At the beginning of most yoga classes you will hear the instructor (including me) to set and intention for today's class or even the day ahead. How do I do this I hear you ask? When I am instructing this in yoga setting I tend to let people guide themselves rather than prompting them into what their intention should be but recently someone asked me "how do I set an intention, what does it even mean?"
Normally when you are setting intentions you want them to start with a positive and purposeful thought. Maybe something about how you want to feel for the day, focus on the breath and draw that feeling in, how does it resonate with you, can you visualise how the world around you is if this intention for your day continues.
We may think that it is a goal that you are setting but this is not the case, goals have a deadline into the future, an intention is set for now, in this moment. However these daily intentions can certainly fast track you to completing your goals.
So what are the benefits of setting intentions. You begin to strive for your goals in a more intentional way, the mind is more focused and you begin to see the daily distractions drift away. The wonderful added bonus is this is available to everyone and not just the elite.
So how do you begin?
You can wait for a yoga class but why wait, intentions are best set at the beginning of the day.
Drawn attention to the breath and really focus.
Visualise what you want from your day, bring words to that visualisation and make them positive, energetic and purposeful
Write it down if necessary, when something is written it gives it more strength.
Re-visit your intentions throughout the day if you need to re-focus.
At the end of the day reflect on how your day went, did setting that intention with purpose make a difference to your day.
Remember like everything practice makes perfect!
Here are a few examples of intentions that you may want to try
Today I intend to bring kindness into everything I do
Today I intend to be patient
Today I intend to practice self-love
Today I intend to be mindful and in the moment
Today I intend to be the best person I can be
Today I intend to find positive words only
I would love to hear about your intentions, the little rituals you have when setting them and the difference they make to your life, pop in the comments and lets learn from each other.
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