Dear Yogis,

IN THE STUDIO:  The second hand Paul Grilley DVD’s have sold and have been posted, but I do have some new DVD’s available.  If you would like a Yin Yoga or a Yoga Anatomy by Paul Grilley, please contact me.  I will sell them for $47.50 each plus $5 postage each.

What an unsettling time we are going through.  Nothing much to hang on to except for our yoga and our spiritual practice.  With that in mind, and wanting folk to come back to the REAL studio, no zoom, no computer stuff – we need real people – I am thinking of holding a Sunday morning practice.  Yoga Ninja at 10 (to let go of the week), followed by a Dharma Talk (to explore what is up ahead) , followed by a share lunch (to just be with others in a Buddhist way)?  Any takers – all by donation.  Can’t have many in the studio during Covid,  and in spite of this I would do it EVERY Sunday if I had enough interest, probably starting from the second Sunday in July..

The whole idea would be to help people improve their lives and mental states, rather than to give information about yoga and Buddhism merely to fuel an intellectual interest.

It would be important not to approach this time merely as an opportunity for study, but rather “talking the Dharma” an essential and time-honoured spiritual practice that (when completed well) develops wisdom, creates spiritual community, and gives us a context in which we can work on our habitual ways of being.  Put the big words away.  This is an opportunity to reframe our yoga (and our ego) so we can more intelligently interact with the world.  Know your purpose in this moment and there is no difficulty in knowing what to do!

Talking the Dharma is as important as meditation, it is not an optional extra. In the Pali Canon there are more cases of people breaking through to a new level as a result of exposure to the Dharma than as a result of meditation!

Dharma Study is the way that we develop wisdom – traditionally there are three steps..

*Wisdom which comes from hearing and learning

*Wisdom which comes from thinking and reflecting

*Wisdom which comes from meditative development

The last of these we recognise as REAL wisdom, but for just about all of us normal human beings, the others are essential steps without which the last wisdom never develops. We follow the precepts because it is what our heart wants us to do, fully acknowledging that we will frequently fail.   Sometimes it feels like sweeping a path in the middle of a dust storm, nevertheless less we keep on sweeping.

Working regularly with a group (a Sangha)  is supportive, challenging and constantly reminds us that our reactions are there to be transcended, not indulged.   It can become an exercise in mindfulness, communication and transcending our traditional ways of being – and at its best becomes a powerful way of practising the Dharma, creating harmony and a place of shared inspiration.

In our Sangha time we do not necessarily seek solutions to life problems, rather we will discover a new view of life which arises when the blocked energies within us find a way of release.

Join me.  Please email and register your interest.  It will be a small class due to covid, but useful and powerful nonetheless. The most effective way of helping others is to make spiritual progress oneself, and the best way to make spiritual progress oneself is to help others.

 

Have a wonderful day. and keep me in a bubble of wonderfulness as I negotiate buses, trams and people in my journey to the CBD today. I will be singing as I go.

NAMASTE.  JAHNE