Lately in our meditation session on a Tuesday morning 10:30am – 11am (after the regular yoga class), I have been reading and sharing from the wonderful book “SOUL SHIFTS” by Dr. Barbara DeAngelis.
Personally I read the book very slow, take my time to reflect on it. I read it in two ways one bookmark starting from page 1, and then every so often I open the book randomly and see what comes up for that moment/day.
This Year we continue with the regular yoga classes and timetable, at least as a start. I know some people would like different times and days. Though many loyal yoga students are happy with it and used to the well known times & days. It also works easiest with the locations/ scout halls the classes are taken.
This year I’m again organizing and teaching a Yoga Weekend at Gunnebah Retreat near Murwillumbah, NSW.
26th – 28th August 2016 (Friday – Sunday).
I teach the whole yoga & meditation program. The delicious vegetarian meals are lovingly prepared by the Gunnebah Catering team, Vanessa from Tulsi Foods.
Early Spring is a good time to recharge your batteries, shed the winter blues and set new intentions. Get ready for the New Season with a weekend of intense yoga&meditation, surrounded by beautiful nature. We enjoy delicious vegetarian meals. You can look at it as a detox; having no meat, fish, alcohol, processed food and too much sugar for a whole weekend. Join us, you will not regret it.
Bush walking at the Retreat with views to Mount Warning. Photo from August 2015.
This year I’m organising and teaching a weekend retreat again, it has been four years since I offered a yoga retreat last time.
Early morning walk / meditation.
It takes place at the Gunnebah Retreat Centre near Murwillumbah, northern NSW. We have been there before and it’s an ideal location for a yoga weekend, surrounded by most beautiful nature. In the past I used to prepare and cook the meals myself, lot’s of work before and during the retreat for just one weekend. This year the Gunnebah catering team, will provide all our vegetarian meals. So less karma yoga for all of us, no chopping, cooking and doing the dishes. Instead kick back a little. Therefore also the higher cost than in the past.
The Retreat is from Friday 28 – Sunday 30 August 2015. It is open to newcomers, beginners, if you need to give your yoga practice a fresh boost and experienced yoga students.
The hatha yoga class will be mostly two hours, instead of the usual 90 minutes like in the weekly classes. So more time to go deeper into postures, explain details, more variations and holding postures longer. We practice the silent japa meditation, maybe Tratak (gazing at the flame of a candle) and chant Kirtan (mantra singing), as I bring my harmonium along.
During the lectures we might also cover other topics, than the classic yoga philosophy Vedanta. Wisdom, knowledge, practices, a holistic approach to life, etc. that interest me and I like to share more with you. For example: How the moon influences our bodies, the way it guides the ocean tides. (Saturday 29/08 will be a full moon). The facts and importance of the fascia. Tapping Solution for EFT (emotional freedom technique). Such interests and similar.
So it will be a very uplifting, inspiring and empowering weekend. Practicing and learning the vast horizon of Yoga, Meditation, Mantras and more. While we are in the middle of beautiful rain forest nature.
For more information please browse through theRetreat section on this website, phone or email me.
Looking forward to hearing and seeing you soon.
Namaste, Maria Prema
Pranayama practiceOutdoor eating at Gunnebah Retreat.
Friday 21 September, Satsang and additional Hatha Yoga Class
Frangipiani in my Garden
This week is the monthly Friday hatha yoga class and Satsang. Make sure not to miss it, it’s the last one for 2014. Do something good for your soul, even if you feel tired at the end of the week. You will feel a big difference come Saturday morning!
Where: Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights
What: Hatha Yoga Class (breathing exercises, sun salutation, 12 basic postures, guided final relaxation. When: 5pm – 6:30pm Cost: $14 or regular class pass (no free trial class on this day).
What: Satsang: is a combination of meditation, uplifting Sanskrit chants, yoga lecture. When: 6:45pm – 8:15pm Cost: $7(or free if you attend the earlier class)
In between the two sessions we have a cup of (herbal) tea and something sweet.
You get most benefits if you join for the whole program from 5pm onward. But if this does not suit you, you are most welcome to come only for the yoga class or meditation/Kirtan (Satsang) only.
Looking forward to seeing you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Our physical body is meant to move and exercise. If our lifestyle does not provide natural motion of muscles and joints, then disease and great discomfort will ensue with time. Proper exercise should be pleasant to the practitioner while beneficial to the body, mind and spiritual life.
Yoga teaches us how to use the lungs to their maximum capacity and how to control the breath. Proper breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical. This increases vitality and mental clarity.
Long before the invention of cars, planes, telephones, computers, 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 nervous system and attain a deep sense of inner peace.
Besides being responsible for building our physical body, the foods we eat profoundly affect our mind. For maximum body-mind efficiency and complete spiritual awareness, Yoga advocates a lacto-vegetarian diet. This is an integral part of the Yogic lifestyle.
Here is the most important point of all, we become what we think. Thus we should exert to entertain positive and creative thoughts as these will contribute to vibrant health and a peaceful, joyful mind. 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.
” Health is wealth, peace of mind is Happiness. Yoga shows the way.”
Friday 26 September, Satsang and additional Hatha Yoga Class
Prasad – bliss balls
This week is the monthly Friday hatha yoga class and Satsang. Make sure not to miss it. Do something good for your soul, even if you feel tired at the end of the week. You will feel a big difference come Saturday morning!
Where: Raceview Scout Hall, 32 Taylor Street, Eastern Heights
What: Hatha Yoga Class (breathing exercises, sun salutation, 12 basic postures, guided final relaxation.When: 5pm – 6:30pm Cost: $14 or regular class pass (no free trial class on this day).
What: Satsang: is a combination of meditation, uplifting Sanskrit chants, yoga lecture. When: 6:45pm – 8:15pm Cost: $7(or free if you attend the earlier class)
In between the two sessions we have a cup of (herbal) tea and something sweet.
You get most benefits if you join for the whole program from 5pm onward. But if this does not suit you, you are most welcome to come only for the yoga class or meditation/Kirtan (Satsang) only.
Looking forward to seeing you soon. Please contact me if you have any questions.
From the book Concentration and Meditation by Sri Swami Sivananda:
Sit in Padmasana. Repeat OM mentally. Keep the meaning of OM always in the mind. Feel that you are the All-pervading, Infinite Light. Feel that you are the “Suddha-Sat-Chit-Ananda, Vyapaka, Atman, Nitya Suddha Buddha Mukta, eternally free Brahman.” Feel you are Chaitanya. Feel that you are the “Akhanda Paripurna, Ekarasa, Santa, Infinite, Eternal, Unchanging Existence.” Every atom, every molecule, every nerve, vein, artery, should powerfully vibrate with these ideas. Lip repetition of OM will not produce much benefit. It should be through heart, head and soul. Your whole soul should feel that you are the subtle, all-pervading Intelligence. This feeling should be kept up continuously.
Negate the body-idea when you repeat OM mentally. When you chant OM, feel:
Infinity I am OM OM OM
All Light I am OM OM OM
All Joy I am OM OM OM
All Glory I am OM OM OM
All Power I am OM OM OM
All Knowledge I am OM OM OM
All Ananda I am OM OM OM
Mediitate on the above ideas constantly. Constant effort with zeal and enthusiasm is indispensable. Repeat mentally the above ideas incessantly. You will realise.
Hatha Yoga Ipswich 