SANKALPA - Intention Setting Meditation for 2021 | The RA Yogi - Yoga For Arthritis

Transcript

[Music] happy new year friends let's take a big stretch together i'm wishing you all of the good things with your health your heart and everything in between welcome back to the aria yogi it's a brand new year let's breathe it in you can extend your arms overhead if you'd like or just relax your palms up or down in your lap breathe in and exhale let it go i think we could use one more of those so take a long slow conscious deep breath in through the nostrils and let it out in any way that feels good through the nose through the mouth with a side let it go and let's settle in for today's practice if this is your first time joining us hello i'm julia your yoga instructor for arthritis and if you are returning welcome back it is so great to reconnect with you and be here with all of you for this fresh new year and it's a perfect time to set some intentions you guessed it today's video is on setting intentions this is not a physical yoga practice but you can absolutely add a physical yoga practice after we set an intention in this video i'll go ahead and link a few of my favorite yoga videos to start your year off right in the description below intention setting otherwise known as san kalpa in sanskrit is bringing your attention to a quality that you would like to manifest in your yoga practice on and off the mat that could be a quality or feeling of gratitude of strength of patience of kindness whatever you want to cultivate and whatever you want to invite into your yoga practice and most importantly into your life what's the difference between a goal or an intention you might ask well it's important to remember that goals and intentions are not the same thing especially when resolutions are on everyone's mind at the start of this year goals are focused on the future while intentions are in this present moment most of us make goals in a very active and intellectual state of mind but in yoga we make intentions with a very relaxed state of mind where the receptivity of the mind is at its maximum and the intentions are made from the heart so let's go deeper with this setting intentions meditation find a comfortable seat i chose to be in a chair today which is most comfortable for me but you can choose to sit on a meditation cushion down on your yoga mat with the appropriate props or on the edge of a couch a bed you can even lie down if that's more comfortable for your body you want to listen to what is best for you next close your eyes and take a few deep breaths into the nose and try to seal your mouth and exhale through the nostrils calming the parasympathetic nervous system as we slow down breathing in and out through the nose now that we've invited awareness to our breath soften any tension that you might be holding on to breathe into that space and exhale to let go of any tightness or any constrictions that you might be feeling in the body let's set our intention here are a few important things to remember there is no right or wrong in intention setting make this intention personal to you and phrase your intention positively and in the present tense for example i am grateful i am present i am happy keep it simple and concise an intention can be a word a mantra a phrase a statement or even a person or people that you want to dedicate this intention to and allow it to resonate silently within you so we'll sit in silence for a few moments while we take a moment of introspection and set our son our intention and if you're still drawing a blank ask yourself what you want from this life what do you want to invite more of in your life so [Music] so now that you've chosen your son culpa stick to your chosen sankata until you see its effects manifest in your life and there's no hurry to change your son called the time after time the results vary according to the depth of your practice and the commitment towards the cycle made come back to your intention again and again to deepen your connection whether it's when you first wake up in the morning when you go to bed at night every time you step onto your yoga mat you can set a reminder in your phone you can journal your son culpa every time you wash your hands since we're doing a lot of that whatever really will help you to reconnect with your son thank you for joining me for this setting intentions meditation don't be shy to leave your intentions for 2021 in the comment section below and if you haven't already please do to my youtube channel to support this free content made with intention and love i am feeling all of your powerful intentions flowing and i am supporting you on this transformative yoga journey with arthritis you can bow your head with me sealing this practice send your hands to heart center whether the palms are together in front of the heart or one hand on top of the other this allows us to share our connection to each other and to all of the people here from all around the world in this moment take a long slow deep breath in just like we started [Music] let the breath move all the way into the heart center and gently bow your head from my heart to yours namaste you