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5 Intention-setting Ideas to Support Change

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I believe most of us have thought to ourselves “I hate change” at least once in our lives.  And the message we often hear is “Change is hard”.  Perhaps it is these messages, thoughts, and/or beliefs that underlie the approximate success rate of 10% for the New Year resolutions set at this time of year!

On the other hand, we know that change is inevitable and constant – perhaps the only experience we can count on to always be there.  The hope that comes from the trust in change is that we don’t get stuck in a rut.  However, the universe invites us to be co-creators of the changes we want to make in our lives.  This co-creation requires us to commit to learning new things . . . whether that is to learn to do something new or to learn something new about ourselves.

We are very supported at this time to initiate the process of change due to the fact that we are in the midst of a current Eclipse Gateway.  Eclipses support growth and the 2 weeks between the Solar Eclipse (12/26/9) and the Lunar Eclipse (1/10/20) is a potent time for transformation and renewal.  So, if you might want to catch the wave of energy, consider trying the following intention-setting ideas to support change this month:

  1. Reframe Change.  Perhaps consider simply reframing change as growth – or a growth opportunity – as it will help move you in the direction of embracing change versus denying its value.  You still have a choice, whether to take the growth opportunity or not.  As we begin to lean into the process of change or growth, we must also recognize the loss it creates.  If we decide to try something new, it often means that something we were familiar with falls away, even if it is due to the limits of time or resources.  Therefore, it is important to honor our feelings around the loss and even doubt that might arise around whether we made the right choice for our growth.  In those moments, reminding yourself that all of our choices bring with them information to help guide us toward our highest good will soothe the doubt, so you can’t make a bad one!
  2. Embrace Emotions!  Fear is often underlying the sense of loss of the familiar and doubt in the process of change, so it is important to look fear in the face.  Remember, emotion (even fear) is simply [E]nergy in [motion], which means turning to look at it even for a moment, instead of distracting yourself or running from it, changes it immediately!  Inviting your greatest fear, and its various emotional friends, such as anxiety, anger, or sadness, to sit for a moment with you so you might listen to what it has to say, will begin to bring clarity around what it is that you value most in life, not what others have told you in the past.  Emotions are one of the most powerful guides on our journey to discover our highest self.  Consider allowing your emotions to participate in your decision-making process and use their energy to guide you forward toward fulfilling your heart’s true desires!
  3. Think Small.  We tend to set lofty new year resolutions and when we don’t experience immediate results, we might get discouraged, providing fuel to our fears.  I like to remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  So, perhaps consider a very small change you would like to make in your life, and put it on your calendar every day, so you can track your progress.  For example, you might decide to add more walking to your daily routine.  Consider starting with very specific, yet small goals, such as parking further away from the stores you visit, taking the stairs at work or walking around the block.  Then each day, check it off your list when you achieved the goal and celebrate in some way, even if only to say out loud to yourself “See, I told you I could do it!”
  4. Find a Partner.  Whether your heart desires more peace, health, happiness, clarity, or love, change or growth requires you to transform into someone different than who you are currently.  Having someone support you on your journey of transformation is very helpful.  This person can be a source of encouragement when you sense discouragement creeping in.  They can challenge the fear that works to disconnect you from your highest self.  They can help to hold us accountable as well as provides support when we do begin to sense the discomfort that comes with change.  Discomfort is part of the process of change so having a partner to share those experiences of discomfort with can make us feel less alone on our journey.  Consider identifying someone in your life that might be willing to be that support partner for you, someone that believes in you and will help you embrace the growth your desire.
  5. Visualize.  It is important to visualize the change you desire, because if you can’t imagine the change you want, how do you know what direction to start out in on your journey?  Visualizing the result of your efforts to change or grow will support the discovery process.  Remember too that discovery is not a linear, straight line.  Often, it involves taking a winding road that might make you feel a little lost for awhile.  In those moments of disorientation, bringing your visualization back into mind will remind you of the value of change or growth, deepening your understanding of your heart’s desire and refueling the process of change.  Perhaps consider a tool to document your visualization, whether it is to draw it out, write it down, or create a vision board, so that you might reflect on your heart’s desire each day.  This practice will ease the integration of the new steps you are taking to co-create the new you!.

