Jennifer Osendarp Yoga & Massage

receive ~ "take into one's possession, accept possession of," also in reference to the sacrament, from Old North French receivre (Old French recoivre) "seize, take hold of, pick up; welcome, accept," from Latin recipere "regain, take back, bring back, carry back, recover; take to oneself, take in, admit," from re- "back

Receiving ~ Is not always easy. Sometimes we get surprised by what we receive. In some cases we receive without even thinking of it. Sometimes we deeply desire something. And then we suddenly receive it with the result of being surprised, overwhelmed, joyful, confused, grateful, shocked, puzzled, happy…a blend of different feelings can come up.

This was my rollercoaster the last months. Trying to continuously reminding myself of trusting that everything is a divine arrangement. Trusting that the timing is always perfect. Trusting that there is a divine power seeing the bigger picture. And at the same time I observe myself being in an ant like perspective seeing only my duties, my tunnels, my own little tiny ant 🌎 world and what I receive from that bigger picture.

Résumé ~
Receiving can take time.
Receiving sometimes needs acceptance.
Receiving needs integration.

We get nourished already in the womb of our mothers. Naturally this connection feeds us without doing anything special. It’s there right from the beginning.

We get nourished by Mother Earth with her rich fruits, her valuable resources and her kind heart.

In gratitude I think of my family and friends that nourish me with their presence and kindness. As I am traveling between Germany and the Netherlands now since almost three years I appreciate it even more to be around friends and family. Sometimes being far away I still feel our nourishing connection. And I remember our talks and nourishing moments we spend together.

So how can we nourish each other?
We can cook for each other, listen to each other or a simple hug can be everything that’s needed. As I read the Ramayana (Indian Epic) this is was what Lord Rāma gives to Hanuman after he found Sita in Lanka. Lord Rāma had no possessions as he was living as an ascetic. But what he could give was a compassionate hug to Hanuman.

When do you feel nourished?

And how do you nourish others?

Slowly fading away.

But the heart stores the memories forever.

Almost three weeks ago we celebrated our Vivaha-Yajna (Vedic Wedding Ceremony) in .official.

Still thankful for that wonderful ceremony amongst all these lovely souls. We feel blessed and are filled with gratitude that we are carried by the divine couple, our family and friends.

A word that was very present after the ceremony was „nourished“. I felt nourished on so many levels. Spiritually, physically, mentally…it is a gift to find a spiritual home that nourishes one. The day of our wedding ceremony reminded me again to not take this gift for granted. Also nourish that little spiritual seed that wants to be nourished. 🌱

Yamuna Devi

Please purify me from all impurities.

Wash away what does not serve me any longer.

Take me gently into your arms.

Whenever I am at the banks of the Yamuna I can feel such a softening of the heart. Yamuna is so kind and so merciful. Flowing calmly and greeting every being whether it be in the form of a human or an animal. She is so tolerant always waiting for us with open arms.

Yamuna ki jai!

#007
Serving silence

Silence is the absence of…?

I don’t have the answers. Do you?

It’s a wonderful game for the mind to think about how to serve silence?

I can serve silence by being quite.
I can serve silence by listening.
I can serve silence by being still.

How can you serve silence?

#006
Serving my enemies

We serve our friends, we serve our family. But what about serving our enemies?

While reflecting about “Serving my enemies” a question arises. Who is my enemy? Do I really have enemies in my life?

Last Sunday during the Sunday class in Goloka Dhama we discussed the beginning of the 6th chapter of the Gita:

Chapter 6, Verse 5
A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

Chapter 6, Verse 6
For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be the greatest enemy.

The enemy seems to reside within me. And sometimes I serve my mind in a way that it becomes my enemy. And I feed my enemy more and more.

So the Bhagavad-Gita already provides us guidance. How to serve our mind that our mind becomes our friend and not our enemy? The progress will come with the process of Bhakti Yoga. Finding out when the mind is the friend or the enemy.

#005
Serving nature

The climate crisis is right there in front of us. Around us. Underneath our feet. Mother Earth is polluted mainly by us humans. Probably ONLY by us. And she is never complaining. She takes it all. And still the consequences are visible.

She is so quite. She never complains. But what can we do?

Serve her with what is possible within our capacities. We can pick up trash and anyway don’t litter. Leave nature as it is. We can avoid to pick plants or other things that should not be picked. Use our cars less. And I guess all these things are known…but we are humans with strong habits.

