Author: Heidi Ross

Ninderry May 2019

“The quality of our life is dependent on the quality of the questions we ask ourselves.”

This powerful phase was shared with me over two decades ago, through an inspiring teacher. It made an incredible impact on the way I orientate myself each day and the life path I cast myself along. It has become a self empowering reminder that I have shared with hundreds of students.

Finding the true and correct answer is the way we are wired. We will need to rebel and courageously go against the odds to find a new way. Questions are not safe. Answers are safe. We are conditioned to find answers and regurgitate information, and it may momentarily give us a deep sense of relief and security. Belief systems may also provide a dogma that could possibly allow you a heightened sense of esteem because ‘You know!”.

However I doubt whether it will bring the great depth, joy, peace and inspiration that we all yearn.

If you wish to really get to know someone I suggest you start by asking them questions – “What do you do with your time? What’s your favourite holiday?” And then, the big courageous step, when the right time comes “What is important in your life?”

If you wish to truly deepen your relationships with friends and loved ones, authentically ask how they feel.

If you are looking at enrich your own relationship with life, there is a suggestion to create time for some potent inner questions – 

• What is my place in the universe?
• What is life?
• Could I have acted in a more appropriate way?
• What is the message for me?
• What is really going on? … and the biggie … 

• Who am I?
  and finally my fave … What am I serving?

If we refuse to ask the questions we face the cost of living on automatic pilot and solely from our conditioning, most which is imprinted onto us from culture, society, institutions, family and friends. Life is at its best is ‘just ok’.

However, by asking quality questions, the entire realm of pure potentially opens up.  A great vitality comes charged with life force, energy and power.

I now see bodywork as an enriched conversation, merging attention with questioning.

The entire session is alive from one moment to the next by asking what is the body is saying to me here? And then listening and acting from this question.
“Questions … open a space within us, clearing away the preconceived debris so that something new and transformative can arise.“
Adyashanti

With love,

Ninderry, April 2019

This week I returned to my loved mountain sanctuary on the Sunny Coast, after a fulfilling two months in the magical green and flowering wonderland of Bali.

When we left Ninderry we were in the throes of an Australian summer — the bright, shiny, extroverted celebratory expression of nature was well and truly alive. It is important to notice that this expansive state doesn’t stay forever in nature. We are now in a noticeable natural change, as the flow is a coming back to the essential (essence all). What is quiet and sacred becomes the conversation of life as it moves into a more meditative expression of ‘the fall’.

But do we encompass the same state? It is very alluring to stay in the world of bright, shiny things of spring and summer however, it may not be what serves us well. What is happening in nature for us now is powerful reminder to step more slowly and allow the senses to return to the source.

This is the step away from the world of flashy things and to allow the regeneration to naturally take place. Like leaves falling from the trees, exhale and let the renewal of your being naturally unfold. Less is more.

With love,

Bali, March 2019

It is Nyepi, the holy sacred day of silence in Bali and we are in the local Balinese village nestled into a lush green coconut forest. It is one-third into our Zenthai annual teacher training to reach a ‘day off’. However, I feel it more aptly descried as a ‘day in‘.

Wow, a day dedicated to fully dive into a full embrace of reality, away from all our conditioned ‘things to do‘. Where else in this world does an entire island ‘stop’ to immerse into the completeness of silence?  A day to step away from all the distractions around thoughts, noise, food, internet and people. This is a day to simply drop into a deep communion with oneself. YUM.

There is an honourable bow to the obvious governmental bodies that establish an annual day dedicated to sacredness and niskala — the ‘world we cannot see‘. No lights, no traffic, no airport, no noise, little talk , movement restricted to within one’s property. It would be a monumental drop in revenue for everything in this island, holding 4-5 million people, to stop for 24 hours. However, this is what is obviously primary —  according to Balinese custom, appeasing the Gods comes first, therefore, this crucial act of purification is above anything to do with dollars.

According to local belief, all sleeping evil spirits are awakened from their hiding spaces on the day before with ceremonies full with vibrancy, fire and noise. When they arrive to see the commotion,  they are met with a pervading quietness, so they move onto new land to cause their potential trouble.

With this analogy, in this day of silence, we could consider we use the practices of silence, honesty and self enquiry to allow our worn-out conditionings to come to the surface. Here they are revealed, and we are given a precious opportunity to see them and thus allow them to pass.

