WINTER SOLSTICE - A Walk in the Park

Winter Solstice - A 'Walk in the Park' - Thank you to Sammi for leading us all into a circle of positive light at a time when we could be drawn to negative thoughts ! Let us be full of positive thoughts for the times ahead and live fully in the present knowing that we are truly priviliged

in so many ways!

Many thanks too for those of you that shared with us a beautiful walk, moments of silence,

readings of 'Happiness' in the shade of the Hornbeam canopy and 'The Circle of Life' a by the totem pole, beautiful OMs, kisses and hugs underneath the wild mistletoe and a warming drink and meal at the Longford. We counted 16 for the walk and 26 for the meal/gathering at the Longford.

We really enjoyed your company and it was good to be able to have time to share some moments

together at this busy time of year. Peace and Love to you all. OM Shanti.

Spiritual Laws Group

Hi Yogis,

Spiritual Laws Group finished with a marathon class last monday and it looks like most of the group will be joining the next course on the Four Agreements as the main text but also referring to other works such as the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads. I am also including St Francis of Assisi in this course as his words and life are such an inspiration So pleased that in this age of quick fixes there are still some who choose to listen and explore the less easy roads which lead to deeper meanings and profound truths. Perhaps I will stay here a little longer then!

Visit the website if you wish to join this or any other courses next year. http://www.yogawise.co.uk/

Retreat and Yoga Class Dates 2009

Look at http://www.yogawise.co.uk/ for further pictures/information on all retreats and classes and to contact Sammi for any individual needs/questions. We are a friendly bunch so do come and join us in Yoga.

Crane Park Community Hall Dates: The Meadway, Twickenham

Wed: 28th Jan to 25th Mar and 29th Apr to 24th Jun = nine week blocks start 7.15 pm

Wed: Evening workshops on 21st Jan and 22nd Apr start at 7 pm

Alternate Mondays Spiritual Laws Group: 26th Jan, 9th ,13th Feb, 8th, 23rd Mar Start 7.30 pm

Day workshop in Bushy Park on Staurday 28th March: 10 am to 4 pm

Devon Annual Retreat in beautiful Dartmoor near Two Bridges (Pictures above)

This is our Lucky 7th time in the midst of timeless beauty both internally and externally and I encourage all serious yoga students to give themselves a treat with this retreat! It is not a yoga holiday but rather a chance to connect more deeply with your personal practise and re-fuel your prana in the company of like minded souls.

Small group so that you have one to one attention from Sammi and Iain.

All rooms en-suite ,vegetarian food, hot tub and sauna, wonderful walks. SILENCE!

Winter Wonderland

View from our window one early morning some years back. Reminded us of Narnia and magic and what is happening whilst most of the world is sleeping. Get up early and meditate!

Congratulations OBAMA!

What a momentous day in the history of America and hope for the future of all people to overcome prejudice and hatred and rise to the top with peace and love. Keep your eyes on the horizon and see the Light!

Om shanti Shanti Shanti

Halloween - Vigil of Samhain

Celebrating the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of winter. Honouring our departed with ceremonies of light and warmth with fire and nature.

Walking in nature and soaking in the colours of the earth....green and orange and red!

Letting go of the past...living in the NOW.

Diwali - Evening workshop

Our evening workshop for backbends and shoulders co-incided with Diwali so we had lovely sweets and lights as well as ohh and ahhs as we opened those tight places with our partner work and individual deep releases.

Happy Diwali...festival of Light

Let there be Light!

Dosha/Gunas Workshop pics.

Wonderful day in the park with wonderful yogis! We looked at our personal practise in relation to our particular body type and psychological profile as defined by the yogic texts - Dosha.Guna.

Also how these relate to nature and food and everything. Sunshine greeted us and warmth inside for the final deep relaxation before leaving re-newed and invigorated to face the winter months ahead.

Om shanti

Yoga day in the Park

Hi Yogis,

October 25th is fast approaching for our saturday in the Park. Yoga, meditation and a look at the Doshas and Gunas and how they effect our wellbeing. What are Doshas and Gunas? A ha...you need to come on this workshop!

INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY !

International PEACE Day was both very enjoyable and positively successful !

