ByronYoga

Written by Christine Lines

Ana Davis, one of the senior teachers at the Byron Yoga Centre and specialist in pre and postnatal yoga, was born of hippy parents in the early 70’s. Joining her mother at Satyananda yoga classes as a child, she had an early introduction to a gentle, classical style of yoga, (which she jokingly referred to ‘as boring back then’), despite this, the more gentle approach became the path she was to follow later in life. 
 


Reading the life story recently of the great yogi master Krishnamacharya, I learnt that he dreamt of the great saint Vedanta Desikacarya when expecting his fourth child, a second son. It was the basis for the name choice of the yogi known to the world today as TKV Desikachar. This prompted me to say to Ana once, ‘Perhaps your mother had an intuition of your life path when she named you Ananda?’ The translation from Sanskrit is ‘bliss’. In her beautifully modest way she just laughed!

Written by Kara Goodsell

Once upon a time, there was a wee lass living with her family under the grey skies of Northern England. Her name was Gitam and while the other children were playing with dolls, Gitam was playing in her garden. Gitam loved this place more than anything and each day would sink her hands into the soil, pour love onto the plants and watch her garden grow. 

When she grew up, she married a man who loved his food as much as he loved to travel. He carried Gitam on an overland journey in a Magic Bus through France and across Turkey, weaving through Iran and Afghanistan, meandering across India to Nepal before landing in Melbourne, Australia on a blistering Christmas Day in 1970.
Along the way, Gitam collected memories on her taste buds and secret recipes from foreign books, which she’s now collated and shares in this book. “My philosophy of food is that it should be nourishing, freshly prepared and aesthetically pleasing,” explains Gitam.  “ It’s a form of nurture and a way of demonstrating my love to others. The preparation of food and spectrums of colour in a dish is a way of expressing my creativity.” 

“Be in this world as if you are a traveller, a passer by…for this is not home.”
- the Prophet Mohammed

Byron Yoga Centre's Retreats Manager, Christine Lines, has enjoyed travelling throughout her life. “My family had a holiday home on the coast throughout my childhood,” she explains, “and time away seemed to balance the demands of the business and community on my parents. The holidays created my first experience of travel and retreat as an instinctive choice.”

Christine has developed a career and lifestyle around her adventures. “My father once called me a gypsy and it inspired me to understand the deeper meaning behind why I travel.” Her spiritual path has been interwoven with her travels, the inner and the outer journey, and she speaks of her fascination for the different countries of the world, the varying landscapes, ways of life and systems of belief.

Written by Pete Jackson
If someone told you there’s a new drug on the market promising a path to a life free of 
pain and suffering, how would you react? Would your logical and suspicious side 
immediately start asking questions as to how such a claim could be made?  You'd probably want to know, ‘how does it work’, or ‘how much does it cost?’ Perhaps you’d merely question how any serious science could offer such a grand remedy, or wonder about the potential side effects of what must surely be a strong drug indeed!   
 


Written by Kara Goodsell

During the course of an interview, the Dalai Lama was once asked if he ever felt lonely. He answered no and said that he realises he is no different to anybody else on the planet, experiencing the same spectrum of emotions as others, and this understanding gives him the comfort he needs in knowing he is not alone.
 

Written by Kara Goodsell
Yogic philosophy speaks of a person’s dharma, or purpose in life. Some are born to be teachers, inspiring understanding and change in another’s life. Judy Krupp is one such teacher, whose diminutive frame is filled with passion and humility that lights the way for others.

Written by Ana Davis

John Ogilvie is one of those rare people you meet with whom you feel an almost instant heart connection. There is a glint in his eyes that tells of an inner-spring of joy and a hint of boyish cheekiness. His presence is one of yogic lightness that makes it difficult to imagine him ever having plumbed the depths of despair and spiritual emptiness that characterise a destructive drug addiction.

Written by Brook McCarthy

Davina Kruse used yoga to prepare for her annual visits home following a hectic expatriate life as a model. Now as a teacher, she lives on-site at the Centre and has embarked on a voyage of yoga discovery teaching ex-addicts at the Buttery therapeutic community in Byron Bay.

Written by Brook McCarthy

Kara Goodsell first came to yoga as a way to cope with a frenetic-paced, city lifestyle. Ten years later, following a serendipitous meeting with Byron Yoga Centre founder John Ogilvie, Kara is a senior yoga teacher and key instructor for the Centre's yoga teacher training courses. As she explains, yoga created a space inside that was profound, liberating and ultimately, life-changing.

Written by Kara Goodsell

コース中のインタビューでダライラマは”今までに１度も淋しいと思った事はないか？”と言う質問を受けました。彼は”NO”と言い、自分だって皆と同じ様な感情もあるし、自分は１人じゃないんだ！と認識する事で安心したり、この地球上に住む他の人達と同じだと思っていると答えました。