Setting Your Intention

Intention is the beginning of every dream. In his book 5 Steps to Setting Powerful Intentions, Deepak Chopra says intention “is the creative power that fulfills all of our needs, whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening, or love.”

Every step of your journey is on purpose. When you decide to attend school, build a family, travel the world, brush your teeth, clean your room or participate in yoga teacher training, it began with an intention.  You have the power to live your life on purpose by consciously choosing to set your intention.

Visualize your dreams

Most of the time, our minds are so active and preoccupied that it’s difficult to see our dreams clearly. To get through the clutter, take 5-10 minutes to clear your mind and visualize your dream. Find a comfortable position to sit or lay down in a quiet place at home or take this opportunity to get outside at a park or on the beach. It is important that this is uninterrupted and quiet. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths to calm your body and heart. Be still and imagine yourself in one year. Where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? What do you smell? How do you feel? Breathe in your life one year from now. Follow this same path to visualize five years from now, and then ten years. When you visualize your dreams, you manifest your intentions and cultivate your path to get there.

Take one day at a time

Once you have established where your path will ultimately lead you, work backwards to find ways to start making progress to get there today. It’s easy to get lost in the big picture of your dream and put it aside as something you will get to “later”. Start small to eliminate the overwhelming task of reaching your dreams and diminish the risk of procrastination. Set mini-intentions and keep them realistic so that they are truly achievable for you.

Be flexible in your approach

Stay true to your intentions, but remain flexible in your approach. Let go of attachment to a specific path that will lead you to your dreams. Things happen and obstacles will challenge you to give up. Be open to change your plans and let the universe handle the details. Keep your intention for everything to move forward as you desire and accept opportunities to try another way. Find a balance between your efforts to follow through with your intentions and your trust that the universe has the power to orchestrate the fulfillment of your desires (5 Steps to Setting Powerful Intentions, Deepak Chopra, M.D.).

Start with your practice

As practitioners of yoga, we have the advantage of setting an intention every time we step onto our mats. Start here. Next time you take a class, think about yourself one hour later. How will you feel? Set your intention to achieve that feeling and spend those sixty minutes in a moving meditation to achieve your intention. Notice what obstacles you encounter in your class. Maybe you feel fatigued, or you find yourself distracted by another student, or you have a physical limitation that is preventing you from practicing certain postures. Let go of self-judgment and come back to your intention, trust that this is part of your path and be open to this opportunity for growth. Your yoga practice will help you take this off of your mat so you can manifest your intentions to create and achieve your dreams throughout your life.