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Have those of you that are NEW TO YOGA ever wondered what the Yoga Teacher means when they say “Go ahead and SET AN INTENTION or a SANKALPA for your Yoga Class today” ?


I wrote the blog below in response to Lessons From the Mat that was shared with me by Louise Lodges “A New Way of Life”. Thanks for the inspiration Louise. I’ve shared Louise’s article also. Enjoy 🙂


by Tammy Williams, Founder of Yoga NRG


For those of you still wondering, Setting An Intention or a Sankalpa as its often referred to, relates to the quality of mind that you wish to have while doing what ever it is you are doing. It is not setting a “goal” so to speak e.g. “Today I want to touch my toes or do the best head/handstand…”.


“San” ~ means a connection to our higher truth
“Kalpa” ~ means Vow


A Sankalpa does not come from the “head” i.e. it is not something we ‘think’ about – it comes from the heart.
Some great questions to ask are –
“What am I here to do?”
“Is what I am about to practice going to strengthen the deepest desire in my heart?”


This is why my Yoga Practice is a completely different experience when it is done with “Intention” as opposed to the practices where you rush into the room, go through the motions of a ‘work out’ without having considered “why are you doing what you are doing?”, without stopping for those moments at the start of the practice to ‘remember’: What would I like to experience in my life, what is most important to me? This requires the ‘mindfulness’ to look beyond the yoga postures ‘asana’ themselves and look a little deeper.


It’s normal to get sidetracked by the habit patterns of the head. The head is more likely to want to set a Goal which is outcome driven (and there is nothing wrong with that). However a goal without an intention has a risk of striving for something that will never last, or will never stay the same. If we are basing our Yoga goals purely on what we can do with our body, this can lead to misery and suffering. Our body is and always will be changing, so is our mind in my experience! However an intention is about a certain quality of mind + heart working together regardless of changes in our body or our mood.


Here is an example. Maybe today your body doesn’t allow you to touch your toes or stand on your hands without crashing down. If your focus is on the goal or the outcome, and you don’t get it … then what?
A great teacher once said the benefit comes from the effort, not the outcome (thanks Bryan Kest). I notice when I put my heart into what I am doing ‘regardless’ it is that very act that holds the goodness. Its rich with presence. This ‘intent’ is here now.


The effort you get from doing something with your whole heart regardless of the outcome, to me, is one of the most advanced Yoga practices there is (and you do not need to be doing any advanced poses or any poses at all for that matter).


If however you have not anchored your mind to that strong muscle and organ below the head, called the heart, the mind can become like a captain without a guide. Your body attempts to take orders from something that has no great ‘guidance’ and this can cause harm (Himsa). Harm in the form of maybe a torn hamstring from over doing it, or disappointment from not meeting your false expectations, or an “I’m not good enough”thought that gets thrown at the heart by the ego.


The heart is not only a muscle and an organ – it is a ‘mind’. It’s the most helpful guide you have and is placed below the head for reason I think … so it can support it! Directing awareness to the heart space first, and then feeling and listening is like giving the heart permission to be your guide. Your yoga class can be an opportunity for you to find your way back to your heart and strengthen the relationship you have with it. This will be your lifes best ally. The more you do this (even if its taking a few conscious breaths right now letting your mind drop into your heart, breathing into the back body) the more your heart will literally have your back!


Setting an intention is a great way to become the captain of your own life. The heart makes a great compass and every great captain takes time to stop and see the guidance of his compass before steering his ship. The mind already has so much to ‘do’ and has so much going on in it. The great thing about Yoga and setting an intention (Sankalpa) is that it teaches us to:


“Be the captain of your own ship / shit” – whatever the case maybe 😉


I find picking a Pillar of Mindfulness is a great place to start when setting an intention:
Here are just a few:


Patience ~ my least favourite but my most valuable;)
Trust ~ hard but try it even if its for one yoga class!
Letting Go ~ sometimes the starting point of this pillar of mindfulness is just letting things be, even when you don’t like it…. which gives strength to one of the most valuable qualities of mind I know…
ACCEPTANCE… perhaps the biggest example that has lead me to ‘experience’ acceptance was through a moment of ‘forgiveness’ … this is another story I may share another day!


