New Year, New Practice
Written by Sam Solum, Studio Manager
I’ve always been one to make New Year’s resolutions. I’ve also always been one to break New Year’s resolutions by around January 15th. I’m trying a different approach in 2019. The only goal I’m setting is to work on shifting my mindset and belief patterns.
Svadhyaya (self-study) is one of the key elements in the practice of yoga as defined in the Yoga Sutras. Setting New Year’s resolutions creates an opportunity for people to practice this (which is a beautiful thing!) but can creating these goals make us more attached to external outcomes?
I’m already attached to so many outcomes. I want the line at the co-op to be short. I want people to come to class. I don’t want to ruin my beautiful, velvet joggers that my husband gave me for Christmas. I want my family to be happy, I want to be happy, I want to feel good, blah blah blah.
…
I’ve already spilled gravy on my joggers and just now some coffee… I’m not saying you should be a slob and ruin all your nice things...or that you should never chase your dreams. I just want to remind us:
Nothing is permanent.
You should absolutely still set goals if that’s your jam. Just don’t let them box you in. Goals can definitely be positive because they help us take action and motivate us to get shit done, but we gotta learn to not let them make us even more attached to things.
There are going to be days when we just can’t follow the goals we set up for ourselves. Do these become bad days? Do we beat ourselves up? The practice of Yoga involves staying curious. Instead of setting ourselves up for failure by being so attached to our rules, let’s try being open and spontaneous (In a state of flow.) Celebrate daily failure. Fail hard. Fail better tomorrow.
Sometimes when we have too much of a plan we miss too much. There’s so much magic happening right now but we are busy dwelling on the past or planning for the future. We might think we are on our path because we are keeping our heads down and following the rules, but sometimes we miss the actual path when our heads are down. Look up! Especially when crossing the street. ;)
My New Year’s Resolution is to trust myself and do whatever it takes to live a life where I’m always fully present, grounded and in tune with who I am.
I’m going to try to notice whether or not an experience brought me into deeper alignment with my true self instead of noticing if that experience was “good” or “bad”.
Yoga is the most powerful tool I’ve found to help keep myself present. You might have an entirely different set of tools. It’s probably different for everyone and could be a combination of a variety of things that changes from day to day. It’s up to you to figure it out, but you can’t know until you try.
Sign up for a month unlimited. It’s only $100 through January 15th if you are new to the studio. There is a community of like-minded folks who are also on this path and who want to support you. #gratefulsquad
However, I encourage you not to make your new year’s resolution “I have to go to a class every day” but instead keep an open mind and heart and show up as often as you can and notice if it brings you into deeper alignment with what you are here to contribute.
Happy New Year and namaste,
Sam