Thank you to all those yogis who did not come to the peace circle but contributed generously

and also thank you to those of you who did come and made an energetic circle !

We raised £215 in total.

Sammi treated us to some lovely warm ups, Qi gong, yoga, chants and a wonderful Peace Dance !

We had a break for tea and a chat before returning to some meditation, chants ( Jai Radhe ) and more energy work - the room was heated by us !

A few of us went on to Sagar Vegetarian Restaurant in Twickenham to share some tasty and spicy food ( We wished peace on all animals too ).

Next year the date to put in your diary is the 21st September 2009.

International Peace Day. Very fittingly we had been studying to 'Honour one another' in our spiritual laws group on Monday night. Peace love and light - Om Shanti.

Diary dates - Pictures of Places/People

Headstand : Physical benefits include resting the heart and improving the circulation; strengthening the respiratory system; relieves varicose veins.

Mental benefits: increases memory and intellectual abilities

Prana from the trees and sky! Breathe....Ommmmm

Gather in Circles: All ages, All abilities Welcome!

Diary: Yoga Classes/Workshops begin Sept 08

• Please Tel:0208 898 8381 or e mail Sammi@btinternet.com for more information, prices and venues for all events listed below
• 
  "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
  Talent will not: nothing is more common
  than unsuccessful wo/men with talent.
  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb
  Education will not; the world is full of educated failures.
  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent"
  
  So you have no excuses now...I am not looking for talent or genius
  just your Presence!
  
  Get out your diaries and calendars and start preparing for your

autumn yogic extravaganza!

We start on Wednesday 3rd September with a workshop/class 7 to 9.30 pm to address individual needs/problems areas followed by the regular Wednesday flow class for 7 weeks from 10 sept. Time : 7.15 - 9.15 pm

Wed 29th October will be another remedial class to give more attention again to specific areas like the headstand. 7 more weeks of flow class follow on from Wed 5 Nov Time 7.15 to 9.15 pm

Mon 8th September Time 7.30 to 9.30 pm Begins our Spiritual Laws Group and you need to buy Caroline Myss Book:Anatomy of the Spirit - The Seven Stages of Power and Healing Pub:Bantam Books
This class will run alternate mondays for eight weeks to give a good chance to absorb some very powerful insights into How we heal and Why we don't! Each monday will be complete in itself for drop-in or missing some days as I am basing it on one Chakra per meeting but for full benefit the whole course is recommended. Not just about healing but also for expanding our spiritual awareness. Other specific texts and books will be offered.
Format, as before, is informal discussion based on reading and questions posed, some group work, meditation. Hot chocolate and eats to tempt you out!
Homework and personal study is essential for this deep work.

International Peace Day Sunday 21 September 4 to 6 pm Please support this day of Peace by coming together to chant/dance and meditate for a couple of hours to join with millions of others around the world. All donations to our Yogawise charity: Medecins sans Frontiers www.msf.org nb: Let me know if you want to join us for a meal afterwards in Twickers!

Saturday 25th October: time: 9.30 am to 3.30 pm Day workshop in Beautiful Bushy Park - Warm inside venue with outside grass and trees for breath work if fine. Some Qi Gong energy work along with main focus on the Asanas suitable for your Dosha and the Gunas.

Sunday 21st December (provisional) Xmas lunch meditation walk in the Park - if we are not all too frazzled by then or 'lunched out'.

Current Club members will get priority booking: To join the yoga club see www.yogawise.co.uk

Rod - Guitar Maestro!

Sammi, (received after seeing the blog entries)

Such beautiful words and pictures.

The pictures taken during the three and a half minutes of sunshine..!!!!

Thank you and Iain for the Retreat - it was truly a deep experience which I am still only beginning to take in. Love , Rod

Diary of Dartmoor

Diana - Queen Homeopath!

Dear Sammi,

Thank you so much for last week. Your insight, care and love made it a joy to attend.

Om Shanti

Yvonne - Our Diva!

Dear Sammi and Iain (of course)

An utterly unforgettable retreat this year and it has given me a great deal to ponder over!!

I am grateful for your love and friendship and for your generosity in sharing your knowledge.

A big thank you with Love.

River Dart after Rain in July - Val

Treading downhill carefully, step by step,

Tumbling streams forge channels through the path,

Moss and young fir cones lie in pools washed down by rain.