Namaste
xox
Tammy


COME MEET THE YOGA NRG CREW WHO WILL BE AT YOGA FEST – WIN AN NRG RETREAT TO NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND …. COME ASK US HOW (We will announce how + some other great news at Tammys class)

Here is something a teacher trainee once said to me back in 2012 after completing her Teacher Training


“The best habit I have learnt from practicing Yoga and doing my Yoga Teacher Training is I wake up and set an intention for my day and I go to bed with gratitude, thinking of all the things I am grateful for” ~ Jenna Brown


CLICK HERE to find out more about our MINDFULNESS TRAINING PROGRAMS


CLICK HERE to find out more about our YOGA TEACHER TRAINING


NEW WAY OF LIFE – LESSONS FROM THE MAT
LOUISE LODGE 26/8/15


I have really only been consistent with my yoga practice for just on one year now. I have been a Bodybalance (Les Mills Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates class) instructor for around 15 years and only participated in yoga practice every now and then, when I was younger and before I was married, occasionally. Life was busy, hectic, I worked up to 3 jobs, 3 children, 1 husband, house to keep running, story sounds familiar?


Of course I felt good, I was a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Emmett Therapist, mum, wife, busy, busy busy. What changed? I never made time for myself. I never allocated time for me, for my workouts, my walks, my down time.


Last year a new yoga studio opened up and they ran lunchtime classes, perfect for my schedule so I decided to go along to this HOT Detox Yoga, even though I had not been a regular yoga participant, I taught components and instructions of Yoga through Les Mills, so I would teach vinyasa sequences, warrior strengths, balance poses etc.


When I arrived, this was exciting, ME TIME, it was hot with those lights but I like being hot and sweaty so that was cool, there was a lot of breathing going on, like serious breathing, pressing nostrils, puffing tummies, and loud breathers in class, I really wasn’t sure what this was about, but at the end of the class, I felt amazing, so OK, I’ll go next week.


The next week, I knew some people there, it was hot, I got sweaty, it was tough, my body ached and I think this was from not being in charge of the class, it was a completely different feeling, I needed to let go of control, what this what was making me exhausted, day in day out? At the end of the class, I felt amazing, so OK, let’s try it again.


Oh, free Saturday (I work 7 days) let’s go to Yoga, the class was extremely busy, where do all these people come from. I knew what was going on got into breathing, worked through the sequences,meditation, felt amazing. Then one day, I went to a Power Class unheated that went for 90 minutes, the Teacher I had not met before was so friendly and chatty then a few minutes before class I could see her focus and she asked us to feel free to set an intention for class? What is this? I had not ever
heard this mentioned before, what does this mean, Ok, quick, think of something, ummm ok, intention, let’s get through this class and look up what setting an intention for yoga means.


The power yoga class was intense, HOT and I felt amazing. Why? I don’t know, but I started to feel a connection going on and I wanted to find out more about this connection, intention, teaching, history. As I continued through the early part of this year with practicing yoga, I started to listen more to what was being said, I wanted to be led on a journey of discovery but also, I wanted to understand what the teachers were talking about, what was this thing Yoga, what draws so many to it and do we completely understand the reasoning behind the practice we do, or do we just do it? Do we need to understand more, than breathe, move your body, lay down, close your eyes?


I think we do, but not to overload ourselves, but to take the time, to learn, to grow, to find what is right for us and to welcome new feelings into the mind and body. I know that in just one year, and I know it’s one year because I received an email the other day to renew my studio membership, my life has changed. I am calmer, I am non-reactive, I am less rushed, I take time to meditate, to breathe, to smile. I have grown and I feel damn good, healthy, strong and amazing.


I feel love in my heart for myself and for others.
I am happy, I love life, I want others to feel the same.


Namaste.