I cannot believe we are already in the month of February. It seems like yesterday when we were waiting for the new year to come, ready to  embrace it with new hopes and a new attitude.

With the beginning of a new year, most of us are filled with dreams, goals and resolutions. If you are anything like me, you like to write down your goals — or what I like to call MY INTENTIONS — for the new year to come. I know we are well into the new year, but it is never the wrong time to  set your intentions…

As a yoga teacher, one of the things I come across the most is people saying things like “this year I will practice yoga five days per week” or “I will lose 10 pounds” and so forth. Resolutions start really strong, but within a few weeks I begin to see them fizzle out.

Among other new year’s traditions in my family, we have started to sit down and write a set of intentions. Each of us gets a piece of paper, and we write down our intentions and goals. Then at midnight, we grab our twelve grapes and make twelve wishes, just like I did growing up in Venezuela. We also do a vision board where we place pictures of things we would like do or achieve, places we would like to visit, etc. I place my board in a place I can see it often, so I get reminded of my intentions everyday.

In yoga we call intentions sankalpas. Sankalpa means “will, purpose, or determination.” To make a sankalpa is to set an intention.

Often the word resolution can be perceived as a negative, since we set a resolution and then we feel guilty for not following through. Sankalpas (setting conscious intention or effort towards something) give us a more positive powerful approach. If you set your intention to lose weight to be healthier and later find yourself in front of the freezer eating ice cream out of the box you can ask yourself what is driving you to do that. Is it because you’re stressed or sad? Then you can realize how the power of conscious intention can help you deal with your feelings in a healthier way. If your intention is to be healthier then you find ways to incorporate a healthier lifestyle and not just focus on one aspect, like food. In other words…

SANKALPA = POSITIVE POWER

A sankalpa also praises the true effort you are making to achieve your intention rather than focusing on what you are doing wrong. So every effort that you make to move closer to your intention COUNTS!

Anytime is a great time to look back and let go of the guilt and be open new possibilities.

SET YOUR SANKALPA

Start by looking inward. Take some time to meditate, to breath, or simply to journal in a quiet place. Ask yourself questions that only you know the answer to: How would you like to feel next year? Where would you like to be? What can you add in my daily life that can help you be happier, healthier, etc.

Create a short sentence or phrase for your sankalpa. Be mindful to keep theses phrases positive and not to include any limiting  words based on fear.

Remember, change doesn’t happen overnight. So be firm, but fair.  Gently remind yourself of your intention as often as you can, and if you fall off the wagon dust yourself off and continue moving forward.

ADRI KYSER is a yoga and Pilates instructor with over 1800 teaching hours through Yoga Alliance, garnering her the highest level of recognition as E-RYT 500 Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher. She has done more than 300 hours of teacher training with Shiva Rea… {more}