Since we are still toward the beginning of the year, touching on resolutions and setting intentions seems appropriate.
Except I am so tired of new year’s resolutions. I loved them for other people when I had the studio because we got the new year bump every year. Excited new faces flooded the studio. We had a handful of returning regulars that we only saw at the New Year. (I think that was because of the sales as much as any other reason, but we welcomed them onto the mat nonetheless.)
Self-help Saturation
I dug into resolutions and goal setting for many years. It probably helped me. In fact, I’m sure it did. Writing down clear measurable outcomes for the year ahead is a good business practice at any time.
But somewhere something shifted for me. I think it happened around that time on social media when suddenly everyone in my feed became an expert on everything and posted about it incessantly.
I was inundated with self-help: journaling, goal-setting, morning routines to follow, evening routines to implement, check lists. The bombardment turned me off of the whole idea of resolutions.
I got burned out of the rat race of always striving to do more, be more, be better and constantly excel.
To save my own sanity, I had to draw back on the whole new year resolution idea.
No Mud, No Lotus
However, like anything, there is always something useful if we're willing to dig through the muck. We all know, no mud, no lotus.
So I’ve held onto a handful of tools I use to help guide me as the year turns over.
After all, as a business owner, we need tools to keep us focused and motivated on work that is going to yield the best results. We need measurable, scalable goals in business in order to be efficient, save time and money, and push the business forward.
And because the yoga and wellness business is so personal, business goals and personal goals become easily meshed. I needed a tool for the new year that recognized this and made it a boon instead of a bane. And I found it...
A Word of Power, a World of Intention
I choose one clear, concise word to express what I want to feel, do, be, manifest.
A well chosen word can capture an emotion. Resolutions by nature tend to be to-do lists, which require action, but emotions are feelings and feelings motivate us into action and therefore are much more powerful.
The right word is usually equally applicable to personal and professional goals because again, it isn't a to-do list, it's a feeling. And our professional yoga life should support our personal feelings of what make us most ourselves, experience happiness, be confident, and present.
A place of personal fulfillment is the very state in which we can best run our businesses, teach our yoga classes, and support our clients.
A Yoga Practice for Students and Teachers
The function of a simple yet powerful word doesn't have to stop at the New Year.
I often invite students at the top of yoga class to choose word as their intention for the class.
I started recommending a word for practice after multiple students confided with me they did not understand what an intention for yoga practice should be or how to do it. The suggestion to pick a word to guide them or focus their yoga practice was an easier way to transform the rather vague instruction to "set an intention for your practice" into something more tangible and helpful.
When teaching, I choose for myself a word to serve as an anchor for any lesson or theme I want my class to resonate with that day. The word is the thread that connects me, my cues, and the students. It helps me access that space of "being in the flow" or "channeling source" when I'm teaching.
In Closing:
Allow the "how" of your word to be continuously in flux; the actions you take to manifest and express your word in your yoga practice, business, teaching, and lifestyle will evolve throughout the year as you grow and evolve with the natural passing of time and experience.
Don't get trapped with a to-do list. Focus only on the word. Be open to the possibilities and embrace the unknown of exactly what actions you'll take. The right word will guide you.
A picture may speak a thousands words, but one good word can express your whole world where past, present, and future coexist.
Give it try and let me know how it goes.
I’ll share my word for 2023 if you share yours in the comments!
Namaste,
Lara
Lara is an exceptional teacher and person, and these qualities are reflected in the yoga community she created
-Marlena Rumensky, Yoga Teacher, Steamtown Hot Yoga
Comments