Businesses have quarterly goals and check-ins, so perhaps it’s not just a spiritual practice but a smart practice to have quarterly intentions or check-ins for our lives.
Enter the yoga practice and philosophy of sankalpa. “Kalpa” means “vow” and “San” mean a “connection with the highest truth.” So a sankalpa is a vow you make to support your highest self at the start of each new year, throughout the year, or at the beginning of a yoga mat practice, essentially anytime to need check-in with the course you’ve set sail for.
How is it different from typical New Year resolutions or goals? One difference is it’s not formed strictly with the analyzing mind. Through time spent studying and practicing yoga, we come to know our soul as transcendent and not needing anything, while our human self does have needs and comes into life with a unique purpose.
To begin the process of uncovering our sankalpa, we must first open to this understanding, free our mind of all judgment and take a few moments to arrive in the present moment, within the heart.
Then individualize the process. Take time to reflect on all that you’ve experienced over the past several months or year, no doubt there's been plenty of circumstances that delivered lessons and restored faith in love. As you look onwards into the next six to twelve months, consider how you want to feel? How you want to BE? How is the small voice inside of guiding you towards a vision that is also aligned with the highest good for all beings?
Remember living life from the soul is a marathon, not a sprint. Not everything happens all at once, you need to reach milestones. Consider each sankalpa to be the energizing force propelling you towards milestones that are part of the bigger design of your life’s work.
Unlike typical New Year resolutions, sankalpa is process-oriented vs. goal-oriented. A sankalpa is ideally brief, making it easier for you to repeat the vow to yourself daily. Additionally, make it a statement as if it’s already happening and a realistic aim for the next six to twelve months.
Example of a typical resolution or goal: I will lose 20 lbs.
Example of a sankalpa: I am healthy and powerful in my own skin! I choose movement and foods that are nourishing.
Let’s say you choose the first option and lose the 20 lbs. Then what? The latter elevates emotional, mental, and physical health all at the same time and makes the process the aim.
When initially crafting your sankalpa, allow there to be a few first drafts. Tapping into the truth of the heart and soul is kind of like stepping into the shower and not getting the right temperature right off the bat. It takes a little turning it this way, then back this way to get the ideal flow of water.
But words also need to be met with action and preparation.
Make time to declutter your mind and your environment to give your sankalpa more space to breathe and grow. Creating space, in our calendars, in our home, in our body and most importantly, in our mind can help us be more successful.
Pause right now and witness your breath for five full rounds. What do you notice? Taking just ten minutes a day to be present, to dispassionately witness the mind can widen the space between trigger and reaction, stimulus and response. We all entertain a lot of excuses, attachments, and perspectives that can hold us hostage and blind to the truth. We ALSO all possess the ability to change the wiring of our brains and create greater unity in mind, body, heart, and soul, and make BIG SHIFTS HAPPEN!
