomes second nature. Serene. For me, for many years it has been like this.  Even when I was a single mum of two children coping with all the pressures and starting up the yoga business – this has been mine from 5am in the morning.   It starts with a long meditation and breathing, water (a shower meditation?), reading, eating, stretching always returning to “the presence” and the breath,  then into the office… sometimes a little change but basically that is it.

If there is NOTHING in your life that feels serene, meditation is the perfect start, the perfect HOBBY, to help you in your search for a routine that is just yours.  Maybe a CD, a song could be the springboard to the new you? Put on the song and flow into your routine.  There is no wrong way, no right way,  only THE way for you.

My morning routine has been practised over so many years that it is like an internal clock.  I only notice when I have missed a step and in retrospect.  I know that this routine has greatly enhanced the quality of life, and in times of stress made it seem easy to those watching.  The everyday becomes beautiful.  The moment becomes the moment,  and it is the essence of how I have learned to live.

Check with the web site yogabeautiful.com.au to discover how we can work together in this time of zoom.  Classes come and go as clients book in (or not).  I work so we can grow.  Grow with me.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

 

Dear Yogis,

Keeping in mind that this is the only way I have to speak to you all -Today we are looking at HERBAL WONDERFULS.  If you look at herb companies you will find that many of the staples for colds, flu and respiratory complaints are out of stock.  But not here!  My garden is bursting with new life in spite of the cold weather and I have lots of unusual herbs not available elsewhere at the moment.  Have you wondered why they are out of stock?  Because THEY WORK and people are buying LOTS, especially those herbs which work on the immune system and respiratory issues.  I am nearly finished the booklet and will put it in the shop and on Etsy when it is ready to download.

I have Dried my herbs.  All organically grown, all picked at the perfect time and dried within an hour of picking.  You can’t get better than that. Add $3 for postage to all herbs.  All these herbs are easy to use.  Simple to use in fact.

Keep in mind that they are very light, so 2 grams might not seem much, but it goes a long way.  Why are they expensive? Easy,  they are not imported, I grow them, collect early in the morning, then they are dried, trimmed and dehydrated before all the packaging process.  It is fiddly, but you will see it is worth it. You can of course process your own.  These are herbs are all easily available in your garden (except Damiana).

CLEAVERS (sticky weed). $4.50 for 10 grams. You might dismiss this as a nuisance in your garden, but I use it as a green in soups, stews, and pestos (steam first). The seeds can ground and  be used as a coffee substitute. The dried herb steeped in oil is good for aching bones and muscular issues. Fresh, steeped over time in white wine with mint it becomes a lovely aperitif.

HERB ROBERT $3.50 for 3 grams. This is a herb that it being explored for its anti cancer properties.  Especially good as a tea in cases of cancer of the mouth and aesophagus.  I use it every day in soups, salads, stews, omelettes.  Every meal feature this herb just because I like it and I have plenty.  It tastes lovely and it is reputed to have cancer beating properties.  I used to think it was a weed, now I encourage it.

OLIVE LEAF.  $15.00 for 5 grams.  Fantastic to relieve respiratory symptoms (quickly). My clients and I use this daily during the flu season.  It is magic that is why Olive Leaf Extracts are on sale everywhere.  Coles prices go up and down, mine don’t.. It is my most used and loved go-to tincture.

DAMIANA. $8.50 for 10 g.  This is not grown in my garden.  It is a South American herb, credited with assisting in drug and alcohol recovery, nicotine and drug withdrawal.   It is relaxing, calming.  You may like it if you suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression.  Historically used for bladder issues..  This has long been used as a substitute for other “relaxing” herbs.  If you have sleep problems, this is the herb for you.  It promotes pleasant dreams. It is not recommended for people who suffer from HBP, liver problems, diabetes, or during pregnancy.

All herbs need to be used with care.  Please investigate, use sparingly then increase the dosage gently.  I am not a trained herbalist and  grow herbs I can use in salads and stews.  Damiana is not one of these.  Use with care.  The old adage, “if in doubt, DON’T”, applies.

BLUEBERRY LEAF, RASPBERRY LEAF, ELDERBERRY FLOWERS,  and HAWTHORN and more (not available until spring).

If you are interested in any of these herbs which come with instructions, we can post them to you.  Just email your order to me (I will put them in our shop when I have the photographs required).

 

ZOOM AND YOGA

This is my first week teaching Restorative via ZOOM.  If you want to come to a Restorative Yoga class –  they are Monday at 1pm, Wednesday at 12.30 and 5.30, Friday at 5.30 and Saturday at 12.30. If you want to join us you will need props.  For the Restorative with Weights and Straps you will need weights, or a couple of small cans of pet food, a strap of some kind, a blanket and a cushion.  For Restorative – a blanket, a couple of cushions, a mat.  Better to have a selection than not enough.  Bring them to the Zoom class.

Because it is my first ZOOM YOGA and I will be learning the limitations of the system, please be patient.  We will get better.  If you need more props you can go get them during class.

TEACHER TRAINING is this coming Sunday at 10am, and the Hypermobility lecture will be on Tuesday at 7.30 – this week is the third of three session.  Both are ongoing.  Teacher Training is paid for by session.  If you are doing teacher training this is extra to the course as it is optional, and Hypermobility is $35 for three.  Don’t forget to put the time you spend with me in your passport.

Remember, dreaming BIG takes the same effort as dreaming small. Martin Luther King said “You don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”.  Imagine this.  Two dinosaurs sitting on a beach watching as the ark sails into the sunset.  One dinosaur to the other..”…was that today?”  (and we know what happened to the dinosaurs).

LIVE LONG (FORAGE) AND PROSPER.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE

 

 

 

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