Welcome to the yoga website of Julie DulaneyTuesday, 24 April 2012 19:35
"An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He managed to get candy from the nearest town and put it all in a decorated basket. at the foot of a tree.
Then he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said "now", the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there could have all the candy to him/herself.
So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said "now", all of the children took each other by the hand ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time divided up the candy, sat down and began to happily munch away.
The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the candy all to themselves.
The children responded: "Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?"
Ubuntu is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as "I am what I am because of who we all are."
Bishop Desmond Tutu gave this explanation in 2008 :
"One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."
Thursday, 05 January 2012 17:35
Whereas once it was thought the brain was a solid, limited, unchanging structure, it is now known that it changes according to how it is used. Both neuronal connections and tissue thickness are directly affected by the activities that the brain does. In his book ‘The Brain that Changes Itself’ (Doidge 2008), the author investigates the processes and circumstances that are involved in changes in the brain or what he calls ‘brain plasticity’.
Localisation or (one part of the brain for one activity) is no longer how the brain is generally understood. Although there are critical periods of greatest plasticity during childhood, the interaction between the brain and the environment continually reshapes the brain. Areas of less use can be overtaken, as required for new activities. Nothing is wasted as the brain reshapes itself in a way of ‘use it or lose it’.
Authentic yoga, which leads to a transformation of consciousness, appears to be a method of practice that takes advantage of the brain’s plasticity, in order to develop it. Additionally meditation appears to be acting on a particular area of the brain – the prefrontal cortex – and, in the process, changing the structure of the brain.
The next 6 week meditation course I will be teaching, starts 16th July (each Monday evening for an hour) at Tamara Yoga in Claremont. One of the signs of progress in yoga is a 'longing to meditate' - I can vouch for this. Hope you choose to make meditation a part of your life this year. Book online for this course, or send me an email if you've got any questions.
Wednesday, 03 August 2011 09:53
On retreat in Bali recently, our practice each morning was, after long meditation begun before dawn, to eventually open our eyes mindfully to the light, and ‘greet the day’. This mindful moment was ‘sensational’. As the light streamed in through our eyes to the brain our whole being embraced the wonder and beauty of the reality that was presented to us.
Yes, the view was good, (sunrise over rice fields and ducks with volcanoes in the distance), but our mind and heart had been carefully prepared for that moment. And this changes everything about the experience of the interface between consciousness and reality.
Our minds were clear and calm from meditation, pranayama and the devotional sound of the ‘raga’. We were very present. We were sensitive to the smallest detail as our hearts had let down their guard and opened, everything was quiet and beautiful no need to be defended and contracted.
Now the quality of the experience of reality could be extraordinairy.
There is the ‘us’ and there is the ‘out there’. The interaction between these is our life. The quality of the interaction between them determines the quality of our life. How we receive and act towards what the universe is presenting to us, is everything. Life happens at the interface of these two, let the interaction or the ‘conversation’ at this place be one of high quality.
In his book The Mindful Brain, Daniel J Siegel talks about our capacity to interact with each moment with curiosity, openness, attentiveness and love. Moment by moment, the universe dissolves and rises anew, each moment is different.
“In the infinite consciousness universes come and go like particles of dust in a beam of sunlight that shines through a hole in the roof.” __Vashistha
Wednesday, 06 July 2011 12:47
My senses are still filled with the fascination, colour, sounds, food, warmth and spirituality of Bali and it’s gentle people. The rice paddies, ducks, rain, warm tropical air the ritual and ceremonies a perfect backdrop to a very heart opening yoga retreat.
Emil Wendel and Geoffrey Gordon shared their wisdom and warmth so generously and skilfully. From dawn until 10am we practiced focus and physical effort, then with a gorgeous open heart and no tension in the mind or body for the rest of the day, we could love everyone, feel blissful, smooth, aware of our own breath.