As always, if you try any of these intention-setting ideas for holistic health, I would love to hear about the impact they might have had for you.  Please send me an email at linda@sanctuary4compassion.com to share!

5 Intention-setting Ideas for Embracing the Slow Flow of Summer

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What if somehow you could know what days were the best ones to move your intentions and manifestations forward by doing more?  And, in addition, what days were best to simply do less and, instead spend time reflecting and daydreaming (or better known as visualizing what you want more of in your life)?  Would you change how you spend your time and energy to go with the flow more?  Or would you dig your heels in and continue to push ahead without such guidance?

In the past, I came to believe that in order to be successful I had to keep “the pedal to the metal’ so to speak 24/7/365!  With this belief, no matter what was going on, I pushed and I pushed hard.  There were times when I felt like I was banging my head up against a brick wall and/or swimming against the tide it was so exhausting.  I grew to believe that life was hard!  When I was finally able to take a step back from the chaos, I began to notice small coincidences that would occur making my next step forward that much clearer and easier.  When I began to express gratitude for those small coincidences, the size of the coincidences grew as did the frequency.

I started to pay attention to my own natural energy levels and how those levels ebbed and flowed, similar to the ocean tides.  My awareness continued to grow as I realized that the ocean tides are impacted by the cyclic energy of the moon.  I began to think ‘why wouldn’t we be impacted by similar energies?’.  This growing awareness brought the focus of my eyes to the sky and I started to lean into the universal flow of life more.  And when I did, life began to flow with more ease, providing a more balanced appreciation between working hard and taking time to rest.  So, when the planets all align, like they are this month, it is a clear message to me that July is NOT the month to be doing more, but instead, with 7 celestial bodies in retrograde, it is the month to do less, move more intentionally, spend time relaxing and enjoy the slow flow of summer!Below are some intention-setting ideas for embracing this slower moving time frame as we pass through the Eclipse Gateway:

  1. Leave things behind.  What might you consider letting go of if you knew it would take you to a new level of effectiveness, efficiency, ease, confidence and abundance?  What if you learned that in order to gain something, you must leave something behind in order to make room for the new?  During this Eclipse season, we are going to be asked to evaluate what no longer fits, whether it is clothes in our closets, people in our lives, or old beliefs.  The first step is considering what you might want to let go of, raising your awareness to what is holding you back or down.  The second step is simply to express what it is you decide you want to let go of, either writing it down or verbalizing it to the Universe.  The third step might be visualizing what you want instead, to fill the void created by the release, which could be purely more space.  Then all you need to do from this point is to follow the lead of the Universe as the coincidences begin to present themselves to you to assist you in making the change!
  2. Identify what does still fit.  Reflecting on what no longer fits assists us in gaining clarity on what we want to keep in our lives as well.  If we identify people around us that seem to bring us down when we gather and consider moving in a different direction without them in our lives, this effort will shine a light on those people that bring joy and comfort into our lives.  Consider setting an intention during the month of July to spend time with those people, connecting on a deeper level and enjoying the ease of the relationship, sensing how the connection fans the flame within, providing you with more clarity, energy, and motivation once we pass through the Eclipse season.
  3. Trust in the cyclic nature of life.  Remind yourself that this opportunity to move more slowly as you flow through this month will not last forever, so enjoy it while you can!  See the planets that are slowing down their rotation giving you permission to do the same.  View this time as an opportunity to look, listen, pay attention, and recalibrate your instrument (read your body and mind) to align more naturally with your soul’s calling.  If you need a little reminder, consider spending time in nature, whether at the beach, or taking a hike in the forest, or rafting down a river, as Mother Earth demonstrates to us around every corner how letting go creates space for new growth!
  4. Start a new self-care habit.  When the world starts to slow down around us, it seems to be beckoning us to consider taking better care of ourselves.  When things are more on the move, we barely have time to think clearly none-the-less add something new to our plates.  Have you always dreamed of taking piano or guitar lessons?  How about singing or surfing lessons?  Or trying a yoga or meditation class?  Consider looking at your community summer school guide and signing up for a class.  You might just surprise yourself at how much fun you have or at how much more ease you sense when you find a new groove to flow in!
  5. Embrace your spirituality.  Now I’m not talking religion here, although if you participate in a formalized religion, it might be a natural place to start in seeking the meaning of life.  When I think about spirituality, it takes on a more secular perspective in that I view it as a universal human experience that involves seeking our purpose and how fulfilling life feels when we offer our gifts to the world with an open heart and an intention of connection, embracing the meaning we make of our existence.  Consider creating some time during this slow flow Eclipse season to reflect on your gifts, what you might be good at or what might bring you joy.  It might include exploring your core values to ensure they still feel in alignment with how you are experiencing the world today.  You might also revisit some of the significant challenges you have gone through and consider the take-aways from those challenges again, as they might have gathered some dust.  Perhaps you write down your personal vision statement or, if you have written one in the past, you pull it out to review it – or revise it if it no longer resonates at your current vibration.

