Intention, a Positive Way to Make Change this New Year

2 Days till it’s 2017, a brand New Year. We see this as a time of making changes & letting go of the things that didn’t work from 2016. It was a difficult year for many of us, & we just want to be rid of it. We all hope that 2017 will be better.

To make the changes we want, we start setting New Year resolutions & within the first week, we normally have broke them. The reason is resolutions are based on things we don’t want to do or be anymore, like eat too much, be overweight, stressed…. but the problem is we are seeing the things that are wrong & not what we truly want to become.

Instead, try setting a New Year intention. In yoga, we call this sankalpa. With a sankalpa, you focus on what you would like to be, more patient, lighter, healthier. When we focus on something positive, we will have more success. The analogy I can give comes from my husband who taught me how to golf. He says you can’t focus on what you don’t want when you are golfing, “I don’t want to hit the ball into the water” because all our mind/body will hear is “hit the ball into the water” as the negative falls away. So instead just say what you want instead of what you don’t, I will hit the ball over the water, & you will get a better result.

A great practice to get into is to set a sankalpa (intention) at a time when you feel present, relaxed & at ease. Repeat your intention as a statement of fact “I am more aware” at least 3x. In this receptive state, our whole being becomes this intention. Now let it go, & do not dwell on it, but allow the seed you planted to grow. Now throughout our day, we can manifest these ideas into our life. I believe, in our True Nature, we are already the things we wish to be, we just need to allow them to come out in a physical way by how we live our lives.

As an example of this idea, I have attached a link to a youtube video on how positive & negative words & energy can affect something like water.

There is a Japanese scientist Dr Emoto who did a study on the affects of negative & positive words on water. How when something beautiful or positive was exposed to the water, the crystals were beautiful, when it was negative, it was distorted & chaotic.

An interesting idea, since we are composed of about 60% water, how thoughts & words could affect us physically….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAvzsjcBtx8

"Masaru Emoto was born in Yokohama, Japan in July 1943 and a graduate of the Yokohama Municipal University's department of humanities and sciences with a focus on International Relations. In 1986 he established the IHM Corporation in Tokyo. In October of 1992 he received certification from the Open International University as a Doctor of Alternative Medicine. Subsequently he was introduced to the concept of micro cluster water in the US and Magnetic Resonance Analysis technology. The quest thus began to discover the mystery of water. He undertook extensive research of water around the planet not so much as a scientific researcher, but more from the perspective of an original thinker. At length he realized that it was in the frozen crystal form that water showed us its true nature through. He has gained worldwide acclaim through his groundbreaking research and discovery that water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness. He is the author of the best-selling books Messages from Water, The Hidden Messages in Water, and The True Power of Water. He is a long-time advocate for peace in relation to water. He is currently the head of the I.H.M.General Research Institute and President Emeritus of the International Water for Life Foundation, a Not for Profit Organization. Mr. Emoto has been visually documenting these molecular changes in water by means of his photographic techniques. He freezes droplets of water and then examines them under a dark field microscope that has photographic capabilities. Some examples from his works include: Water from clear mountain springs and streams had beautifully formed crystalline structures, while the crystals of polluted or stagnant water were deformed and distorted. Distilled water exposed to classical music took delicate, symmetrical crystalline shapes. When the words "thank you" were taped to a bottle of distilled water, the frozen crystals had a similar shape to the crystals formed by water that had been exposed to Bach's "Goldberg Variations"- music composed out of gratitude to the man it was named for. When water samples were bombarded with heavy metal music or labeled with negative words, or when negative thoughts and emotions were focused intentionally upon them, such as "Adolf Hitler", the water did not form crystals at all and displayed chaotic, fragmented structures. When water was treated with aromatic floral oils, the water crystals tended to mimic the shape of the original flower. Sometimes, when we cannot see the immediate results of our affirmations and or prayers, we think we have failed. But, as we learn through Masaru Emoto's photographs, that thought of failure itself becomes represented in the physical objects that surround us. Now that we have seen this, perhaps we can begin to realize that even when immediate results are invisible to the unaided human eye, they are still there. When we love our own bodies, they respond. When we send our love to the Earth, she responds. For our own bodies at birth are more than 60 percent water, and the percentage of water in our bodies remains high throughout life (depending upon weight and body type). The earth's surface is more than 60 percent water as well. And now we have seen before our eyes that water is far from inanimate, but is actually alive and responsive to our every thought and emotion. Perhaps, having seen this, we can begin to really understand the awesome power that we possess, through choosing our thoughts and intentions, to heal ourselves and the earth. If only we believe. Whether you participate in global meditations, or simply do this inner work in the quiet of your own loving mind and heart — we can heal the body of our earth and recreate a clear, pristine world to hand down to our children for seven generations."

In my classes in January, we will be working on the idea of how to work on setting intentions in our practice & how that can manifest change in our lives for the better. Lets work together to make 2017 our best year yet!

Here’s a list of where I am teaching this winter:

YOGA & MEDITATION CENTRE OF CALGARY Marda Loop 2028b 33 Ave SW Calgary

See YogaMcc.com or contact 403-251-YOGA (9642) for more information or to register.

Gentle Yoga for Strength (drop-in) WEDNESDAY 9:30-11:00 am Customized Yoga Therapy (registered) space still available WEDNESDAY 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Winer Session: Jan 4 - Mar 22

Healthy Backs (drop-in) THURSDAY 6:00 pm - 7:20 pm Customized Therapeutic (registered) THURSDAY 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Winter Session: Jan 5 - Mar 23 (1 spot remaining)

YOGA THERAPY IN COCHRANE

Frank Wills Memorial Hall 405 1 St E got to acyoga.net for more information or to register

Core Yoga Therapy - (registered/drop in class)

MONDAY 1:00 - 2:15 pm

Winter session: Jan 9 - Apr 3 (NO class Feb 20)

Gentle Yoga for Strength - (registered/drop in class)

TUESDAY NEW TIME 6:45-8:00pm

Winter session: Jan 10 - Apr 4 (NO class Feb 14)

KNOX UNITED CHURCH

506 4 St SW go to acyoga.net for more information or to register

Lunchtime Yoga for Back Health (registered) TUESDAY 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Winter Session: Jan 10 - Apr 4 (NO class Mar 14)

See the articles below that go a bit more into sankalpa’s & how to create them for you life. In essence, you are re-enforcing a positive action to connect with your true values & nature. When we focus on the positive aspects, we gravitate towards them & when we fall back into our old patterns, remember, New Year is not the only time we can start over. We can start over in any moment, by not dwelling on our old actions & begin again. It can be as simple as exhaling, & allowing a new breath to begin.

http://www.yogajournal.com/article/lifestyle/resolve-to-evolve/

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/how-to-create-a-sankalpa