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| I have had a lovely experience recently. Mark has been giving me some private sessions, and as well as benefiting from his care & support, I have also enjoyed gaining further insight into his approach to yoga, and have enjoyed discussing our different perspectives. It was great to be reminded of how unique and individual our needs are, and how we need to create the option for students to be able to honour their individual needs in class. Three of the main reasons people step on the mat include:
1) to make an improvement in physical wellbeing – strength, flexibility, injury relief/repair etc
2) to find sanctuary/refuge, to relax, rest & restore, to take time out from the daily grind
3) to transform – to make changes in body, mind, consciousness and life.
These reasons change from student to student, and from day to day. What is a priority to you one day, could be different the next. Sometimes you need all three at once! What this means is that it is important to take stock of where you are at, each and every practice, and to be aware of your need/intention each time you step on the mat as it will influence the way you practice. If you are nursing an injury, you may need to focus more on alignment than letting go, if you need to relax letting go is just what you need and you may need to focus on the breath more. Transformation requires you to keep being fresh in each moment, each breath, so you need to let go of past experience or hopes for your practice and allow it to guide and teach you. Honour where you are at, don’t push yourself if you need rest, don’t be lazy if you need to develop strength! Every practice is different – it is a unique combination of how you are feeling, what the weather is like, what you have eaten, how you have slept, who you have spent time with, what is going on in the world, what stresses you have in your life and more, so you can’t dictate how it is going to be. Take time to find out what your needs are by relaxing and tuning into the breath at the beginning of each class, and you will be amazed how your practice can be even more satisfying & rewarding than it already is!
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Suzanne Gray
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| Dr Harre Harren Concert – 14th & 15th March.
Not only are we looking forward to a wonderful concert & kirtan (chant) on the Saturday night, but we are happy to announce Marg’s will be serving her legendary chai & cakes at the concert ~ YUM!
The Sunday workshop will be on Nada Yoga – creating states of consciousness through sound. ...read more
There are only a couple of spots left for the Vedic astrology readings that Dr Harren will be conducting while he is here. Participants will need to know their time, place and date of birth. $80 for a one hour consult. Bookings essential.
What is Vedic astrology?
Vedic or Indian astrology is an ancient system considered to extremely accurate. It uses astronomical date to analyse and predict events of the present, past and future. The main difference from Western/Zodiac astrology is that it is based on the exact positions of the stars, whereas Western is based on seasons/time periods. This means Vedic astrology adjusts its calculations to the imperceptibly slow changes of the planets alignment to the stars over time. The shift equals about 1 degree every 70 years, but over thousands of years, equates to about 2 weeks. It is thus possible in Vedic astrology you may be a different sign to that given in Western astrology. ...read more
| • Kam’s Tuesday 5.15 is now a General instead of a Level 2. Students who are very comfortable in Level 1 and want to progress are encouraged to come.
• We have some new yoga pants in, and they are the most comfortable yoga pants I have ever worn. They are made by the same people as our great leggings. New in store now!
• Apologies to anyone who may have missed out on our Jan/Feb newsletters. We have been having some email problems (which we think are now fixed!). These and all of our past newsletters can be accessed online.
We thank all of you who are helping to reduce paper by subscribing online. We have managed to cut down our paper newsletters by half!! If you haven’t already done so, put your name and email address into our prize draw box at the front desk for a chance to win a 4 class pass each month for the next few months. Now is a great time to subscribe, and extra information will be available via links, that we can’t do with our paper newsletter!! |
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| What brought you to yoga?
I had numerous injuries (neck, back, knee) from being an overly competitive athlete, as well as chronic fatigue, and multiple shoulder dislocations. I was also looking for a deeper connection, I didn’t know what at the time, and had been exploring different spiritual fields. I enjoyed the physical component of yoga, of working hard and discovering new things about the body & what it could do. And the depth of relaxation in savasana at the end! How beautiful my life was in those moments – it’s still my favourite pose.
What are some of the benefits you have experienced from yoga?
The yoga system allows me to work with injuries I might get in day to day life. It’s a way to manage my energy, to bring it up or calm down. It provides a method to refine my mind.
How do you feel about meditation? Meditation brings me to my peacefulness & blissfulness, and gives me a tool to work with my mind when it is restless & disturbed, and to take that into daily life and make each moment as meditative as it can possibly be.
What made you offer your one day retreat?
I wanted to offer people a deeper experience, and to be able to leave their world behind. I wanted to fit in meditation, as well as relaxation, as well as a yoga session, in a beautiful, peaceful environment, & enjoy healthy organic food.
What else is important to you?
To try and work out the problems that all human beings suffer from, and in some small way move toward some solutions, whether that’s alternative power, consuming less or breaking free from conditioning. I also try and live that way, at my home I have solar power & hot water, I compost, rainwater tanks, recycle, I choose bulk products to reduce packaging and I choose to take less plane trips, all in an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint. I like to research varying aspects of life to see how to bring more quality into those aspects, and I hope my notes save people time so they can access that quality and make changes more quickly.
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