Sometimes new habits can create new habbiness….or new happiness.

How else can we serve Mother Nature?

#003
Serving my family

Serving each other in a family constellation is one of the most common things we do. We serve our parents, our sisters and brothers, our grandparents….of course at a young age our family (especially our parents) serves us.

At a certain age we grow, we receive responsibility and enough abilities to give back what we received. There might be the day coming when we serve our parents. Looking at a family from this perspective it paints a wonderful cycle of service.

I am convinced that serving each other in this family mood exists also between friends. But this I keep for another day🙏🏻

#002
Serving my senses

Quite closely connected to the first post #001 Serving my body is #002 Serving my senses.

We serve our senses on a daily basis. If we want it or not. Most of the times we enjoy our food with our tongue, our eyes and our nose. So our senses are activated when we serve ourselves food. There are many senses involved.

We serve our ears when we listen to beautiful music. We serve our skin when we put on a body lotion or get a massage.

There are definitely many more ways to serve our senses. And I guess one can differentiate the service in different qualities of nature? Let’s strive daily to serve our senses in the mode of goodness. That makes me start reflect about…

How to serve the senses in the mode of goodness 🙏🏻

#001 SERVING MY BODY

Something that we humans all have in common: We have a gross material body. Every material body is so unique. And at the same time our gross material bodies need nourishment. There is no exception.

We serve ourselves, our bodies, in order to be able to live, to just function and to serve others. We do that for example by drinking and eating as a very active service to ourselves.

Even our language shows that it is service. We say “Serve yourself”, in German “Bediene dich” (it includes Dienen….☺️), “Servez vous” in French. I guess there are also other proofs in other languages? Please share!

Serving?

When I got in contact with Bhakti Yoga 5 years ago I was very curious. I was reading a lot, I went to the temple in Hamburg by myself and joined different events and met wonderful people along the path of Bhakti Yoga.

On this path I also had to face road bumps and blockages (actually I am still facing them….😁 but trying over and over again to take it more lightly). One big obstacle for me were the very frequently used words “Servant”, “Devotee” or “serving”.

With a cultural background very much influenced by the west growing up in Germany I connected something very different with these words. It always had a negative touch for me. I asked myself “Why should I be a servant?” I was working as a waitress during my time at university. I thought this was my little contribution in my life of being a servant (in a purely materialistic way….🤷🏻‍♀️).

Fortunately I kept my curiosity and kept on asking questions about this topic around “serving”. Who really helped me to pierce through these thick layers of irritation was . She gave me the missing puzzle pieces to see the bigger picture. Thank you so much!

What I wish to do is during this around the topic of serving to take you with me on a journey. Explore and discover new facets of serving and being a servant.

Who’s in? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Last week in the temple…

…during the Gaura Purnima Festival I felt a deep gratitude for the path of Bhakti Yoga. This broad philosophy, the way we deepen our relationships and especially the way to pray.

The way to pray…

Praying loudly
and praying in silence.

Praying together
and praying in solitude.

Praying out of love
and praying out of joy.

Praying out of separation
and praying out of fear.

Praying during cooking
and praying before eating.

Praying in the morning
and praying in the evening.

Praying in the temple
and praying outside.

Dancing while praying
and sitting while praying.

We pray every time to go back.
Back to godhead.


This is not only what I thought when I was sitting in the temple. I could feel it in my heart. A gratitude for the path of Bhakti Yoga. To live a life connected to God. Aiming to stay connected in each moment and each situation. Knowing that I will fail. And still never loose faith in my own path.

So true.

When I look at myself I know I still have a long way to walk.

I guess we German born humans are champions in complaining. About the weather, about the traffic, about the noise from the neighbors, about bad food in restaurants, about bad service in cafes…ok I stop here. Because this could go on forever.

But how to unlearn this? When complaining is so deeply rooted in us?

By the grace of a spiritual master or a guide, good friends or a teacher we can receive feedback. Like A.C. Bhakivedanata Swami Prabhupada gave. This needs openness for feedback. From my experience it depends on these factors: Who gives us feedback? And how is the feedback given? Is there an indication for constructive solutions in it?

I am exploring this topic myself and it’s a life long learning.

What I love about this quote: It’s direct. And what I love about A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he finds clear words that there is now misunderstanding in it.

Hey, my name is Jennifer.

Let me share some things about me. And I’d like to here about you!

