Newsletters

View this email in your browser July Newsletter In this newsletter you will find information about our winter break, social lunch and the next restorative class. Lunch - August 7 We are gathering again for a mid-year lunch. Although, I had loosely mentioned a date in one class, it has been moved to Thursday August 7. The venue will be Castello’s Longbeach Hotel in Chelsea. Whether you attend a daytime class or not, if you would like to join us, please do. Also, if you have been away from your practice and would like to reconnect, please know you are always welcome at these events. Please RSVP   Restorative Yoga - 26th July The next Restorative class will be held on Saturday 26th July. This is a gentle and calming practice which brings about deep relaxation and relieves stress. All the postures are floor-based, and your body will be supported with bolsters and other props which provide added cushioning and comfort. Postures are held longer, allowing time for a slow, deep stretch and for the body to relinquish and release tension. Join us for this nurturing practice, designed for you to rest, renew and recharge.      Date: Sat July 26 Time: 10.00 am - 12.00 pm Fee: $45 reduced to $40 with early bird discount. Use code July26 at check out before 18th July Location: St Nicholas Church, 9 Bear Street Mordialloc Book Now Winter Break   If you have not already heard, I’m taking a break for a couple of weeks over winter. The last class will be on Monday evening July 7. All classes resume Monday July 21. As always, when I’m away your class pass will naturally be extended. Last class: Mon July 7 at 7.20 pm Classes resume: Mon 21 at 6.00 pm I hope you stay warm and well and I will look forward to seeing you the week of July 21. Warm regards Mary

13-02-25

New - Chair-based yoga 

Introducing Chair-based yoga classes starting next Tuesday 18^th February. Time 10.00 - 11.15 am.

As the Thursday morning gentle class is often very full, I’m delighted to add another daytime class to the timetable offering you more variety and options. This class will be available for everyone, but it could be especially helpful for those who find getting up and down from the floor challenging. The aim is to provide each participant with a chair and the decision to use the chair or not lies with them.  It will be taught similar to a Gentle class held Thursday morning and Monday evenings only with the option to use a chair. You may not need to use a chair but none the less, trying it may result in experiencing the postures differently. In fact, many times I have randomly turned a regular gentle class into a chair-based class. People often say how much they enjoyed the class and pleasantly surprised by the experience.


Chair yoga also can remind us that yoga is not limited to the floor or on the mat. It reminds us that it’s not about the ‘shape’ you create, rather it’s the experience. We might compare ourselves with an image of a posture or how well (?) we perceive another is ‘doing’ the posture. But the postures are not something to ‘do’ or achieve. Yoga practice is not so much about the postures, it's about the quality of awareness. Awareness can be experienced anywhere and in the simplest form.
 
If you are interested to try something new or you can’t get into your usual class, why not give chair-based yoga a go. If you know someone who might benefit and enjoy this class, please share this email with them.

22-01-24

Happy New Year!

It’s never too late to wish you all a Happy New Year! May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be your authentic self and listen to your heart’s calling.

I am so pleased to be back teaching and I’m surprised the classes have been full or close to full in the first week back. It speaks to your commitment to your practice, which is wonderful. I hope we all thrive together in our knowledge of yoga throughout the year. May we become authentic and move towards inner peace. 

Yoga offers a way to inner peace in the form of short verses called Sutra-s. Through learning and understanding the Sutra-s one can attain wisdom, self-realization and inner peace. In total there are 195 or 196 Sutra-s which were codified by the great sage Patanjali. But it is said that living your life just by one Sutra may be enough to gain inner peace and wisdom. In this newsletter I would like to share the first four Sutra-s, 1.1 - 1.4 followed by commentary.

1.1             Here is the instructions about Yoga

1.2             Yoga is the pacification, concentration and complete focus of the mind’s fluctuating activities.

“Yoga is stopping the mind from becoming involved in activities that distract one from a chosen direction”. – TKV Desikachar

Thereby “towards a state of harmony, clarity and total awareness. At the highest level all fluctuations have stopped”. Frans Moors

1.3             Then, the Seer, (witness/internal observer), is established in its True Nature.

When we are in that ‘state’, we see things as they ‘truly are’ and abide in our True Nature.

1.4             In other circumstances, (the Internal Observer) is identical in the form to the mind’s fluctuation.

At other times, (when we are not in this state), the mind is taken over by fluctuations, (thoughts of the mind). The mind becomes clouded, unable to see clearly.  The mind identifies with the thoughts, (believing them to be true). In this non- Yogic state painful consequences can derive.

Contemplation:

1.      Can you think of a time when your thoughts ran wild; you imagined things that were inaccurate and this led to a disturbance, perhaps worry, anger or disappointment?  Now imagine what the same situation would have been like if you were in a state of Yoga with a clear mind. Would the outcome have been different?

2.      How many times throughout the day could you apply this contemplation from the simplest to the more complex situation?

Wishing you well for 2025!

Namaste

Mary