| I tried to find someone to whom I could attribute this saying and found conflicting information, so I will attribute it to “unknown.” How many times have you been driving, got to your destination and thought “I don’t even remember the drive here?” I used to have that experience frequently. In fact, I have been known to drive many minutes in the wrong direction! I remember a time when my mom was the last to leave work and had to lock up. For a few weeks, she would have panic moments and go back to work to check to make sure she actually locked the door. Can you relate to these examples of living out of habit instead of intent? Yoga and Pilates fall under the umbrella of “mind/body.” When I teach, I explain it as, “this is not one of those classes where you see me lift my arm and so you lift your arm. I want you to think about how you lift your arm, what muscles you use and how it feels in your body when your arm is lifted.” When I teach a yoga class, I like to set an intention for each class. Sometimes I read a quote or a short passage. Sometimes I will just say something like, “I’d like to set an intention of gratitude for our practice today.” Other times I ask the participants to set their own intention for class and ask the questions, “why are you here in class? What do you want to get out of YOUR class today?” Whatever intention is set, keep it with you, go back to it, evaluate your actions to make sure they fit your intention. For example, if your intention is to bring joy to your practice and you fall out of a balance pose, do you laugh at yourself? Do you get angry? Which fits with what you want? At the end of a yoga class, I will sometimes say, “If you like to take your yoga off the mat, continue to remember your intention.” So that’s my challenge to you. Live less out of habit and more out of intent. When you are doing your routine things like brushing your teeth or driving to work, do them mindfully. Think about what you are doing while you are doing it. Set an intention for your day, or maybe just for the next hour. What do you want? Joy? Peace? Gratitude? Act in ways that help you get there. |
