Setting your intention

Most of use schedule in our yoga class just like we schedule in our visit to the dentist or happy hour drinks with an old friend.  We commit an hour to ourselves, show up and sweat a little bit (or a lot!) and continue on with our day after class.  For many of us, getting this hour to ourselves is a big accomplishment.  It takes a lot to juggle the many demands in our life and still find time to do things for ourselves.  But what if you could do more with that hour? What if you used that hour to really invest in your well being and gave your mind the tools and nurturing it needed to tackle any of the challenges that came your way?
Well you can! And you should! It all starts with setting an intention.

What exactly does that mean? Your yoga instructor tells you to set an intention at the beginning of class and may even give you some example of what that intention might be, but do you actually know what they are asking you to do?

Do you start to rattle off anything that sounds good and reasonable at the moment?
"I intend to not look like a fool in today's class"
"I intend to not judge myself in the mirror"
"I intend to not eat that extra piece of cake after dinner tonight" 
"I intend to sit in child's pose for 90% of this class"

There is no right or wrong intention, rather your intention should be the one thing that is most important to you at that exact moment.  It does not have to be a goal. You do not have to intend to stand on your head before the end of class. Rather, you should think about what is most heaviest on your mind.  Maybe it falls into one of these buckets:

• Fear: We all walk through our daily lives with a fear. Fear of not succeeding, fear of the future, or fear of others.  Acknowledge this fear and set your intention to be a freedom from this fear.  Let it go during your practice. 
• Gratitude: We all have something or someone to be grateful for in our lives.  Set your intention on the things that makes your life easier and a little more enjoyable. 
• Forgiveness: There are often times where we hold onto to blame. Blame towards others and blame towards ourselves.  Set your intention on things you would like to be forgiven for and things you would like to send forgiveness to. 
• Strength: There are days when you feel you have endless amounts of strength and there will be days when you feel like you have none.  Recognize where you are at and sent your intention to gain strength through your practice or leverage your strength to push your limits. 

Now that you have uncovered the thing that is most important to you, your intention, hold on to it.  During your practice, perhaps during your most challenging pose (Handstand anyone?) call forth that intention. Allow it to power you through the posture.

Like all things in yoga, this will take practice.  You may find yourself setting an intention but as class comes to a close, you don't even remember what intention you set! That is okay.  Continue to set intentions. Continue to go back to them during class. The more that you connect with the important values in your life the more you will be able to call on those values when you encounter challenges in life.  Your mind will be trained to guide your decisions and actions based on your values.  Intentions gives you a way to stay grounded and to connect with your true self, no matter what challenges you encounter.

So, use the precious time that you put aside for yoga to really leverage all the benefits of the mind-body connection.  If this is the one hour (or more) that you dedicate to only you, use if to refresh your body and mind.

Namaste.