I’m on holiday from 4 – 16 of November 2024.
The yoga classes resume on Tuesday 19th of November 2024, for four weeks until the Christmas break.
November 2024 holiday
Category: proper relaxation
Yoga Retreat August 2024 spaces available
A few more spaces are available for the upcoming Yoga & Meditation Retreat at the Glasshouse Mountains Ecolodge, Friday 23 – Sunday 25 of August 2024.
Immerse yourself in a Weekend of Yoga & Meditation surrounded by beautiful nature, towards the end of Winter to shake off the Winter blues.
Our program for the weekend looks like this:
Friday:
• 4pm yoga class (asana, pranayama)
• 6pm Dinner
• 7:30pm evening meditation
Saturday:
• 6am morning sunrise meditation
• 7am yoga class
• 8:30am breakfast
• 10:30am Chakra & Aura talk
• 12noon lunch
• Afternoon activities , e.g. hike Mt Tibrogargan circuit,
• 4pm hatha-yoga class (sun salutations, asana, pranayama)
• 6:30pm Dinner
Sunday:
• 6am sunrise meditation and morning stretches
• 7am yoga class
• 9am Breakfast
The cost for the Retreat is $690.00 per person, this includes the whole yoga program, all the meals & accommodation in single or shared rooms, with private ensuite. https://hathayogaipswich.com.au/retreat/
Please contact me for any questions, or to book your space. https://hathayogaipswich.com.au/contact/
Yoga classes July 2023
Classes as per weekly schedule during the school holidays and beyond:
Hatha Yoga classes & Senior’s Yoga, all the classes can be joined online via Zoom from the warmth & comfort of your home.
Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights 4305
- Tuesdays, 9:00am – 10:30am (90 minutes Hatha Yoga class)
Cameron Park, Scout Hall, Easton Street, Booval 4304
(this hall has heating, nice & cosy even in Winter)
- Tuesdays, 6:00pm–7:30pm (90 minutes Hatha Yoga class)
- Wednesdays, 5:00pm–6:30pm (90 minutes Hatha Yoga class)
Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights 4305
- Wednesdays, 9:00am – 10:00am Seniors Yoga class
- Thursdays, 10:00am – 11:00am Seniors yoga class
Saturday afternoon Hatha Yoga Class and Satsang Meditation
is on 15th July 2023. (2pm – 5pm)
First time that we have this class on a Saturday afternoon, changed from Friday evening in previous months & years.
2 pm Hatha Yoga Class (please arrive from 1:30pm onwards)
3:45pm Meditation (mantra chanting, silent meditation, empowering talk)
The cost is $15 or one tick on the class pass.
You can join for both sessions to get most benefits. Or if this is not possible for you, just attend the Hatha Yoga class or the Satsang/Meditation class.
After the Meditation we’ll have a cup of tea and something sweet, I usually make a raw vegan cake or snack. If you have time to stay a little longer & chat.
Please book for these classes by contacting me. Thank You !!
Yoga Classes December 2022
Yoga times & locations from Tuesday 29 November until Thursday 22 December 2022.
Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights
90 minutes Hatha Yoga class
- Tuesday 9am – 10:30am
Cameron Park, Scout Hall, Easton Street, Booval
90 minutes Hatha Yoga classes
- Tuesday 6pm – 7:30pm
- Wednesday 5pm – 6:30pm
Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights
Seniors Yoga classes **) open for everyone, easier 1 hour classes
- Wednesday 9am – 10am
- Thursday 10am – 11am
All of the above classes can be joined online. Please contact me for Zoom login details. https://hathayogaipswich.com.au/contact/
Yoga & Meditation Weekend, 16th – 18th August 2019.
Only a few more weeks until our Yoga & Meditation Retreat in Coolum Beach, on the Sunshine Coast, at the Luther Heights Youth Camp.
We still have spaces available in our small, focused group. If you feel inspired and called to immerse yourself into a weekend of traditional Hatha Yoga and Meditation, don’t hesitate to contact me for detailed information and to book.
email: hathayogaipswich@gmail.com
phone or text: 0423 477 725
Yoga & Meditation Weekend Retreat
Friday 16th – Sunday 18th of August 2019
at Luther Heights Youth Camp, in Coolum Beach, on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Experience, learn & practice traditional Hatha – Yoga, Meditation, Rituals and Kirtan (Mantra chanting).
- Simple, basic, clean accommodation and amenities.
- Delicious, vegetarian meals, that might inspire to try new recipes at home.
- Spectacular ocean views, observing the sunrise.
- Walks along the beach, or buswalk at Mount Coolum. If we are lucky we spot some migrating whales in the distance.
