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Newsletter May 2007
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Namaste yogis & yoginis,
Ever dream of living a yogic life?? Well for a week you can. I am holding a retreat at Springbrook in August. I chose the Springbrook venue for its innate serenity. Just being there creates a sense of surrender. I aim to blend the different aspects of yogic living, asana practice, meditation, philosophy, ayurvedic principles with great food, and a liberal dose of joy thrown in. Retreats provide a great time to reflect and prioritise, and give the space for awareness to naturally arise. I try and have a “retreat” daily. My time out for meditation is healing, integrating and my time of greatest creativity. It’s when I have all my best ideas. Put it into practice and see!! |
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In General……..
Do you like Danny’s chocolate brown pants? Kath’s vibrant purple top, or Suz’s cool crossover top?? They are part of a new clothing range we hope to bring in.
Other new products are:
Eco friendly yoga mats, some totally delicious new snacks (fruit straps 100% healthy, and mmm organic chocolate), some new CD’s and a return of books and an excellent yoga nidra CD Somnologix available in mini 10min format or regular CD size with 3 time options. I think it’s the best yoga nidra CD out!
We are also re-introducing student info forms. This ispartly for our info, so we can determine the different needs, locations etc of students, as well as to be able to network if/when appropriate. If you have an email address, we are also able to email these newsletters to keep you up to date on events, dates and changes, and save paper!!! Coming soon…...
Yogis for Nuclear Free Australia:
Totally separately, we have set up an email network to inform of actions, events, encourage correspondence, and provide info from a nuclear free perspective. If you would like to join please leave your email details at desk.
Please remember the yoga room is a SCENT free, CATCH UP free zone for the comfort and relaxation of all students. Thank you for your help!! |
COMING UP
Saturday May 19th
Pranayama workshop
$20 2-4pm please book
Saturday May 26th
Protect your Joints
(knee, neck, shoulder,hip)
$15, 2-4.30 pm
Sunday June 3rd
World Environment Day
Winders Park Festival
A great day, stalls, info, food, entertainment,
Bring the family, GCYC will have a stall this year.
Volunteers needed, an hour at our stall or Nuclear Free Alliance Stall. Tell Suz.
Ayurvedic consultations:
Find out your dosha (type) & how best to complement your yoga practice with diet, herbs, & lifestyle.
Dates TBA
Menopause workshop coming soon TBA |
| Do I need a private?
Private tuition can be arranged for many reasons: in case of injury or a special condition that needs specific asanas or modifications; when you are having trouble figuring out how to change an old habit; if you want to know more about your unique practice and body; if you want to progress your practice, or learn a particular technique we can’t/don’t address in class; if you want to deepen your understanding of the esoteric (subtle) aspects of your practice; if you’d like the chance to have the teacher to yourself for an hour or so, to ask questions or for specific guidance.
For general practice progression book in with Mark, Kath, Dan or Suz
For therapy/subtle aspects book in with Suz
Privates cost $60 for an hour and a half (negotiable if prohibitive)
You can also book in with Kam for a meditation private for a minimum $10 donation per hour. |
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DEITY MEDITATIONin its simplest form is based on the concept of “what you focus on so you become.” The deities represent the qualities we humans aspire to, as well as reflect the dynamics of life and consciousness. Iconography is the study of representations of the deities. The icon/image contains meaning in the symbols and colours used. Some of these we relate to easily, some are a little more esoteric. For example, if I were to ask you what you thought the colour “white” represented, your answer would probably be “purity” “simplicity” “openness” “light” “goodness”. These are fairly universal qualities attributed to white. So if we see white used in an image we can see how it is probably reflecting these qualities. E.g white lotus, white swan, white clothing. Each deity represents a unique blend of qualities (e.g. Lakshmi = compassion, enlightened abundance, and Sarasvati = the essence of the teachings, grace in speech and action and beauty) Knowing this, we can choose which deity to contemplate in order to cultivate which attributes. Be careful with more wrathful deities. Even though Kali brings about transcendant change, the journey can be treacherous and difficult. You may feel you need that kind of destruction before you can move on, but most of us benefit by gentler guidance. Get to know the image of the deity you choose well,so your mind has something to focus on when you contemplate. Spend some time each day contemplating your chosen deity and see what effect it has in your daily life. You don’t always have to know the deity’s meaning, you might be drawn to a particular image, and you might find that the changes brought about are perfect for you. You can also practice contemplation on the image of a chosen guru. This is termed guru meditation, and again is designed to promote the qualities of the guru in your consciousness. I have definitely observed changes. When I contemplate Lakshmi regularly I feel more grounded, compassionate & abundant in my life, and act accordingly. Now you know why people like having images of Buddha around,it feels calming. NB it’s not recommended to have meditative images in the bedroom, if you want romance too! Want to know more? ask Suz or come to the next “Secrets of the Deities” talk later in the year. |
| Lastly, I had the great honour of hearing world peace & sustainability leader, Satish Kumar, speak on two occasions. He is the head of the Schumacher foundation in the UK, education based on ecological and spiritual principles (www.schumacher.com) His message was simple,“stay as close to home as much as possible and travel afar as least as possible.” this refers to the concept of the local economy rather than global economy and is based on Ghandi’s teachings of Swadesha (homegrown) It makes perfect common sense, if we buy veges from a local store, we save on fossil fuels, storage & all those things contributing to global warming. We get to know our local producer and begin to build a sense of community. When we know each other, we care more. Distance allows us to look the other way more easily. If we buy imported furniture we don’t have to see the rainforest far away being destroyed to make it. Of course some global trade is useful even essential., if we need and don’t have the item close to home for example China has silk but not wool, we have wool not silk, so some trade occurs. But to send Australian wine to France and vice versa is crazy, and costly to the earth. We declare our concern by where our dollar is spent. BE MINDFUL of every dollar. Does it involve travel, manufacturing, storage, packaging to eat that apple in your hand??It is also very spiritual, you can’t love every mother in the world, but you can love your own, every child, tree, but you can love your own, and if everyone did the same, the whole world (and every human in it) would be taken care of. Acting locally becomes globally enhancing. I will post complete notes from the lecture on our website but leave you with this quote from his mentor E.F Schumacher
“any fool can make things complicated, but it takes great genius to make things simple” |
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