“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius
What is Sankalpa?
Whether it’s a New year’s Resolution, or simply an intention you’ve been asked to set at the beginning of a Yoga class, practicing self-inquiry, and getting clear on your personal, emotional, physical and spiritual growth mindsets can have deeply positive and often immediate benefits on your daily life.
Sankalpa or focused intention, is deep inner resolution to allow for evolution. It is a way of planting seeds that align our wisdom, will and action to help bring more depth, meaning and significance to our practice.
Establishing your sankalpa is a powerful way to build and strengthen a bridge from where you are now, to where you want to be. The more you are able to look within for the answers and make shifts in your life that are guided and nurtured by this self-inquiry practice and the inner wisdom that arises therein, the more narrow this gap becomes.
Unlike a goal, sankalpa is not about quenching of a thirst for more money, or losing those 5 pounds. Instead, it is a profound way to connect to your highest truth and your BEST SELF, from the depth of your soul to be able to realise your most heartfelt desires.
When your sankalpa arises, be willing to sit with it, feel it, cultivate the willingness to put in the work needed to align yourself to it. Then practice. Our resolves are nourished with practice and focus.
When you are clear on the “WHY” of your promise to yourself, you begin to more naturally show up for yourself and begin to track your follow-through progress – then your journey with practice can begin to flow with more ease. You tap more into the pure FLOW!
Remember, when it comes to making a promise to yourself, adopting a new habit, a big life change, or moving through transition, the process, “the journey IS the destination”. Enjoy the process, and let go of any expectation of how your sankalpa may or may not unfold.
How to Awaken your Inner GPS:
For me, it’s been quite helpful to think of programming my sankalpa in terms of programming my inner GPS – my inner navigation system, like I would in a car trying to reach a new destination.
Step 1 – Let yourself be quiet for a few intentional moments.
Take a few minutes to just focus on and slow down your breath. Give yourself a few moments, to clear away the busyness, the hustle and bustle, the to-do’s, the what comes nexts….and be here now.
Step 2 – Program your Inner GPS
Get your journal or simply consider the following question for a few moments, in terms of your body, mind, heart and soul:
What do I really want?
What is my most heartfelt desire?
How do I want to FEEL?
How do i want to help others to feel?
What do I wish to bring into my life?
What new life-supporting habit – thought pattern, relationship, skill, routine, self-care regime – do i want to add or amplify in my life?
What habit, thought or behaviour do i want to release from my life?
What do i need to let go of? What’s holding me back?
What is it that I truly want from this short and precious life?
What are the things that light me up and make my heart sing?
Step 3 – Purify – Prepare your Vehicle
Once we’ve programmed our GPS with where we want to go, and before we put the car into gear and let it follow the map, it’s important to make sure our vehicle is in optimal running order
This is the self-care piece of the puzzle.
Consider the quality of your day to day life. How are things running?
Are you well-hydrated, are are eating well, sleeping enough, surrounding yourself with people who uplift you to rise to your best self? Are you in positive clear environments. Make an y upgrades you deem necessary for the journey to run as smoothly as possible.
Step 4 – Begin the Journey / Turn on the Ignition!
It’s time to turn the vehicle on, and go forth in the direction of your dreams. Who do you need to be in order to actualise these intentions? What steps do you need to take? Create an achievable action step. Then do it again. One foot in front of the other – keep showing up. Persistence and presence are the key to making sustainable lasting changes in your life.
Step 5 – Trust the Mystery / Believe / Let go
Once everything is in motion, the exact route may unfold differently than you may expect. In fact, life very rarely goes exactly to plan, as we’ve all so tangibly experienced this year.
What’s important it to practice the art of Trusting the Process. Easier said than done. That can be one of your intentions – to TRUST MORE IN THE MYSTERY. Trust that Maps is gonna get you there eventually. Trust that there is a greater intelligence operating in life, that is beyond our limited human comprehension. Trust that simply doing your best to show up with love to each moment that presents is enough.
Just as google maps has for me at least, on so many occasions, led me down unexpected routes, and sometimes completely wrongs turns and streets, eventually, ideally, we reach our GPS’s programmed destination.
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3 Practical Tips to Create your Sankalpa
1. Make your intention Personal – This is all about YOU
What do you want to get out of your home practice in the next couple months?
- Be my BEST Self / Live my BEST life
- Be more authentic, kind, compassionate
- Feel more present
- Master my emotions and heal core wounds
- Improve physical, emotional and spiritual flexibility
- Reduce pain
- Manage anxiety, stress, depression
- Grow strength
- Improve mental function
- develop openness of heart and mind
- Something else?
How do you want to FEEL?
What is the deeper FEELING behind what YOU want. If you want to commit to a daily yoga practice, perhaps it’s the feeling of presence or openness you want to invite into your life.
Or maybe you want to be fully free of suffering and think starting a Yoga practice could help with that.
2. Keep it simple and concise: Phrase your intention positively & in the present tense –
Keep your sankalpa simple and memorable so that you can go deep working with it over and over if you like.
Rather than focus on what you want to release, let go of or change, focus your awareness on the energy you are currently cultivating – how you want to be feeling.
E.g. I am / feel: …Worthy / Free / Enough / Balanced Joyful / At Ease / in Peace / Healthy and Well / Connected / Relaxed / Rejuvenated / Recharged / Present / Empowered / Supported / in Flow…
3. Ritualise it.
When you have found the right intention for you, it will feel expansive and resonant. Feel into that. Marinating in your sanklapa will take you and your commitment to the next level.
Take a moment to bring in the sacred. Acknowledge the mystery. A simple ritual to consecrate your intention can be simple – turn to your intuition and trust yourself.
Perhaps you light a candle, some incense, share some insightful words or prayer of gratitude.
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Create your Sankalpa – Let’s Practice Together:
Preparing:
- Take a few moments to consider your Sankalpa and get clear on what you really want.
- Set your timer, and take 5 minutes NOW with your journal. Feel free to share in the comments.
- Write point form or in sentences, in as much details as possible, your sankalpa, your resolution to evolve and integrate these qualities more into your life.
- Place it where you can see/read it every day – This is the best way to keep your sankalpa present and fresh in your awareness. Make it beautiful if you feel inspired!
Journal/Ask-Yourself:
- What is inspiring you to create a sankalpa right now? What needs aren’t fully being met in your life?
- How do I want to feel?
- What do I really want?
- What is my heartfelt desire?
- What qualities do I want to grow and nurture in my life?
- What qualities am I hoping to grow within myself this year?
- How much time am I willing to commit to practice on a daily basis?
- What are my top 5 excuses or reasons that will likely come up and deter me from fully participating/being present for my practices?
- What are my top 5 challenges or distractions to Yoga/meditation in general?
- Am I willing to face the inevitable resistances and challenges that arise along this journey? How?
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Ready to Get Clear, Deepen your Practice, Feel more Balanced and Resilient & Align to Your Sankalpa & Purpose?
Please Join us for the Upcoming…
ॐ
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