no more resolutions

New Year's Eve is nearly upon us, so it's resolution time, right? Not this year

Not ever again.

From now on, instead of "resolutions," let's take our guidance from the restful practice of yoga nidra and tune into sankalpa.

In Sanskrit, san means a connection to our highest truth, and kalpa means vow. So a sankalpa is about more than losing 10 pounds or cleaning up your colorful language. A sankalpa can be your guidepost to lead your everyday actions from a much more meaningful place--your true nature.

A sankalpa goes beyond our materialistic desires, and it may not require any behavioral change at all. But smaller, measurable goals may help us get to the point that we recognize our heart's desire by removing distractions and directing our energy.

The first step in unearthing your sankalpa is to get quiet. This can help us clear away the surface reasons that we might want to make a particular resolution. It might require several probing questions to get to the heart of that which we truly desire, so--just like during a yoga nidra practice--allow time and patience to be part of the process as you provide the space needed for your sankalpa to evolve.

And, as you may have heard during a guided yoga nidra, your sankalpa should be stated in the present moment, as if it's true and actually happening right now. This puts a different energy behind your words, and shows that this truth already resides inside of you.

In fact, meditation is the perfect opportunity for us to realize that we have everything we need right within us. As we sit in this hyper-aware space, our limitations and doubts fall away and we can once again see our own unique inner light, which may just need a little polish right now.

This isn't an easy process for all of us. I like to choose a single word or a phrase to guide me each year, and I let that come to me in its own time--often over a week or so. For 2021 I've chosen the word "ritual," and I'm still letting all the context around that unfold. I'm looking forward to sharing more on that with you in the future.

What about you? What's your inner wisdom sharing with you for the year ahead?

Image by Cheryl Holt from Pixabay