1. Three years ago in 2019 during this time I started my journey working in different communities in Sweden (this is where this pic was taken), in Denmark in the Anahata Yoga Retreat Center and in France . This was a very transforming period for me. Also challenging. Living in communities is a “School of Life”. I learned a lot about myself!

2. In May 2017 a good friend of mine gave me the Bhagavad-Gita “As it is” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This scripture was and still is life changing for me. The Gita gives us a “manual” for this partly crazy world. And every time I feel like I need an instruction for this world we live in I consult the Gita.

3. I love to cook! It’s my medicine and meditation. When I was working in the communities I used to cook sometimes for over 80 people with a team. I loved that and could imagine to one day work in this field. You never know ☺️

4. In 2010 (I was 23 years old) I went on a Trip around the world. The first country of my journey was India. In the beginning I hated it. I called my mother on Skype and was crying for 30 minutes and told her I want to come back. Luckily I did not go back. I stayed and had the best time in India 🙏🏻

5. I would love to wear a sari more often but I just don’t know how to tie it properly. Maybe someone can help me and give me instructions 😄

🧡

Still one of my favorite verses from the Bhagavad-Gita.

It expresses for me simplicity. It is not about quantity, bling, bling and glitter. It is about the intention. It is about our inner quality and the quality of our “how” we do what we do.

It is not about great wealth, money and possession. As simpel as a leaf, flowers, water or a fruit. The Lord will accept it when it is offered with love and devotion.

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit a water, I will accept it.
Bhagavad-Gita 9.26

Blossoming happens slowly.

It happens so slow you can not even see it with your eyes.

And then BOOOOOM! It’s there. It opened. Unfolded it’s beauty.

Natural perfection in its very unique way of becoming.

yes it’s unfolding - the very unique way of becoming.

Lean on me.
Feel my strength.
I take care of you.

Manchmal ist das Leben herausfordernd, schwierig, zermürbend. Manchmal erscheint es aussichtslos aus einer Situation, einer Beziehung oder einem Gefühl wieder herauszukommen.

Wir können Erleichterung finden, auch wenn es nur für kurze Zeit ist. Wir können uns anlehnen. An Freunde, an Bäume oder an ein Gebet. Wir dürfen uns anlehnen, uns Begleitung holen wenn es mal schwer wird. Jederzeit.

Wie fühlt sich das für dich an?
Zu wissen, dass du dich jederzeit anlehnen darfst.

Ich lehne mich in der Natur gerne an Bäume an. Übergebe ihnen meine Last, denn sie können es tragen. Danach bedanke ich mich bei dem Baum und gehe in Frieden weiter.

A kind reminder.
Learn to see with the eyes of Love.
And you will see Love everywhere.

When Love resides in your heart you will be able to see with Live, to speak with Love, to act with Love.

So put your Love-Glasses on and see where you can find Love.
It’s everywhere!

My heart speaks to me.
Forgiveness it whispers.
Stay open it sings.

My heart is here to guide me.
To soften my mind.
And to anchor my soul.

Guidance by the heart can never fail.
Trust.

Fears are as individual as our character. They can develop over time, they can be present already from a young age.

For myself I realized it is helping and even necessary to listen to someone else’s fears. And maybe these fears seem completely irrelevant for me. They are relevant and present for others.

There are people who are afraid of spiders. And there are people who love spiders and even keep them in their homes and “cuddle” with them. And I guess for both of them it is completely not understandable why they behave like they behave…so listen.

And even if you can not agree on the fear. Again listen. You never know what lies behind it. Bad experiences, trauma or any other reason.

Listen.

My little cocoon

We all have this cocoon-place where we feel safe and comfortable. It might be a physical place, a spiritual place or a place where you mentally travel.

The individual cocoon that we all need to unplug from the outside is something precious. In the early months it is the womb of our mother. Later the responsibility is ours to find that cocoon.

For myself I found different cocoons to comfort me and calm myself down. This year I discovered the hammock as a place to relax and feel safe. I even slept one night in the hammock which was one of the most beautiful experiences of this year.

A very supportive and powerful way I integrated in my daily life is using essential oils by . By bringing myself to my senses I come to my inner cocoon of my body, mind and soul.

Last but not least my daily mantra meditation is my cocoon. I value it more and more because I can take this spiritual cocoon everywhere. 🧡

What is your cocoon?

Jennifer Grohs Yoga's cover photo

Jennifer Grohs Yoga