- Release – Relax – Recharge.
- Letting go of the Winter blues, to be ready for Spring.
The topic of the weekend retreat is based on the five points of Yoga, as taught by Swami Vishnu-Devananda:
- 1) Proper Exercise (Asana) Proper exercise should be pleasant to the practitioner while beneficial to the body, mind and spiritual life.
- 2) Proper Breathing (Pranayama) Proper breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical. This increases vitality and mental clarity.
- 3)Proper Relaxation (Savasana) By relaxing deeply all the muscles the Yogi can thoroughly rejuvenate his/her nervous system and attain a deep sense of inner peace.
- 4)Proper Diet (Vegetarian) A lacto-vegetarian diet. This is an integral part of the Yogic lifestyle.
- 5) Positive Thinking and Meditation(Dhyana) Here is the most important point of all, we become what we think. A positive outlook on life can be developed by learning and practicing the teachings of the philosophy of Vedanta. The mind will be brought under perfect control by regular practice of meditation.
During the weekend we practice these five points of yoga.
The retreat is suitable for beginners to learn about the basics of yoga and for more advanced yoga students to deepen their practice.
The cost for the weekend is $420.-
Included in this price are the complete yoga program, accommodation (Please bring your own linen) and vegetarian meals. A non-refundable deposit of $120 .- is required to reserve your space. The final payment is due one week before the Retreat.
Detailed information are on the website: https://hathayogaipswich.com.au/retreat/
or contact me directly via email and phone call.
email: hathayogaipswich@gmail.com
phone or text: 0423 477 725
I also have a pdf file (6 pages) with detailed information and photos.
Thank you for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you.
Prema Maria
OM OM OM
PS: Following some more photos from last year’s Retreat, September 2018.
Yoga Retreat August 2019
So far this year, about once a week someone or two came back to a yoga class, who hasn’t been in class for a while/years. It’s interesting; often when people miss for a long period, they are almost embarrassed to come back to a yoga class. There is no need to be embarrassed to return to the yoga class after a long absence. As I hear this excuse a lot, if you wan’t to come back to class come back, no questions asked.
The next excuse I hear from people not coming to a yoga class is: “I’m not flexible”. Well that’s the purpose of yoga to become flexible and allow movement to your own ability. Improve and moving to your own level.
The same counts for the Yoga Retreat, you can be a complete beginner to attend the
Yoga & Meditation Weekend in August, Friday 16/8 – Sunday 18/8/2019.
- We will return to the same venue as last year, Luther Heights Youth Camp in Coolum Beach. The accommodation is very simple, bunk beds, dorm style. But since we occupy only a third or quarter of the beds available, we can spread out nicely. There are separated niches to share with your friends & family. You need to bring your own linen.
- Toilets, showers are basic & clean.
- The vegetarian meals are delicious, and a good variety.
- Even good coffee (a luxury, not following traditional yoga ashram rules).
- So rather than a luxury yoga Retreat, this is more a traditional Yoga & Meditation Camp, as they used to be, when Yoga first arrived in the West. Or more like a Yoga Ashram in India, where the focus is on the practice of yoga, rather than a luxury bed & spa. (which is very nice, but has it’s price).
- This allows me, to keep the price below $450
- The cost the for whole weekend is $420 (including the yoga program, accommodation and meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner).
- We are surrounded by beautiful, peaceful nature, trees and grounds. Views over the ocean and towards Mount Coolum.
- Spectacular sunrise, to start the day with Sun Salutations and Meditation.
- Short walk to the beach and Point Arkwright lookout.
- A good location and opportunity to immerse into the practice of Yoga. Dust of the winter blues, getting ready for Spring.
- My friend Amrita Kamala will mostly likely join us again, to play the harmonium.
- As a new activity this year, we might have a camp fire on Saturday evening. The Camp has the facility for this, but of course this will be weather permitting only. If no fire restrictions.
- For the Retreat Weekend to go ahead, I need a minimum of 15 -18 bookings.
- Please let me know by 31 March 2019, if you are seriously interested to attend the Yoga & Meditation weekend.
- As by then I can cancel the venue without any extra charges, and of course I would refund your deposit as well. Fingers crossed, that will not be the case.
Please contact me for any questions and bookings. I can also send you a detailed pdf file by email , or you find all the important details by following this link:
https://hathayogaipswich.com.au/retreat/
Looking forward to hearing and seeing you,
Prema Maria
Change to Thursday Yoga Classes
As of Thursday 18th October 2018,
Thursday class schedule / timetable as follows:
These Yoga classes are at the
Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights,
5pm – 6pm Senior Yoga class (new class), cost $10.-
this class is suitable for everyone who likes or needs an easier and shorter yoga class, this class is one hour. For the breathing and other exercises we sit on the chair, instead of floor. We do standing up exercises and on the yogmat or continue on the chair. In general we do not practice the Sun Salutation in this class.
