Hi Everyone!
Today marks the end of the first JWM Yoga Challenge. You now have a nice sampling of what yoga has to offer: asana, pranayama, philosophy, meditation, music (click for last week’s playlist), and more! If you are new to my website, feel free to browse the entire yoga channel to find more information and videos on all of the above topics (Please watch the videos on a computer screen as they are not viewable on all mobile devices). Continue reading
The Sanskrit word “satya” means truth and is one of the yamas in yoga philosophy (the yamas are the first limb of the eight limbs of yoga or ethical rules). According to the ancient yogis, being truthful to one’s self and others provides a path to clarity and self-contentment. They believed that if we are constantly in denial about what is true and what is not, we remain trapped in “avidya” or ignorance. Stuck behind a veil of ignorance, we can only exist in “maya” or illusion. Continue reading
What Does “Sadhana” Mean?
If you are practicing yoga once a week, try to bump it up to two times a week and then more if you want to or can. However many times you choose to practice yoga, try to develop a sadhana, meaning a chosen, committed, consistent, and aspirational approach to your practice. Yours could be a daily yoga practice or perhaps you practice 3x a week (or 1x a week). Make a decision, schedule your time for your yoga, and do it! It’s extremely difficult to reap the wonderful healthy benefits of yoga without sadhana. The more you practice, the more you will get out of your practice as long as you are practicing safely and in a manner that suits your constitution.
Do you ever ask yourself “how often should I meditate?” If you do or if you don’t, the answer is, as much or as little as you can. Ideally, it’s most beneficial to meditate every day. Challenge yourself to start a daily meditation practice even if it’s just sitting quietly with your eyes closed for a minute or two. Then, as you become more comfortable, you can increase the time that you sit. Continue reading
What is yoga? The actual definition of yoga is to become one or to yolk. Pantanjali’s first Sutra, “Now the exposition of Yoga is being made, translates more simply as “Yoga is now.” For the most part, many think of yoga as asana, pranayama, and meditation. These are all aspects of yoga, however, anything that one experiences in the present moment, the “now,” qualifies as yoga too. Continue reading
Yoga and the gunas. What are the gunas?
Yoga philosophy often refers to the Gunas, which are three aspects of prana, our life force. The gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas. In The Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines sattva, rajas, and tamas as “tranquility, activity, and inertia.” In life, we tend towards being too rajasic or tamasic; thus, through thoughtful and disciplined practice on and off the mat, yogis aspire to bring rajas and tamas into balance to achieve sattva, a pure state of serenity and lucidity (samadhi). Try to understand which of your gunas dominates your personality and life and then work with yourself and a teacher to bring them all into homeostasis. Continue reading
Today The Julie Wilcox Method brings you a third morning yoga video for your library. This yoga video is targeted to intermediate and strong intermediate yoga students. It is 35-minutes long. For any intermediate or advanced yoga practice, you must make sure to properly warm up your body, which is very difficult to do in less than 35-minutes. If all you can do is a super quick morning yoga practice, please stay safe and simple and do Morning Yoga Practice Video 1 or Morning Yoga Practice Video 2, which are not as demanding as is this yoga video and are for all levels. Have a safe and enjoyable practice! Below are some photos from the video. Continue reading
This is a nice article about yoga and sleep, better known as yoga nidra. I’ve taught and written about yoga nidra, and practice it myself several times a week. The best book on the yoga nidra technique is one by the Bihar School Of Yoga. If you have trouble sleeping and are seeking to improve your sleep through yoga, buy the book or find and teacher who knows how to teach it. Then, get started. Yoga and sleep are a power pair that can bring about vast life changes. Read the articles here. Continue reading
As temperatures begin to change with the seasons, you have to take extra good care of yourself to avoid injury. Here are a few easy ways to decrease the chances of damaging your body as summer melts into fall. Continue reading