I wonder if Emil knows how much difference he makes to our lives, clarifying our understanding of life, reality and why we do these practices. He led us from the development of human consciousness, the harsh reactivity of the amygdala, how the cerebral cortex can take a 2nd look so we don’t react, the fullness of life - accepting all that is presented to us (good and bad), the dangers of continuous partial attention, evolving humankind from an egocentric worldview to altruism to achieving a conversation with the world from a place of stillness with no tension or agitation. When our spiritual evolution plateaus in our mid years we can stay on top by tolerating and welcoming other viewpoints and conflicting ideas, add layers to our world by doing different things, cultivate the ability to see the world from other points of view – be more than one, delight in different opinions, sometimes let go of control and be in the flow seeing a mystical quality in life, allow adventure. And... greet the day... welcome, open your heart and engage with it.
Geoffrey introduced us to the Indian melodic form known as ‘rag’. A fascinating afternoon session was spent understanding some theory behind it, an evening of great kirtan, and then every morning, the dawn raga. Geoffrey’s yoga practice is bhakti, the yoga of devotion. This is his spiritual practice, he sings and plays each morning with so much feeling he touches the ultimate and we feel our hearts following his.
The heart thrives on beauty, meaning and feeling. Bali provided the beauty, Emil provided the meaning and Geoffrey made our hearts so big I could hardly breathe.
We return to Perth sensing the awe and magnificence of who we really are, with a tangible feeling of connectedness to each other and ‘the other’.
All of you who came to Bali with me this year made the retreat a nicer place to be. Thank you so much.
Namaste
Julie
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 11:04
The important changes that are happening to you, through regular yoga practice, are not on the outside where we usually look when we are in any way competing. It’s detrimental to our practice to be expecting to be stronger, go deeper in a pose, to sweat, hurt and strain. This is violence.
Instead of looking for the outer result, look instead how honest is the effort – much more subtle. Yoga teachers never need to tell students to push harder, or strain more. Yoga is all about the mind not the body. We encourage students to focus to their best ability, bind perfect breath with perfect movement, to sense the most subtle shifts and openings that inevitably come, and move through them, to find places in the body we’ve never been to before, the balance, wholeness and grace in each asana. This is all effort for the mind. The more complex the practice, the more work for the mind. The mind rides on the electrical activity of the brain which spreads through the nerves of the whole body as we practice. Ultimately it is the mind we want to enhance and evolve, not the muscle. We are using the body to develop subtle awareness, to notice and then to change the compulsive habits and unnoticed thoughts. They become more visible to the ‘witness’ of our mind. The effort that you give comes from a deep place, a longing to evolve, expand our awareness, go beyond even the brain to the higher consciousness of the mind.
Monday, 02 May 2011 23:17
I think many of you would make wonderful yoga teachers. We yoga teachers come in all shapes and sizes, all combinations of strength and flexibility, approaches and attitudes. We have one thing in common though, we have been touched deeply by something about yoga, not quite sure exactly what it was, but we needed to learn more than was possible from attending weekly classes.
In most areas of interest you could choose a subject that you want to know more about, and study it just for yourself. There would be a course available such as ‘wine appreciation’ or ‘permaculture’ for instance and away you’d go. For yoga, the course available is YOGA TEACHER TRAINING. That’s it, and I think this may be what makes people hesitate.
I was talking to a male trainee teacher ½ way through his studies this morning, he said at the beginning of his course in a class of 12 only 4 said they intended to actually teach yoga after completing the course. The other two thirds were studying a subject they loved and respected and they just wanted to know more about it.
I think in the end none of us should be called yoga teachers, we really are just people on a fantastic journey, about ourselves and life and how to live a human life that is meaningful and full.
Most do end up teaching however. The funny thing that happens is that you really just can’t contain it and hold it all in – you have to share it – you have to give it away because you are overflowing. It becomes a cycle that flows, we teach more because we learn more, we learn more because we are teaching more. Teaching others pulls the teachings through you, taking them in, processing, understanding then expressing and giving it to others. I find myself this year, for the first time teaching a Yoga Teacher Training Course. At last I get to spend hours on all the fabulousness that makes yoga stand apart from anything else. And it is not the exercise! ...... although that is also fabulous.
