Just as we were about to write this update, the Queensland Government has announced a further relaxation in restrictions. This is good news for many of you that want to come back to Research Street and get back into our in person activities. Whilst we don't have the resources to open tomorrow (!) we have been planning a slow return to in person activities. There will be some changes to allow us to manage risks to our members and volunteers including:

• Activities must be pre-booked online from now on. This helps us ensure that we do not breach limits on numbers, allows us to capture contact tracing  information and avoid the need to handle cash. 
• We are looking at ways to move classes and activities outdoors where possible.
• We will only be operating with smaller groups, another reason to book ahead.
• Where possible, we will continue to offer classes via zoom. Some classes may stay on Zoom only, depending on the facilitator. This means that you can still 'attend online' if you have any sniffles/ symptoms.
• There will be strict guidelines about attending the shed and wiping down surfaces and equipment.

If you want one to one help with the booking system or zoom, please email [email protected] and we will arrange a time to help you.

As restrictions have gradually lifted we have been offering the chance to meet up in a informal way with a smaller number of members- people have suggested walks, and  we have organised a sewing bee via our community forum.  The community forum is a way to connect with other members and make plans about activities. It's a bit like Facebook but we prefer it because it has better privacy and is restricted to members only.  If you aren't interested in joining the conversation there, we will still post things on Facebook and our website. 

You should also get an email soon with your membership number, and some more information about the different systems. Read more here if you haven't received it yet: https://www.thewomensshed.org/new-members-guide.html

As for this weeks activities we have :

• Pilates with Narelle (Monday 9am)
• Meditation with Simone (Monday 6.30pm)
• Gentle yoga with Simone (Thursday 9am)
• Vocal group with Ali and Erica (Thursday 7pm)
• Vinyasa yoga with Holly (Saturday 8am)

All the activities are bookable here and will remain online only. We will let you know when we are back at the shed :-)

Our main focus for the next few months will be preparing for our open day in August.
Coming up we have a macrame basics meetup on 13th June and are planning a sewing bee, fabric dyeing meetup and ceramic hand building meetup.   We are also hoping to have more talks from Martine (financial planning) and Sara (nutritionist).
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Happy Friday Sheddies! As restrictions are slowly lifted we are looking at how we can continue our activities and adopt COVID Safe practices. For now this includes:

• Continuing to offer some activities online including Monday night meditation with Simone. We are looking at ways to stream classes from the shed as well, so you will have the choice of attending in person or staying home
• Running more activities outside
• Limiting group activities to between 8 and 10 members 
• Making sure we can provide enough space when doing activities.
• Requiring online bookings and cashless payment
• Some member only activities to limit our exposure to other people

 
Coming up this week:
Holly is running a free Vinyasa Flow yoga at 8 am Saturday morning - Holly takes you through a moving meditation - this session is a mixed session so you can bring your husband/ sons for a try of this dynamic style of yoga.

Pilates is taking a break this Monday - we are offering a Monday morning walk limited to 10 members. RSVP in the Band App.

Our ever popular Monday night meditation is  available at 6.30pm . Join us as Simone guides you through a different type of meditation each week.

Beginners drawing on Tuesday this week will cover chapters 5 & 6 which look at disengaging from our symbol system. If we have time we may cover negative space. Feel free to read ahead if you have the book, or we will cover the main points in the meetup. Catch up summaries are available on the members only pages on the website, although each lesson stands alone  - just bring a pencil and paper!

Gentle yoga with Simone is online Thursday morning at 9.30am, join us for a coffee afterwards :-) (you have to make your own!)

The Vocal Group  (online) are meeting on Thursday at the later time of 7pm from now on - we are pros at online singing now!

Bookings are still open for Hannah Hempenstall's 'Finding your North Star' on Saturday 23rd May - it's a chance to really reflect on what motivates you, and especially welcome at a time when we are asking a lot of questions.  Hannah has also run our Introduction to Journalling class. We've included a little more about Hannah below:

"Originally from London, I’ve lived in Australia for 22 years and have called the Sunshine Coast my home since last October.  Ever since the age of 3, I have been aware that there is far more going on than meets the eye. Connecting to what I call Life Source Energy through contemplation and meditation have been key to my continued awakening. That journey led me to becoming qualified in reflexology, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), massage, polarity therapy, life coaching and yoga. 

I'm also a Reiki Master and am qualified in a variety of meditation traditions. Spirituality is at the core of everything I do and I’m currently undertaking a degree in World Religion. As well as delving into the mystical world I've enjoyed a 25-year career in magazine publishing, working on titles such as Marie Claire, Women's Health, Men's Health, Mindfood, Who and many more.   

What life continually shows me is that a willingness to be open and the ability to ask pertinent questions such as, "What does Life want me to know today?" increases our awareness. And in my opinion, self-awareness is the key to living a more purposeful and meaningful life.     If this resonates with you I run regular self-development and spiritual workshops so stay in touch with the Women’s Shed and hopefully we’ll meet soon! Namaste!

Hannah x

Hannah recently posted a meditation on her Facebook page - why not give it a try? https://www.facebook.com/hannahhempcoaching/videos/4309113229114115

Have a great weekend everyone
​xx

Happy Mother's Day sheddies - did you see our post about the origins of Mother's Day? It started as a way to recognise and appreciate the role of women in society, in memory of a movement that supported women to connect and stay healthy. Sound familiar?  We hope that you are having a lovely day, and taking some time out for yourself. 

