I'm on my mat... now what?

Part 2: Intention Setting

The second chapter of our practice is intention setting. Intention setting is unique in that it is not a series of postures, but rather a time dedicated to actively shaping the mentality of a yoga practice.

Intention setting often only takes 2-3 minutes, but it can have a profound impact on your ability to focus and your approach to yoga. Whether you carve out this time consciously or not, as physical, emotional, and spiritual beings we come to our practice with spoken and unspoken intentions. It is in my experience that active intention setting leads to positive and practice-supporting intentions while relying on the unconscious missions we bring to our mat risks allowing our insecurities and misplaced expectations to drive our practice.

Key Characteristics of a Practice Intention:

1. Short and memorable

2. Aligned with your overall life mission/outlook

3. Inspires you on and off the mat

Intentions are a focus aide in our practice. When the mind begins to wander, a yogi can internally repeat their intention to refocus on the breath, body, and movement. A short intention best serves this purpose.

In Hindu and Buddhist tradition, this is referred to as a mantra, a word or sound repeated to aid concentration. "Om" or "Aum" is the most well-known traditional mantra. In those traditions, it's considered the beginning sound of the universe, and the vibrational quality of the sound adds to its refocusing effectiveness as a mantra.

Your intention is personal. It is dynamic and may change day to day but intentions should always align with your overall life mission and encourage you in your practice. By linking your intention to a greater life purpose, you tap into the power of yoga off your mat. That same mantra that focuses your breath and movement in yoga can be called to mind in a stressful work meeting, a traffic jam, or a gloomy day. It can assist you in taking thoughts captive and putting circumstances into perspective.

How can you capture your yoga goals in an intention?

I find it useful to conceptualize my overarching goals first. Often these goals are primarily focused on the physical benefits I want to get out of my yoga practice. I then think of an action word or phrase that captures the essence of that goal. Finally, I think about how I can relate that word or phrase to my life mission to take yoga off my mat. I've recently been inspired by the word "Cultivate" as the action word for my intention. Cultivation, in an agricultural sense, is the sum total of all efforts put into the preparing, planting, tending, and harvesting of a garden. I love the way this action word for my intention connects the idea of targeted, consistent inputs resulting in desired outcomes with elements of my yoga practice.

With this general intention in my mind, my central questions for each flow are: What am I trying to cultivate today? Where do I intend to promote growth? What area of my body or practice needs nurturing today? I use these questions to keep my intention dynamic and responsive to the needs of my body and practice.

Below are some examples of how a stated physical goal might translate to an intention. Experiment with your own.

Journaling intentions is a great way to get the creative juices flowing!

Goal --> Intention

1. Practice yoga every day for 30 minutes.

• Flow with rhythm

• Prioritize my practice

• Cultivate consistency

2. Get stronger and more flexible or master a new pose.

• Embrace growth

• Evolve and learn

• Create through play

3. Improve my balance.

• Ground down

• Grow roots

• Find stillness

4. I'm not sure that I am a yogi. Just trying this out

• Explore movement

• Discover a new perspective

• Value new possibilities

Intention Setting Sequence:

Although the intention setting of our practice does not involve a posture series, I have provided a suggested method for adding on Chapter 2 of your #PracticeUnplugged yoga sequence below.

Intention setting fits perfectly into our practice after the moments dedicated to integration have prepared us for our yoga practice and before the physicality of flow sequences begin.

If you missed Chapter 1: Integration of this multi-part series, click here!

- Start in Standing Savasana.

- Inhale: Prayer.

- Bring your hands to prayer at your heart center.

- Exhale: Close your eyes, and engage your ujjayi breath. Conceptualize your intention. Repeat it internally in cadence with your breath for 3-4 cycles of breath.

- Inhale: Seal your intention with a deep inhale and an open mouth exhale.