It is a great revelation of how we can choose to consistently use these practices to allow us to fly in the wide open untouched places.

With love,

Bali, February  2019

It is early morning in the lush green hills of Bali and I am out on my pushbike, cruising along the mind gobbling path where the coconut forest meets the sea. A 73-year-old farmer has stopped to have a conversation and we enjoy each others company for 5-10 minutes. His broken English and my struggling Indonesian could be quite comical.
As we depart with our own agenda, his contagious and consistent smile stays with me. For the remainder of the day I am seamlessly moving with an elevated spirit, thus organically permeating into all the many remaining encounters that unfold.

Likewise, I reflect to mid last year where I am teaching movement-based fun to a bunch of children suffering from Leukaemia at Christine Janin’s charity-based retreat in the French Alps. We are twisting ourselves around and about, making shapes, exploring relationships with each other in the context that anything is possible. As I leave the infectious smiles of each of the children, some suffering with terminal illness, stay with me for a long time.

We could be possibly walking this planet in a complete blur if we don’t stop and savour the small steps. Here — in the simplicity of a smile — I experience the depth and richness of being a human and sharing joy.  The real smile is not simply curling up the edges of you mouth. A real smile can happen when the eyes, the body, the entire 46 muscles of your face become alive. It is simply an outward expression that naturally evolves from a moment that stops, senses and fully inhales this gift we call life.

It is the simple, small things that make the deepest impressions.

With love,

Ninderry, December  2018

Summer is here … the season of fire, warmth, expansiveness, spaciousness and EXPRESSION. We are reminded of the joy available when we are in states of full, honest and open expression. As we note in the powerful symbols of Yin-Yang, the expression of wholeness is not just about shining the light, but also recognising the dark.

When we express without suppression, a great liberating wholeness is discovered. As Carl Jung advocated “we are looking for wholeness, not perfection”. So this maybe the season to not only love, shine, smile, sing and hug more — but also a time to be completely honest with yourself. A time of truthfulness around any pent-up patterning  … and let it out.  If we only focus on expressing the pure, pretty,  precise and perfect it may become a problem.

In meditative inquiry we give permission to identify our awkwardness, our conditioned behaviour, our vulnerability, fears and anger, to see what is at the root of their existence. The season of summer is about what is true and transforming. Maybe is time to put on the warrior suit and express with no reins attached. Go for it … roar.

The aftermath can be a beautiful inner quietness. Peace … yum.

Before you know it, you will be back on the dance floor with a new-found rhythm and magnetism. Nothing to hide when we give ourselves the freedom to express.

This great dance of polarities is what gives a human life its vibrant colour.

Shine without hesitation.

With love,

California, October  2018

The airline pilot knows his duty is to get his plane full of passengers to the destination on time. If his time-measured task is not completed, it is deemed a failure. The athlete knows he won’t be picked in the team if he doesn’t get his track time under 12 seconds. The high school student needs to get her score in the top 1% of the nation to gain entrance into med school. AAhhh, the world of goals and striving.

The yoga teacher however, is encouraging us to step away from goal orientation in an effort to bring balance back into our lives.

This great paradox is worthy of honest inquiry. How much of your time is spent on the game of striving towards goals? And what happens when they aren’t reached?  The world-wide pandemic of “I am not enough” being fed again and again.

What is suggested here is not to entirely give up the goals setting but, moreso, to step away from it at regular intervals.

In its vacuum, you could possibly flex the other muscle of Visioning?

What is the difference between goals and visions?

Goals are realistic. They are also limiting, stressful, confined and mental. They can be consumed with your own or others’ expectations. They can be a headache.

Visions, on the other hand, are idealistic. They involve an unbound potential and are based on trust, a not knowing, being creative and intuitive and diving into what lights you up.

The strength of vision comes from believing in a life that is on your side. It is well known in neuro-psychology that mental states of goal setting utilise only 5-10% of the brain’s capacity. However when we begin to envision, imagine, sense and explore – welcoming our dreams and heart fuelled intentions into the conversation –  another 90% of the brain starts to ignite.

Maybe now is the time to flex the muscle of Vision? 

What do you wish to be doing with your life in five years time?

