Setting Intention

This entry was posted on Apr 28, 2016 by Jacqueline Morasco.
setting intention

Make a Vision Board!

Many of us set intentions before we begin our yoga practice, start a new year, or even at a new moon. According to Webster, intention is a determination to act in a certain way, a resolve.

You may have heard of the Sanskrit term Sankalpa, which has been described to me as a vow or commitment, so it’s a bit stronger than an intention. Many times I have heard the two used interchangeably. No worries though; choose the word that feels best for you.

My life experiences, whether it be teaching, parenting, or doing yoga poses, show me that my intention, my motive behind the action, is the beginning of bringing something into being.

I like to visualize how I want something to be and how I want to feel when I reach a particular destination.

I see many posts and articles about the right, magical, or ancient way of setting intention. If our heart is in the right place, then creating our own special way to set intention is just right for us.

Here are some ideas for setting intention:

  • place your hands at your heart in anjali mudra
  • use Sankalpa Mudra link
  • light a candle
  • write your intention on a notecard and place it on your altar
  • make a vision board (vision board pic)
  • create art

We have innate wisdom that we NEED to start to listening to. The more we follow our own guidance, the stronger it becomes. If you need ideas, check out the internet or Pinterest, but in the end, listen to your gut.

Setting an intention, is more important than how you set it. Being mindful that we are choosing something and deciding how we want to feel when we reach our goal, is like planning for a trip. We pack, purchase tickets, make reservations and then we go. It doesn’t always turn out how we think it will, yet we had our adventure.

Some people may disagree with me, and that’s okay. It’s what is in our heart, our connection to our desired outcome and believing in our own abilities that is the key to receiving the benefits of our practice no matter what the practice is, asana, meditation, writing or chanting.

Bottom line: intention is everything. It’s not how we set an intention, it is that we set one.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about intention.

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About Jacqueline Morasco
Jacqueline Morasco the owner of Spirited Practice. She is known for her creative, authentic and gentle style. Jacqueline’s clients achieve whole-being wellness through a unique blend of the yoga, mysticism and practical health concepts. She pulls from her MS in health science and as well as her teachings in the lineage of Krishnamacharya, almost 20 years of teaching yoga and wellness to groups and individuals. She posts weekly to her blog www.spiritedpractice.com and monthly to www.HuggerMugger.com.

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