6:30pm – 8pm Hatha Yoga Class (new time), cost $15.- or yoga class pass
our usual 90 minutes hatha yoga class, breathing exercises (pranayama), sun salutation, 12 basic postures, final relaxation.
Savasana – proper relaxation
Based on the “Five Points of Yoga” as outlined by Swami Vishnu-Devananda-ji.+
3. Proper Relaxation (Savasana)
Long before the invention of cars, planes, telephones, computers, social media, freeways and other modern triggers of stress, the Rishis (sages or seers) and Yogis of yore devised very powerful techniques of deep relaxation. As a matter of fact, many modern stress-management and relaxation methods borrow heavily from this tradition. By relaxing deeply all the muscles the Yogi can thoroughly rejuvenate his/her nervous system and attain a deep sense of inner peace.
When the body and the mind are constantly overworked, their natural efficiency to perform work diminishes. Modern social life, food, work and even the so-called entertainment, make it difficult for modern people to relax. Many have even forgotten that rest and relaxation are nature’s way of recharging. Even while trying to rest, the average person expends a lot of physical and mental energy through tension. Much of the body’s energy is wasted uselessly.
More of our energy is spent in keeping the muscles in continual readiness for work than in the actual useful work done. In order to regulate and balance the work of the body and mind, it is best to learn to economize the energy produced by our body. This may be done by learning to relax.
It may be remembered that in the course of one day, our body usually produce all the substances and energy necessary for the next day. But it often happens that all these substances and energy may be consumed within a few minutes by bad moods, anger, injury or intense irritation. The process of eruption and repression of violent emotions often grows into a regular habit. The result is disastrous, not only for the body, but also for the mind.
During complete relaxation, there is practically no energy or “Prana” being consumed, although a little is keeping the body in normal condition while the remaining portion is being stored and conserved.
In order to achieve perfect relaxation, three methods are used by yogis: “Physical”, “Mental”, and “Spiritual” relaxation. Relaxation is not complete until the person reaches that stage of spiritual relaxation.
1 – PHYSICAL RELAXATION
We know that every action is the result of thought. Thoughts take form in action, the body reaching to the thought. Just as the mind may send a message to the muscles ordering them to contract, the mind may also send another message to bring the relaxation to the tired muscles.
Physical relaxation first begins with the toes and then moves upward. The autosuggestion passes through the muscles and reaches the eyes and ears at the top. Then, slowly, messages are sent to the kidneys, liver and the other internal organs. This relaxation position is known as Savasana, or the Corpse Pose.
2 – MENTAL RELAXATION
When experiencing mental tension, it is advisable to breathe slowly and rhythmically for a few minutes. Soon the mind will become calm. You may experience a kind of floating sensation.
3 – SPIRITUAL RELAXATION
However one may try to relax the mind, all tensions and worries cannot be completely removed until one reaches spiritual relaxation.
As long as a person identifies with the body and the mind, there will be worries, sorrows, anxieties, fear and anger. These emotions, in turn bring tension. Yogis know that unless a person can withdraw from the body/mind idea and separate himself from the ego-consciousness, there is no way of obtaining complete relaxation.
The yogi identifies himself with the all pervading, all-powerful, all-peaceful and joyful self, or pure consciousness within. He knows that the source of all power, knowledge, peace and strength is in the self, not in the body. We tune to this by asserting the real nature, that is “I am that pure consciousness or self”. This identification with the self completes the process of relaxation.
Savasana – corpse pose – classic yoga relaxation posture.
- Relaxation lying on the abdomen.
“The practice of relaxing the muscles of the body will bring rest to the body and to the mind also. The tension of the muscles will be relieved. People who know the science of relaxation do not waste any energy. They can meditate well. Take a few deep breaths and then lie down flat on your back as in Savasana. Roll on to one side and then relax as thoroughly as you can do. Do not strain the muscles. Roll on the other side and relax. This is naturally done by all during sleep. There are various exercises in relaxation, for the particular muscles of a particular part of the body. You can relax the head, the shoulders, the arms, forearms, wrist, etc. Yogins know the science of relaxation thoroughly. When you practise these various relaxation exercises, you must have the mental picture of calmness and strength.”
Sri Swami Sivananda-ji
Savasana in the back yard, December 2017.
Hatha Yoga Ipswich 