See it, write it, feel it again and again and let life’s course take care of the rest.

Make this a regular practice,  and … when life’s course starts to lead us … it is the call to listen, say YES and follow.

After all, it is a life current on your side.

Goals create limits. Vision invites potential.

Huge gratitude wave to all the inspiring Californian crew that gathered to be part of the Zenthai journey in October … I’d love to keep in touch.

With love,

Bali, September 2018

If you have ever been into a Tibetan Buddhist temple your attention would of definitely of been cast to the various’ Thangkas’ that surround the room. The Mandalas, scenes or Buddhist deities, are painted on cotton cloth and bring the room to life.  Beautifully-pure goddesses in radiant beauty, others demonic, and gruesome battles that are difficult to gaze at.

They are created as an artistic representation of what is hidden in the deep recesses of the Human mind. When we become conscious of what is unconscious we get a chance to ‘wake up’ out of the stuckness of the human condition.

My last two weeks have surely felt like a walk into the Tibetan temple. In a physical, emotional and mental state, I have experienced many corners of the spectrum. Incredible physical pain, surgery in a Bali hospital, loaded with copious amounts of pharmaceuticals and climbing back to eat and walk again has not been easy. The amount of beautiful care and love that surrounded me, shared by close family, students and friends as I make my way back is too heart full to accurately put into words. I received a wave of love that buoyed me like no other.

When are are forced to truly stop, we need to be with ourselves fully and compassionately. I have seen the potholes, as well as the purity.

The word Surrender came up again and again. It is my anchor. A strong, visionary leader is also a vulnerable, raw, weak, zapped being needing help … we are called to let go again and again.

God’s Grace remained throughout. I can only bow with a true deep honour.

Throughout many phases in our life we will be called to surrender. To trust in a life that is on our side.

As I step back with new eyes and a body strengthening each day, I am smiling. Time surely has a new pace. Colour has a fresh hue. Life is embraced as precious gift. My relationship with Thankyou is completely reformed.

I SINCERELY THANK ALL FOR THE PRAYERS THAT CAME FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE.

It has been the most powerful medicine I could ever be prescribed.

“What if our only job was to trust …then we could curb our need to control and give ourselves a chance to access a much deeper source”
                                                                                          Elena Brower 

With love,

Ninderry, August  2018

Ceremony. It is the hub that Balinese culture evolves around. My last two weeks in Bali felt like a continual ceremony. Cremations in Bali are a big deal. The set up is a two week preparation of weaving, cooking, creating and coming together to talk. The six day ceremony is an all night vigil. The incense and candles stay alight, the community is a constant state of coming and offering gifts. Day and night. The powerful moments are the high priest (Padanda) ringing the bell and having the other priests (Manku) walk around with the blessing. Hundreds of people sit on the floor, waiting to be showered with holy water and rice as we bow in reverence. Beautiful, not sure what is all about, loving the cohesion it brings in the community, and the hands coming together at the heart.

What is it about this hands coming together in front of the chest? In this moment I don’t need to know all the meanings behind the rituals. 

In this moment something stops and allows another sense to step forward.

This precious moment is an acknowledging of togetherness; a recognition of a humility that resides within all humanity. An openness of the heart, where there is no need to know.

I see it happen along the Himalayan paths when two sherpas cross, at the beginning and end of the Zenthai healing session and the honourable ’thankyou‘ at the conclusion of the yoga class.

At times it is married with a tear, a sigh and a bowing of the head.  When is offered with full authenticity, it is part of profound letting-go into deeper states of realisation. The realisation we are all doing this together. I didn’t need to know all the rights, wrongs and meanings of all the Balinese cremation. Hands at the heart in an authentic gesture allowed me to sense it all.

With love,

France, July  2018

The word generosity has been following us around Europe.

Like a sweet fragrance that shows up beautifully in the most unexpected moments, it appears again and again.

This morning, Kristoph, the full-power 79-year-old manager of our AirBnB in Switzerland, escorted us to the train station. He jumped onto a bus with us both, helped purchase our tickets, shared a cup of coffee before hugging on the train amongst tears and goodbyes.

This is after days of non-stop helping hands. Gaia had private tours of the city, a continuous supply of Swiss cheese, chocolate and cherries, and we sat and enjoyed sunsets and stories together.  Last week he was a stranger inviting us into his home, today he is family and we struggle to say goodbye.