The best yoga teachers will be those among you who come to this commitment, a little unsure of your capacity to learn, or teach, but very sure of your love and fascination with the beautiful art of yoga. There is no course of study that could compare to studying yoga – because eventually what you learn is about the deepest part of yourself.
.......and the world needs more yoga teachers!
Come on, you know who you are, talk to me. Yoga Teacher Training starts in 2 weeks.
Namaste
Julie
Monday, 14 March 2011 11:18
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
We retreated to the bush, because we want to live deliberately.
We polished the mirror of our consciousness, clearing and cleaning with morning meditation, holding that state with silence as we moved quietly into each new, beautiful morning. We cleared tension and knots from our body / mind and challenged our edges with asana.
Susan held the space for beautiful mealtimes of warmth and laughter as the love and uniqueness of each individual shone out. She nourished us with food prepared mindfully and with love. We had wonderful afternoons of lively and insightful discussion about the big questions of life. In these inspiring discussions the group was bigger than the sum of the individuals.
Honeyeater Ridge itself supported us in our work, the smells of the bush, the trees surrounding us making a refuge of peace and beauty, the little animals and birds, the gorgeous starry nights a continual reminder of the balance, perfection and beauty of nature.
And now we return to our normal lives, a little changed by retreating from it. The hardest part of yoga practice, is to recognise the habits and reactions in ourselves that occur unconsciously and increase our awareness of these. This is the process that allows them to gradually dissolve so that we can live from intention instead of reaction. To do this takes effort and practice, a clear and uncluttered mind that notices subtlety. We move through life mindfully and paying attention to our thoughts and emotions - becoming more conscious. I always feel awe and humility in the presence of people quietly working on their own minds. Thank you to all you beautiful friends who came on retreat with me in Margaret River this year.
Namaste
Julie
Friday, 12 November 2010 09:29
Sometimes we doubt ourselves, thinking we aren't good enough. We want to do a good job but worry that others might not think we have. We can easily be thrown off centre by worrying about what others think. We may have even given our best efforts, and still imagine that we didn't do a good job.
Yoga philosophy is very helpful here. The teaching is to give our best efforts and surrender the results. Think about going through your whole life with this attitude, you couldn't help but shine and yet be unconcerned about the opinion of others. Neither puffed up because others think we're good, nor deflated because others think we are bad. It sounds simple but it's not easy. To not be concerned what others think of us goes against the ego. Our small self really wants others to like us. This is a mind pattern that is very deep in most of us. So it's hard work to get out of the habit of this. Getting out of these habitual, automatic patterns of the mind is the goal of yoga. To be free of all these is what we call liberation, freedom, enlightenment.
Through our yoga practice we become more aware of our internal world, therefore more aware of our thoughts. This is the first step, to notice the thoughts associated with this upleasant feeling of 'not good enough'. The next step, as soon as we notice these kinds of thoughts, choose to drop them, they don't serve us in any way, they have no purpose. This is where our practice of letting go of thoughts is put to good use. Each time we notice the unwanted thoughts and drop them, the reaction will be a little less strong the next time. The reverse is also true, each time we react, gather another lot of negative thoughts, the reaction will be stronger the next time. This is the cycle of samskara.
While ever we give our ceaseless, unending best efforts and surrender the results we are allowing life to flow through us as it should. In the end it is just between you and the universe.
I love this quote from Kahlil Gibran in his book 'The Prophet'
There are those who give little of the much which they have,
and they give it for recognition, and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010 12:53
At the beginning of class we set an intention. ‘I intend to be ........’. This is a beautiful practice, in class and in life. An intention is an attitude we would like to cultivate, eg. Happy, peaceful, loving etc. Like tending a garden, when we in-tend, we tend inwardly.
The tending is about paying attention to when we are aligned with our intention and when we aren’t, and also what thoughts are associated with it.
