This post has been updated for the 2018/2019 year.

If you will miss my in-person January workshops on mindful intention setting for the new year, here is your chance to do some of the work on your own! It's never too late to set intentions for how you want to move forward. Grab a journal and a towel/cushion/yoga mat and follow the steps below to create a simple blueprint for how you want to move into the new year. 

Intentions vs. Resolutions

In the mindfulness and wellness space, "intentions" is the buzzword we like to use rather than "resolutions." I'm on board with it, and I'll tell you why. New Year's Resolutions have come to have a negative connotation, and it's because of the way we use them. Our resolutions often stem from a place of feeling less than, like something is lacking, or that we're not good enough. We feel bad about one aspect of our life and we RESOLVE TO FIX IT (fist in the air!).

"This year my resolution is to lose 20 pounds." "This year my resolution is to go to the gym 5 days per week." "This year my resolution is to eat healthy every day." (Have you noticed how most resolutions are also related to our bodies? Interesting. Eye roll.)

Come February, when we haven't reached our goal, we typically throw the resolution out the window. And feel even worse about ourselves because we couldn't keep it.

Let's shift that. What if we set an intention for our year, one that acts more as an overarching theme for how we want to feel and be in the year ahead? The intention becomes our anchor. When we start to drift away from this theme or intention, like a boat or paddleboard in the current, we have that anchor down. We may drift slightly off course, but we can always come back to our intention.

The below steps will not help you set a resolution. They will help you set positive intentions designed to bring more joy into your life. 

Reflection: Looking Back to Look Forward

Find a comfortable seat and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths - in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Start to visualize the year that is now behind you - 2018. Scan through your year, starting from January all the way through to the present moment.

What did the last year feel like? What are the emotions you feel as your visualize your year?

What were the highlights? Big accomplishments? Milestones? What brought you the most joy?

What was difficult? What felt lacking? What do you need to let go?

Continue to sit with eyes closed and visualize your 2018 until you feel complete. Then slowly open the eyes, grab your journal, and answer the above questions in a journal or on another paper. Yes - don't skip this step! Writing down your thoughts will help you release the previous year before moving ahead.

Looking at what you wrote, you'll probably already get a sense of what you may want to shift in 2019. Whatever comes up is great information - and will help us as we move into the next steps.

Optional: Yoga Flow

In the in-person workshop, we flowed to a yoga sequence I designed to open the Sacral Chakra (governs pleasure, emotion, joy, creativity, living life to the fullest, and letting go) and the Heart Chakra (governs love for self and others, compassion, and warmth). By opening our sacral chakra we can let go of the past and focus on what brings us pleasure and joy, and opening the heart chakra allows us to move forward into the new year with an open heart and from a place of love and kindness.

If you'd like to do this flow on your own, I've listed the sequence here. The postures help us to release 2018 and open our hearts to the possibility of the new year ahead. Do as much or as little as you desire, but I promise you that moving your body really does open the mind (and the heart) to be able to do the next exercises.

Meditation

(Become familiar with the few steps of this simple meditation before taking your seat to begin. Feel free to set a timer if you'd like to keep the time - I recommend at least 10-20 minutes, and love using the app Insight Timer with a gentle alarm and optional meditation music. It will give you a soft reminder when time is up but does not require you to press a button to turn the alarm off - this is important so you aren't rudely jolted out of your meditation.)

Find a comfortable seat either on the floor or a chair, and close your eyes. Take 5-8 deep breaths - in through the nose and out through the mouth. With each inhale grow taller, reaching the crown of your head toward the sky, and rooting the hips into the earth or chair. With each exhale relax the shoulders back and down and find a softness throughout your body, while still maintaining a long spine. Then settle into relaxed breathing - in and out through the nose.

Use this time to come into the present moment by bringing your attention to your breath. Notice how each breath feels. Where do you feel the breath the most? Maybe it's with the rise and fall of the chest. Maybe it's the expanding and relaxing of the belly. Maybe it's the cool air passing in and out through your nose. Stay in this moment now. Not looking back and not looking forward. Feeling the sensations of each inhale and each exhale.

Use your breath as an anchor. As your mind drifts away from where you are, or you become distracted by thoughts, feelings, or sounds, just let them gently pass by. We acknowledge their presence, but don't follow those distractions. Let them go and then softly bring your attention back to your breath. Back to that anchor.

After 5-20 minutes (all levels are welcome here), start to bring a vision of 2019 to your mind's eye. What are the emotions you are feeling this year? What are you spending your time doing?  Where are you spending your time? Who are you spending your time with? What is bringing you joy?

Then, think of one word or phrase that can be your intention, your anchor, for 2019. Let it be something that brings you true happiness and joy. This is your focus for the year.

Perhaps the word is a noun - a person, place, thing, or concept (think: love, family, creativity, travel, growth). Perhaps the word is a verb, an action (build, explore, rest, slow down). Perhaps the word is an adjective (free, happy, rejuvenating, loving). Think of YOUR word for 2019.

Journal

Feel free to journal and write down the answers to the above guiding questions. What are the emotions you are feeling in 2019? What are you spending your time doing?  Where are you spending your time? Who are you spending your time with? What is bringing you joy?

Write Your Intention (and refer back to it frequently)

(1) At the top of a new sheet of paper, write down your word in a sentence like this:

2019: The Year Of _______ <--insert your word

{Example 1 ~ 2019: The Year Of Growth}

{Example 2 ~ 2019: The Year Of Creativity}

(2) Create one large goal relating to your word. What is something big you can do or strive for relating to your word?

{Example 1 ~ Attend a transformational retreat}

{Example 2 ~ Enroll in an art class}

(3) List three action steps that you can take every day or every week to bring this theme into your life. These action steps are simple, and these will help you stay anchored. When life gets crazy and you fall off track (and life WILL get crazy, and you WILL fall off track), hold these action steps as ways you can come back to yourself and come back to your intention.

{Example 1 ~ Read self-development for 10 minutes a day; Meditate for 10 minutes a day; Listen to 1 inspiring podcast every week}

{Example 2 ~ Write in a journal daily; Set aside 2 hours a week for painting or drawing; Practice guitar for 15-30 minutes}

(4) Write a mantra or daily affirmation that you can use as a guide or anchor for this theme. This is a phrase or a sentence you can repeat to yourself to remind you of your intention. Post this mantra or affirmation somewhere you will see it every day - the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, the coffee pot. Say it to yourself daily. Trust me on this one.

{Example 1 ~ Magic happens outside of my comfort zone.}

{Example 2 ~ I am my best self when I make time to express myself creatively.}

Go Forth and Wander Free

Having set your intention for 2019, you move into the next year from a more mindful place. Keep your intention, goal, action steps, and especially your affirmation somewhere close by, so that you can review it frequently. 

As you move through the new year, use this intention, this theme, this anchor to guide your choices for how you want to experience life this year. Remember that you have the power to create your reality. Take the necessary steps to bring more joy into your life, and I promise you - it will work.

Namaste and may you have an amazing new year!