For me, intention setting is the most magical part of yoga.
Everything else seems to make perfect sense: you lengthen your exhale, there’s space for a deeper inhale.
You lift your heart and draw head and shoulders back, and shoulder pain goes away.
You press your thighs back and create a natural curve in your lower back, and you can extend down into the earth more easily.
But intention setting feels different. When we set an intention the world around us seems to change.
Setting an intention is not setting a goal although goals are, of course, useful.
Setting an intention is not making a request, although when we do ask for what we need silently, we set ourselves up to receive support for our intention.
Intention setting- or bhav in Sanskrit – means responding to a deep desire for an inner experience, and expressing our determination internally or externally to have that experience.
We can set an intention for our day to embody qualities like calm, clarity, courage, generosity, sweetness, or amusement. Or we can shoot for the stars and say “I want to have supreme delight”… “powerful insight”… “unlimited strength.”
While we can’t set an intention like “I want to win the lottery today”, when we set an intention like “I want to be pleasantly surprised today”, I find that surprises DO happen.
And while we can’t set an intention like “I want everyone around me to be happy” (my daughter tried that one), we can say “I want to have a positive affect on everyone I meet.” And people really DO seem happier.
When we’re pregnant, it’s helpful to have a Birth Intention in addition to our Birth Plan. That way, no matter WHAT happens, we can still have the birth we desire.
I try to set an intention at the beginning of the day with my daughter. I want her to know that she has great power to affect how things go, and she’s not a leaf in the wind blowing this way and that.
“What kind of day do you want to have?” I ask as we leave for school.
My daughter’s most common intention that she sets is “I want to have a calm, exciting, and fabulous day.”
And she really (usually) does!
Close your eyes mama and feel your breath. Relax. Make space. Now ask yourself: what kind of week do I want to have? Throughout your week, each time you pause to exhale fully, remember your bhav.
Yoga helps us root our intention deeper into the cells of our body. Move, breathe, and root your intentions.
I hope you enjoy the magic of watching your intention manifest itself. Happy intention setting!
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