If we take the example of ‘I intend to be happy’, and look carefully, it is our thoughts that cause dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Happiness doesn’t come from the outside as we often think. Many people think ‘ if only .......’, they could be happy, or ‘when ......... happens’, I will be happy.
The point is happiness can only happen ‘now’. Through allowing yourself regular times for quiet reflection and meditation you become more skilled at noticing lots of things about your inner world of feeling and thoughts. You can find the connection between them.
One of the teachings of yoga is to practice being happy and contented – SANTOSHA. Just as practicing a forward bend enables us to get better at it, so practicing happiness is how it increases in our lives. The way to practice is to pay attention, keep noticing, when you aren’t happy – what have you been thinking about. Make the connection between thoughts and your state of mind, and you will very quickly choose to drop thoughts that not only serve no purpose but actually cause suffering.
Monday, 23 August 2010 11:09
Kirtan is more than just getting together in a group to sing and play music together. A friend sent me this beautiful description of what it is.
Kirtan is part of an ancient form of yoga known as Bhakti yoga.
Kirtan is the calling, the crying out, the reaching across infinite space - digging into the heart's deepest well to touch and be touched.
Kirtan is for all people. There are no masters, teachers, no advanced students, no beginners. Kirtan teaches itself by allowing us to enter into a mystery world - a world where all the logic of our minds, all the conditioning and learning are left outside - and we allow ourselves to expand into the mystery. And in this mystery we create a temple inside our hearts, a place of refuge, a place of love, a place of being, a place of sanctity...... whatever we need.
There is no right or wrong way to sing kirtan.
All that matters is the spirit, the feeling. Don't worry about what you sound like, feel whatever you feel, have no expectations, no inhibitions.
Make these kirtans your own prayers and use their power to set fire to your own soul.
Saturday, 26 June 2010 12:23
I love the Gayatri Mantra, and play it often in class. The words are in Sanskrit and there are many interpretations, I like this simple one "I acknowledge the light, may it illuminate my intellect". To me 'the light' is the pure energy that flows through the universe. It gives a rock it's vibration and animates all life. At the level of our molecules, atoms and electrons, we are only pure vibrating energy. Yoga talks about this energy as the source, and that life is sustained by this one, ever-renewing source. So the Gayatri Mantra is calling for it to spread through us, and shine through our consciousness. This is so much about the meaning of yoga. We practice the postures to clear tension and stiffness out of our mind and body, so we can strengthen and free this flow, allowing it to flood into areas that were tight and dense before. The teaching of yoga is, that this flow is also affecting our mind.
Restorative yoga, which includes savasana, is about receiving this energy rather than using it. As we drape ourselves into different shapes over bolsters or blankets, without any muscle tension,we are freeing up space and sensing quietly down into the body and becoming more aware of the essence of who we are, this amazing, tingling vibration - that is bliss, unlimited potention and unconditional love.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 09:05
I want to share with you the importance of sitting in stillness at the beginning of each class, so that you will appreciate and enjoy that part as much as the active part of the class. The skill of being able to quieten the mind at will is very valuable in life. So we practice it at the beginning and end of the class. Ultimately this is the reason for practicing all types of yoga....... to be able to get beyond the ordinary, habitual mind.
Without our mind racing away to other things, we become present and can focus on 'now'. Whenever we are thinking, it is either about the past or about the future, if we are sensing, we are present. Being present makes life come alive, there is an ease and spontaneity. When we are lost in thought, what is around us becomes dull and vague. We could live our whole lives in this dull state, most do. Life could be lived as a fantasy in your head, or you can experience to the full, what life is pressing up against you at each moment. Ram Dass, once a Harvard psychology professor and writer of the book 'Be Here Now' wrote.......... 'we are either NOW HERE or we are NO WHERE'.