In the last two weeks we have floated down the Rhein river in Switzerland, toured castles in Stockholm, swum in the Aegean Sea in Greece and played in waterfalls in the French Alps.

Everywhere exciting, new, amazing land … but it is the beautiful generous people that have touched us the deepest.

During this time I have been sharing Zenthai in various forms, with classes and workshops, and I am consistently reminded that the deeper your dive, the simpler it is.

The magic three of Zenthai keep appearing again and again … so here they are — the foundation of our practice that shows up in all corners of our day.

• relak, relak, relak— let go of the story. Swap tension with freedom. Soften the grip around striving or holding on. Relax and breathe into the new free space. Not too serious
• open to open — be open to all possibilities and people you meet.  Be open to not knowing. Say Yes more often … to all that arises. Be in a state that is a continuous consent to circumstance.
• adjust, adjust, adjust — continually adapt. Be ok to change your stance, your perspective, your thought, your opinion, your belief. The power of flow is available though being in a continuous state of listening and bending accordingly.

Maybe this is the month to put the three into action?

On a final note, we are excited to be joining forces with two exciting new projects in Europe

• Yogobe: an innovative online yoga company, drawing the corporate world into a new perspective, and with a great support of some needy charities and –
• Open Garden: a project initiated by Christine Janin (first French woman to scale Everest), aimed at providing support to children dealing with Leukaemia. 10% of profits from the new Zenthai book, Connected to Source, (out soon) and a percentage of fees for all 2019 Bali retreats will be going to Christine’s cause.

Enjoy yourself

With love,

Bali, June  2018

The small, grey monkey is closely watching two unaware tourists, awaiting his moment to pounce. As one of them places her bottle—filled with a brightly-coloured liquid—on the bench momentarily, the monkey springs into action. He leaps acrobatically from his branch, and within the blink of an eye has the bottle in his hand. In another moment he is bounding up to a low-hanging branch with a wry smile across his face.

The monkey displays his cleverness by holding onto the branch with one powerful arm, gripping the bottle in another hand, as he unscrews the lid with his third hand. His fourth hand is hanging freely, ready to brush away any curious friends who have seen him steal the prize. He has clearly watched humans undo lids and drink from bottles numerous times and now he does the same. He appears to be gloating—his head high in the air—as he guzzles down the sweet liquid.

A much larger monkey appears on the scene, but the clever monkey spies him from a distance. He hides his newly stolen prize under his hairy armpit and sends a smile to the enormous, alpha male in front of him. The larger monkey, completely ignorant to what had happened moments before, continues along with his early morning adventure.

The clever monkey has me spellbound. He is like a super yogi, stretching out one powerful arm after the other as he effortlessly ascends the highest tree. At the top, he wraps his powerful torso around the trunk and elegantly perches himself at an incredible height above the canopy. I can still see his cheeky smile, as he once again unscrews the lid and enjoys his morning sugar hit. Above the canopy, he is hidden away from his monkey accomplices, who might want to share his bounty.

In the next instant, however, the clever monkey’s weakness is revealed. Distracted by a nearby rustle in the trees, he drops his bottle and leaps down from his hiding place, excited for the next adventure. Soon he discovers that the rustle is nothing but two young baby monkeys playing with each other. When he realises the cause of his distraction, he bows his head—his posture reflecting his disappointment at sacrificing that moment of pure contentment, high up in paradise. His cleverness served him well this morning, but his mind’s inability to stay focussed has revealed a deep, inner weakness.

The clever monkey is a reminder for us. We can make our bodies strong and athletic. We can work out smart ways to accumulate possessions. We can utilise our clever brains to solve problems, deal with obstacles and do the things we need to do effectively. But can we stay focused? Can we concentrate on the task at hand without being led astray by distractions?

With the exponential rise of devices, technology and sensory distraction, the landscape is very different to how it was twenty years ago. It is a well-established fact that our attention spans are rapidly reducing.

Now is the time to return to the foundation of yoga—to quiet the fluctuations of the mind. The call to meditate has never been stronger.

“ Are you an unconscious slave to your mind?  Or is your mind a conscious servant to your highest potential?”                                                                             Elena Brower

With love,
Gwyn