The green banks are a jungle of ferns and blackberries still in blossom and bud,

Patterned with delicate flowers of yellow and pink.

Purple foxgloves stand erect like spires.

Walking through grass shimmering with raindrops to the River;

Sound of rushing water increasing with each step:

The River, black, in spate, violent in its speed and flow.

Trees on the banks bent back by its force and power.

It crashes against rocks, creating whirling eddies of foam.

Swirling water glints momentarily in the rays of the sun.

I sit on a rock, wonder at the savage beauty of the River.

Then, gaze beyond at the undulating lines of green hills:

Cows graze or lie down in distant meadows.

I wonder what nests in the hollow tree by my side?

I close my eyes: listen, every sense alive.

My soul is filled with Peace.

ULA - LA - LA!

Where is the sense in this?

You may well ask. And soon you'll get the answer:

Don't ask. There are no questions here.

Because, you see, the sense is like a dancer -

A shifting shape, to leave and re-appear.

It's in the room, the scent, the feeling,

the voice we hear, the silence we all share.

The sense is in the mysteries we're revealing,

and in the breath of which we are aware.

It's in the wind outside, the movement,

the flows, the stretches, even our sweat.

It's in the ease in which we find improvement,

the hands we hold, the glances we've just met.

Does this make sense? It does and doesn't.

Don't search, don't tear yourself apart.

No use to think about was and wasn't,

but just what is: the sense is in the heart.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN!

Well Well Well! What was all the fuss about? All the fear?

The best ever retreat in our beautiful haven in Dartmoor. The peace was palpable.

Commitment to time and practise was 100% attendence. So.....what you put in.....you get out.

There were personal shifts which were not always 'easy' but which were supported by the group energy, the personal present moment awareness and the space.

But above all - the unconditional love.

A few testimonials have already arrived and they follow, herewith. Two come as prose/poems

and I am awaiting a song.......... creative them there yogis!

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

PEACE PEACE PEACE

Photos encore

Silent Retreat Photos

Eleven go quiet in the Country!

Retreat fully booked now

HI Yogis,

We are now fully booked for our silent retreat and preparations for this annual group gathering for dedicated yogis is underway. Gabrielle and Jenny are looking up sattvic recipes for us and the daily programme and reading list have already caused a stir and push to action.

I have sent out the summer newsletter early for club members as it is based on the reasons for Retreat and the concept of Silence plus some information on mantra. Diary of events will come later for the autumn offerings including the workshops.

Om shanti

Durga sits on her tiger in the Ganges

Coming Home

Well we have gathered for the first Peace Circle and met for our yoga flows and felt that smile of coming home in the unity that only yoga gives to us. Thank you for welcoming us back with hugs and e mails and Love. Whatever we send out, as we know, comes back to us in the circle of life. Keep giving what you hope to receive and watch how your life becomes more purposeful and fulfilling.
Some of you have asked for an extract from the club newsletter that you have heard about and which may help in current life issues you are experiencing. Hope this helps and I will be organising a special one day workshop for Cancer Relief (Or any chronic/painful condition) which will give some simple pranayama exercises to help with breathing/energising the body and mind when experiencing the tired all the time feeling; plus relaxation techniques (Yoga Nidra) to help with pain relief. There will be a cost for those who can afford to pay but no charge if you cannot pay at this time. Just ask and we will work something out.

Extract from Spring Club Newsletter:
In India, in the midst of great poverty, disease and seeming hopelessness, we experienced incredible hope and joy. Coming back to what is a paradise of abundance and opportunities, we are aware of sorrow and pain that is universal and not dependent on affluence alone.
The words of Rainer Maria Rilke are a great help in these times of seeming despair when we want answers and all we have is questions.
"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not look now for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it find yourself experiencing the answer, some day.

'Everything that exists in this ever-changing universe is pervaded by that divine intelligence'
says the Isha Upanishad. The sage sees all beings in this one great consciousness and this one great consciousness in all beings. What sorrow or delusion can there be for one who beholds this perfect unity? The most advanced practises of yoga are designed to help us feel this oneness.

Om shanti shanti shanti OM Peace Peace Peace

Devon Retreat - Sammi and Iain

Devon retreat/holiday pictures