This is just a quick post to let you know that PILATES is cancelled this Monday 11th May, but there are plenty of other ONLINE  activities happening at the shed including:

• New Saturday yoga vinyasa class with Holly
• Bookings open for finding your North Star with Hannah Hempenstall 
• In the members area - catch up on drawing for beginners, fabric dyeing at home, vocal group meetups.

Check our calendar - studio classes are weekly, other activities are fortnightly or monthly.

In the pipeline:

• Starting soon - steps challenge - walking is allowed in lock down - join us we challenge ourselves to get our daily 10,000 steps.

• Working bees to make items for the Open Day on August 8th
• Throw like a girl - basics of clay - making pottery planters
• Crochet
• Macrame
• Weaving

All classes are bookable online, jump on up to 15 minutes before class if you think you need help with zoom access - have a great day :-) 

x

Did you know that Anna Jarvis created Mother’s Day as a memorial to her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis?
The first mother’s day as we know it was in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia.  Anna organised it in recognition of the work her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, had done to support and bring together women.   Ann Reeves Jarvis had 11 children and only 4 of them made it to adulthood. In the late 1850s she created Mothers’ Day Work Clubs as a way to address issues with child health, to share information and support each other.
For many years the Mother’s Clubs supported the community and each other, refusing to take sides in the American Civil War and offering assistance to wounded soldiers from either side.  Ann remembered her mother praying that the work of mothers would one day be formally recognised by all. This was around the same time as the very earliest beginnings of the women’s suffrage movement, and it’s easy to see common themes in the need to recognise and support the contribution of women to society.  

Ann Reeves Jarvis died in 1905, with the first ‘Mother’s Day’ memorial  held in May 1908. Ann and her friends established letter writing campaigns to establish a national holiday. Virginia adopted  Mother’s Day as a state holiday on 10th May 1910.  It took 6 years for the national holiday to be established, with Anna having to justify why there was a need for such celebration – the US congress initially rejected the idea in 1908, joking that they would have to create a ‘mother-in-laws’ day too.  However, many people adopted the idea and the celebration spread until in 1914 it was recognised as a national day by President Woodrow Wilson and the US Congress.
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Anna rejected the commercialisation of Mother’s Day and went to great lengths to try and keep the celebration in line with her own mother’s values. She encouraged people to write letters to their mother’s telling them why they appreciated them and to make hand made gifts, or give white carnations (her mother’s favourite flower).

Anna herself never had children and was buried next to her mother when she died in 1948, and this is important – Mother’s day was about celebrating and recognising the contribution that our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers have made to our community and lives. Now we also have International Women’s Day – and sometimes Mother’s Day seems like just an opportunity to appreciate your mother – and there is nothing wrong with that! But Mother’s day began as a celebration of the achievements and values of one woman at a time when most women were expected to become mothers - it was a recognition of everything that women did for their family and community.

​Hello Sheddies, please note these important changes to this week's timetable.

We have changed the timing of the Women That Run with The Wolves Book Club - this week it will be running 5-6pm, before the Vocal group at 6.30pm. Going forward the Book Club will run on the 2nd Thursday of the month.  Both the book club and vocal group are welcoming to new members - you won't take long to catch up. The vocal group practice tracks are available in the members only section of our website

We are very happy to announce that Holly from Temple of the Sun Yoga is joining us online from Sydney this Saturday, 10th May at 8am. She will be offering a Vinyasa flow class for the next  4 weeks. Holly was one of our original yoga teachers, we were very sad when she moved away- our loss was Sydney's gain. Now the magic of the internet means that Holly is able to join us for a series of Saturday classes all the way from Sydney.  Please note that this class will also be open to men, so bring your son, boyfriend or dad! The beauty of online classes is that we keep the camera on Holly so you don't need to worry about privacy. If you are concerned we can also make sure your camera is switched off - although it helps of the teacher can see you .This class is perfect if you have done some yoga, although all levels are catered for with different options offered for each pose.  Classes are $10 per household, if you have member in your household. Otherwise it's $15 per household.  Book here.

Pilates will not be running on 11th May as our instructor Narelle takes a well earned break. If you want to try another activity we have Monday night meditation with Simone, Thursday morning gentle yoga with Simone and the new Vinyasa flow with Holly on Saturday.  

In other news, this week we had an online meetup of our fabric dyeing group that rapidly turned from discussions on fabric dye to eco dye, to sewing and to jewellrey making, so we decided that we would just call ourselves a craft group for now :-) . We came up with some fabric dyeing activities that our members could try at home and do in preparation for the Shibori meetup we have planned when we get back to the shed. If you would like to try some techniques out at home, check our craft page with more info. Make sure you share your results with us :-) 

Some members took part in the Art Therapy Workshop with Helen Bradsaw of Growth Through Art. The session started with an introduction to some ideas for a 'tree of life' project. We worked in collage, sculpture and charcoal, around a reflection on parts of our story. Then we came up with prose based on the drawing and the feedback. It was interesting to be led through a creative process that allowed us to tap into our own symbolism and personal reflections, and was a great introduction to art therapy. Here is a snippet of the art with the prose (reproduced with permission ) :

We also had a meetup of members that are keen to help us progress in some important areas including Activities, Funding and Facilities. We will update you with our progress soon.

If you are participating in the drawing for beginners group, you can catch up on what you have missed and get on top of the 'homework' in advance of our meetup next Tuesday 19th May.

 On Friday, our President, Nell was interviewed on Noosa FM - the DJ was impressed that we are still operating and continuing to attract new members - we are really proud that our members have adapted so well to the current environment, and welcome our new members!

If you are due to renew your membership, you should receive an email from us this week. If you don't hear anything, please get in touch.  

That's all for this week - see you soon!