We’re in the midst of the second week of 2016. How are your New Year’s resolutions progressing? It is said that about 45-50% of us make New Year’s resolutions every year; yet only about 8% of us achieve them. For many, we have several things on the list we want to accomplish in the New Year. One problem with having “several” things is we become overwhelmed and then frustrated when we’re not making the progress we intended.
Rather than work on several resolutions at once, pick just one. Through various teachings in yoga and Buddhism, I’ve learned that mindfully focusing on just one thing at a time is much more powerful than scattering the energy of the brain and body to attempt to do multiple things at a time.
My teacher Sri Dharma Mittra shared a beautiful 2016 New Year’s message on Karma last week. Whether you understand the Laws of Karma or not, he offers this: “Before the New Year, let’s say just after Christmas, you start making plans for the New Year, but don’t plan too much. Take half of what you had in your head. Then, whatever you decide to do, you have to follow it. If you start the New Year with good things, like a reflex, it tends to go like this through until the end. There are exceptions for Karmas. In most cases, make your plans, but don’t be overly ambitious in making them. Plan on accomplishing very little. If you make a small start in the right direction, the mind tends to follow and stick to the plan. If you are overly ambitious in what you decide on, you are going to break it always.” – View in full Sri Dharma Mittra’s 2016 message on Karma at: http://www.yoganonymous.com
Sri Dharma sharing teachings at the 2016 New Year’s immersion in NYC at the Dharma Yoga Center
When you’re able to be fully mindful of simply one thing, you start to become mindful of everything you do. To help with focusing on just one of your resolutions, pick a word that represents just one of your goals/intentions. Just one word. Let this one word be your mantra -not just as you practice yoga but as you stand in line at the grocery store, as you walk the dogs, as you sit in traffic. Infuse the word in everything you do. The more you can incorporate this word into your life, the closer you will get to realizing the intention tied to it. If you don’t have a resolution, just ask yourself “what do I need more of in my life?” A few suggestions: PEACE, JOY, PATIENCE or CONFIDENCE . One student shared with me her word is PAUSE. My word for now is CHANGE.
Melody of abellaYoga has been gratefully teaching office yoga (and private yoga) full-time in Washington, DC, Alexandria and Arlington, VA since 2006. Thankful for experiences gained in the telecom/tech corporate world, this ex-marketing, yoga-chick is happy to share all she knows about yoga with all. Find her blogging here, scrolling facebook.com/abellaYoga page or on twitter.com/abellaYoga -follow @abellaYoga