What Does it Mean to Set an Intention in Yoga?
In this article, learn how to set an intention at the beginning of your yoga class, and how to trust the process to take advantage of it.
A few years ago, a friend of mine often said to me: “Think about it very hard and very often” when I told her what I wanted for the future!
So, intentions have been present in my daily life for a long time, and I also like to define them before a yoga class. Why that? What does it mean to set an intention in yoga?
Defining a Sankalpa (a Sanskrit term for a wish, state or resolution) at the beginning of a yoga class means refocusing and focusing on one’s intention during the class. It also means anchoring it in yourself so that it will be with you all day long. By formulating an intention, we create a true call to awakening, also known as Samâdhi, the very purpose of Yoga.
In this article, I explain how to make your request and especially how to trust the process in order to take advantage of it.
I hope you enjoy reading it!
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Buddha
How to formulate an intention in yoga?
It is very important that each word of our intention be correctly posed, placed in the sentence.
The answer will be even more precise, and the result will be faster.
If the Spirit wanders, return immediately to the breath and to your intention.
- Don’t say: I won’t be stressed today!
Say: I am at peace! - Don’t say: I want to live without getting angry!
Say: I’m calm! - Don’t say: I want to have confidence in myself!
Say: I am self-confident!
A request that I like very much is: I accept where I’m today, without judgment.
The purpose of this article is to help you understand the “workings” of intention, to enlighten you even more.
Here are the feelings you may encounter and the intentions that you may want to set forth to untie them:
- Anger: Forgiveness
- Sadness: Joy
- Doubt: Peace
- Insecurity: Trust
- Fear: Courage
I intentionally put forward the intention of course!
Set intentions on a daily basis
In my personal life, I am a checklist enthusiast.
In order not to be overwhelmed by events I set myself daily goals on these checklists by highlighting certain tasks to accomplish during the day or in the next few days.
Why not do the same with our yoga intentions?
This is a very important notion in Yoga because it is how our movements, our sequences become true Asanas!
When you have settled into Sukhasana to find calm and start the practice, you can take a moment to formulate your intention and repeat it aloud or in your head several times.
Similarly, when you extend certain postures on the floor, you can also return to your intention.
You can also think about your intention for the day as soon as you wake up and before going to bed, which is an excellent method.
Your formulated intention will be activated unconsciously as you move through the postures over the course of the days, which doesn’t prevent you from reactivating it from time to time to strengthen it or to make it even more your own in the beginning.
"What you seek is within you, if only you reflect" - Rumi
This quote allows me to bounce back on a notion and a feeling that I have long felt: the lack of self-confidence and the fact of constantly underestimating oneself.
To help me overcome the lack of self-confidence, I have notably changed my way of seeing things by redefining my limits.
You can redefine your limits, and little by little, what seemed impossible, becomes more achievable, closer.
The important thing is to dare, to be optimistic and to take action. Live life as an experience.
“Change can only begin within each of us” – Ilios Kotsou
Conclusion
To conclude the reflection at the heart of this article, I would say that the Sankalpa is much more than all this, it is the meaning of our life.
It can be used without moderation.
So there can be “small” Sankalpas in everyday life. And ONE Sankalpa. That is to say, a goal of life realization, always formulated in a positive way, as if you were already there.
Projection and visualization are indispensable.
We find this notion in all the methods of Yoga, except in Yoga devoid of Spirituality such as Power Yoga or Bikram Yoga.
In the Bhagavad Gita (the most read and translated scripture in the World, meaning “Song of the Blessed”), aspirants are encouraged to formulate an intention to find their true self.
Swami Satyananda Sarawasti said:
“When Sankalpa becomes the driving force, everything you undertake in life becomes a success”.
To meditate…
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