What type of yoga is best?

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As a Hatha yoga trained teacher under the umbrella of the Raja type of yoga, I am often asked if one style of yoga is better than another.  It has always been my belief that all yoga has mind-body-soul benefits and recent research appears to support such a belief.  However, what I think is important to understand is that yoga does not just include the physical poses or shapes that most of us first think of when asked ‘What is yoga all about?’.

Sacred yogic texts offer that there are four types of – or paths to – yoga, which is often defined as the union of body, mind, soul and spirit.  Raja yoga is the type of yoga that includes techniques, such as movement, meditation, and mudras, and is what is most often practiced here in our Western world.  Bhakti yoga is the type of yoga focused on devotion, also referred to as the path of love.  Jnana yoga is the type of yoga focused on the attainment of knowledge or wisdom through study and self-inquiry.  Karma yoga is the type of yoga focused on action without attaching to the outcome of your efforts, also referred to as the path of selfless service.

With this basic understanding of the four types of yoga then, when we think of yoga practices we start to realize it is all yoga.  When we focus on the yoga most practiced here in the US, Raja yoga, then we can begin to broaden our perspective as to what is included in this particular type, beyond the physical movement we do on our mats in a yoga class.  Yoga practices or techniques can include breath (pranayama), intention setting (Sankalpa), visualization (Bhavana), mudra (body/hand positions), mantra (chanting/sound), meditation (all kinds!), and how we interact with others and ourselves.

When we do take a moment to focus on the physical movement on the yoga mat, within the Hatha yoga style of Raja yoga, multiple yoga styles have emerged, which makes this type of yoga available to everyone.  Options run the gamut from Vinyasa flow, which is a faster-paced, sweaty practice to Restorative, where bodies are supported by blankets, bolsters, and other props to find comfort and held for at least 10 minutes.  Other classes might simply focus on breath practices or sound healing through musical instruments or chanting/singing.  Even others might offer guided visualization meditations.  Yoga class descriptions might represent the offering as a Beginner’s class or a Level 1 class.  Newer trainings include Yoga of 12 Step Recovery and Trauma-informed Yoga.

Therefore, my answer to the question is ‘Whatever works for you!”.  Not all yoga is equal.  Yoga is not the vanilla flavor of union and instead has evolved into a more ‘flavor of the month’ approach to broaden its reach and appeal.  And, the more we learn about the roots of the ancient tradition, we come to realize that it was originally taught in a one-on-one format, passing the knowledge of the guru to student, most likely taking into consideration that student’s individual needs.  So, in reality, yoga (with all of its techniques or ingredients) is meant to be a personal practice, customized to what is needed in the moment.  With this understanding then, my answer might include a response such as “You are your best guru, so listen to your body and allow it to join the mind in making the decision as to what feels best in the moment”.

If you still believe just one type or style of yoga is best, I encourage you to click on the link below to read more about the research that concluded that the choice of yoga style can be based on personal preferences and availability:

Choice of Yoga Style