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I am so excited you’re here. We're going to dive right into how to set your intention with your yoga practice and in your life to help you live a more intentional life and to help you feel more empowered personally and have more motivation for accomplishing the things that you want to accomplish.
I want you to reflect. Especially with how you felt motivated in a certain class or in your life. Then think of another time when you felt unmotivated and disempowered in another class or your life.
Ultimately this helps us to see our motivation for doing the things that we want to do or are doing, really stems from knowing your “why.”
Being led to something that’s greater than that moment. Because you understand your soul and you understand your inner being of why you're doing the things you're doing.
So let’s talk about your intention and how specifically your intentions can help you guide your motivation in your yoga practice, but also in your life.
An intention is something we can either set at the beginning of our yoga class or at the beginning of our day. Really this is just helping us plant seeds so that we can move throughout our days and our lives with more purpose.
What specifically is an intention? An intention can be a simple word that you dedicate your practice or your day to that represents a value that you would like to bring into your life.
For example, maybe your words are love, trust, vulnerability, freedom from fear, openness, compassion, or truth. Powerful intentions directly address feelings that you would like to modify.
If you’re feeling weak for the day or at the beginning of your practice. Maybe that’s a great time for you to set your intention as strength. If you’re feeling doubtful about yourself. Maybe you want to set an intention of belief.
In order for our intentions that we set to be fully effective, this isn’t something that we say once and be done with it.
While we apply this to when we are practicing yoga in our classes. This can be something that we can really bring forth, especially during our most challenging poses. Maybe you’re going to go right into a wheel and before you go into that difficult pose, you bring forth that intention. Allow that to power you through the pose.
You can use this in your life too. Maybe you’re going into a tough meeting with a coworker and you really want to bring forward the intention of strength and belief in yourself. Allow that to bring you through the moment.
Once you have that intention set, you’ll be able to bring it forth. Especially when you need it. This can help you guide your decisions and actions based on what it is your value is for that day.
Ultimately, intentions give you a way to stay grounded and to stay connected with your true self. No matter what storms seem to be brewing, you have that to fall back on.
An important thing that we need to remember is the distinction between setting an intention and setting a goal. Intentions are not something we expect an outcome from. Instead, intentions are more a continual aspiration or something that will always keep us on that path. This is based on your values, which is something really important to you.
In a way establishing your intention is making a commitment to those values that are the most important to you. Over time, your actions start to align with your intentions.
Let’s go into a little bit more of the difference between what a goal is versus what an intention is. Like I mentioned, an intention includes your motivation. The attitude that you want to cultivate and the feeling that you want to feel. It’s private. It’s internal.
It may even be an image that you can see that helps you feel. You can put a word on it. I feel grounded, I feel strong in myself, I feel courageous, etc.
Goals on the other hand is something you can measure. You can articulate them very clearly. For example, I will stay in my crow pose for 10 breaths today. Or I intend to stay in meditation for 10 minutes on my meditation mat.
These are goals that are public. You can tell someone else your goal and they can help you see if you’ve reached them or not. Having both a clear intention and a clear goal is really important for your life.
Now without setting your intention it’s easy to crumble when things start to get really rough. That’s why intention is really helpful to inspire, motivate you, and help you focus mentally, and spiritually within your soul.
Goals on the other hand help you attend to the physical effort of the task that you have to do on hand. Without goals, you’re missing out on the opportunity to really stretch yourself beyond what was possible.
Without this positive stress, more or less, there’s not as much growth. You need to have both an intention and a goal. Allow them to work side by side together versus one or the other.
When you are setting an intention either at the beginning of your class. I am sure when you have practiced before you’ve heard your teacher say “feel free to set an intention for your practice today.” Or if you want to sit down and take some time out of your morning routine before you start your day, to set your intention.
I’d like you to ask yourself, what brought you to your mat today? Or what is it that’s going to bring you through your day? What are you hoping to achieve today? What are you hoping to achieve on your mat?
If you are able to answer these questions honestly you’ll be able to find your intention for the day in a more effortless way. When you begin to understand what you’re seeking from your yoga practice or your day, you can see how to direct your energy and your actions to get there in an effortless way.
So your intentions change over time, as you change and evolve. It’s our job to take the time to listen and to know you will always find your intention in what you need. Namaste.
