What I love most about the start of a new year is that new year smell in the air. It’s fresh, light and full of promise. No matter where you were in life, it’s a chapter break that stops the narrative, forces you to turn the page and take a breath before diving back in. If you breathe in deep enough, you’ll sense the empty pages ahead and start to write in dreams and expectations.
That’s where it gets complicated. From the start, most New Year’s resolutions are like desert flowers – they only bloom once a year for a very short period of time. The overwhelming majority of them have faded and disappeared by the time February or March roll around. Very few people were counting down the seconds on December 31st, ready to congratulate themselves for keeping their resolution the whole year through. That said, no effort is ever wasted in the struggle to realize the best possible version of yourself.
The secret to staying committed and present with goals/life/yoga is to begin again. How many times have you been in yoga class and found your mind wandering? The best way to bring your attention back to the present moment is always to take a breath and pretend you just arrived on your mat. Stop thinking about how wobbly you were in tree pose ten seconds ago and lunge forward confidently into warrior two, focused solely on the present moment. Even if you’ve already let a day or two go by without acting on your resolutions, it’s never too late to start again.
Take a deep breath. Let it out. Pretend you just arrived here, in this place, right now. Where are you going and where do you want to go? If those two answers are different, maybe that’s your resolution this year. Let go of your past mistakes and failures. Set a specific goal to accomplish within a reasonable amount of time. Every day you fail, take a breath and begin again. Day by day, as you choose to start over in the direction of your dreams, you add petals layer by layer to the unopened bud. That way, when the rains of opportunity come, your desert flower is ready to bloom.
If your resolution is to incorporate more yoga into your life, let Yoga One help! Check out our awesome schedule and drop in for a class or sign up for one of our packages. If you’re local and new to the studio, check out an unlimited month for $50 to really kick off your fitness goals for the year. Whatever your goals this January, all of us here at Yoga One wish you good health and good cheer. Namaste!