Monday, 19 April 2010 16:11
How interesting that yoga philosophy says that practicing loving kindness and friendliness keeps the mind serene and peaceful. There is a beautiful Buddhist meditation called 'metta'. Briefly this practice asks us to think of ourselves kindly, wishing happiness for ourselves, then to think of a close friend or someone we love very much and do the same for them. By now we can really feel our heart centre filled with love and caring energy. Then holding that feeling in our heart think of someone who we don't know very well. And further, still holding loving energy in our heart and good wishes for, think of someone who we might have negative feelings towards. Then holding the feeling of love steady in our heart and thinking of a someone who is difficult for us to feel positive feelings for, is strong training for our heart and mind. Lastly the feeling of love is held and poured out to all beings.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010 18:57
I usually say NAMASTE to you at the end of each class and you say it back to me.
This is a beautiful yoga tradition, it is the acknowledgement of the soul in one, by the soul in the other. It means 'I bow to you', but there is more intention behind the words.
When I say it to you I am showing gratitude and respect to you, and also, to all my teachers and teachers who taught them going right back. In yoga that means thousands of years of the lineage or chain of teachers that resulted in what I have been taught, and now you have been taught. When you say it back to me you are also acknowledging not only me, but the whole lineage of teachers behind me as well. Right there, is a beautiful moment of connection and timelessness with many great souls.
Tuesday, 02 March 2010 18:42
We have just returned from a really beautiful yoga retreat in Margaret River, the last one I do this year. Some of you have already been on one of these long weekend retreats, and will relate to what I am saying. If you haven't been on one yet, I encourage you to think about it and plan it for next year . I attend at least one yoga retreat myself each year, where I don't teach.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010 09:06
Yoga is a suberb set of physical excercises that promote strength, flexibility, balance and coordination. Physically, yoga also nourishes the internal organs and the nervous system. As if that wasn't enough! But the ancient yogis were more interested in how yoga manipulates the flow of energy (prana) around the body. The breathing practices (pranayama) also do this. Yoga is interested in keeping the channels (nadis) clear and free flowing, and in keeping the main energy centres (chakras) balanced and healthy.
Sunday, 31 January 2010 16:26
Practicing 'Bhujapidasana' this week brings a lot of awareness to Manipura Chakra, the energy centre around the navel. The quality of this energy is passion, determination, fire and will power. The english language suggests we already know this centre as we say thing like 'he is gutsy, or gutless' or 'firey'. This is the energy that gives us a 'burning desire' to keep reaching physically, mentally and spiritually.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 06:03
Each new year, like each day, even like each time we come out of savasana is a fresh start, a time for renewal. We tend to hold an image of ourselves and no matter how positive it is, it is limiting. And worse, mostly our image of ourselves is not so positive. Yoga wants us to keep pushing the edges of the envelope back until we can't feel the edges. The teaching is we are unlimited potential.
Thursday, 24 December 2009 08:16
Yoga philosophy is about how to live well and reach for the highest aspects of the human spirit. We work physically hard in order to be balanced in strength and flexibility and full of well being. We meditate for a clear, calm well managed mind. We also work on our hearts. Higher consciousness is not possible without a clear, expanded and warm heart. One of the important ways to living happily with wisdom is AHIMSA, this means non-violence. Of course it means non-violence in thought as well as action. An important aspect of ahimsa is forgiveness, and this a great time of year to reflect on this.
Saturday, 12 December 2009 00:00
Parivrtta Trikonasana (parivrtta = revolved, trikonasana = triangle) was the focus of your class this week. It is a strong standing pose that is at the same time a forward bend and a twist. For these we need to feel and balance our feet, tilt the pelvis forward, keep the spine in normal alignment ie don't round the back, and balance the chin and hairline.
Friday, 04 December 2009 00:00
I loved teaching Ujjayi pranayama with Moola bandha, the whole class would move into a deep, quiet, concentration very quickly. We first held moola bandha on the out breath only, feeling for the 'pot of energy' that is the torso, sealed at the base. Then we held moola on the in breath only, now feeling for the lifting of energy up into the higher chakras. I found it effective in clarifying moola bandha, which felt different on the 'in' to the 'out' breath.