What is an intention?

As I begin writing my thoughts on setting an intention the sun is setting and I can see this straight through my bedroom window. I think about the day just gone and go back to how I started this morning. During my meditation this morning I felt strongly connected to my feet. I felt them positively heavy and steady. So my intention was to stay with that grounded feeling during the day.  Did I manage? Most of the time yes, but sometimes my thoughts were a little unstable. But as I end this day I am back to that solid grounded feeling as the sun sinks into the earth.

The definition of an intention is:

An intention is an idea that you plan (or intend) to carry out. If you mean something, it's an intention. Your goal, purpose, or aim is your intention. It's something you mean to do, whether you pull it off or not.

I try and enter every yoga practice, every meditation with an intention. To help me stay focused. I may or may not be able to hold onto this during every practice. But it for sure is an extremely helpful tool if I feel myself drift to shopping lists, the list of things to do, the thoughts I may have about my children or expectations, and judgments I have of myself.

Setting an intention for the day or for a practice can be quite simple and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. Sometimes I can find myself feeling too distracted with rushing around, to be everywhere on time. My intention might then perhaps be, just to take half an hour where I sit down to catch my breath. Also, sometimes when I start my yoga practice I can simply connect to my breath and to be aware of the breath in each movement.

An intention is a gathering of energy towards a personal goal, or it’s the drawing of a map of where you wish to go. Intentions give you a good framework in where you can build. Yet you have to let go of the expectations of how you will get there. It’s not to be confused with a goal, it something that you align yourself with. You should feel like you can proudly commit to this.

 It always takes place in the present moment. Let it always come from your heart. When it truly comes from your heart it allows you to connect to it smoothly. Authentic connections cannot be forced, they just seamlessly flow and they are always positive.

The image of an arrow leaving its bow has been used by other yoga teachers and it is a powerful vision. The arrow might not always land where you want it to. As there are always winds, rain, or other obstacles that can cross the arrow’s path. But it’s the aiming, it’s the journey that keeps us in the present moment, and from those present moments, we can only grow. The growth is the magical part.

“Intentions compressed into words enfold magical power.”
~Deepak Chopra

Showing up

Feel the body. What does it say? We are this incredibly unique life enclosed by flesh and bone and neural pathways whizzing across endless grids and with each turn the mind unfolds into different sensations, different thoughts and different emotions. In this body we practice yoga and a part of this practice is yoga asana, "simulating the challenges of life, the ups and especially the downs that the mind considers such a threat to its integrity, and shows us that we don't have to fight in order to win. We just have to keep showing up and fearlessly look experience straight in the eye." - Shy Sayar.

I'm already half way through my teacher training course. Time has flown. Everyday I get up at sunrise and wander out of my small bungalow that I'm not only sharing with my good friend Hazel but also with our friendly gecko who yesterday got himself into a fight. He lost both front feet, his tail and has a gash across his side. Now he seems to be quietly dying behind my camera case. His impending death means we'll have even more "not so friendly" visitors in our bungalow, who already frequently cause a pre-bedtime adrenalin frenzy of hysterical arm flapping and trying to weigh up how deadly the animal is and whether that justifies us killing it.

My teacher training consists of morning asana practice and meditation, anatomy, philosophy and studying the yoga sutras, plus some yoga play time consisting of acro yoga, shadow yoga and couples yoga. It has been intense, mentally, emotionally, physically but I am loving each and every minute of it. Everyday my understanding of yogic practices allows me to live more freely, more conciously and be ever more present by delving deeper into a sense of our interconnectedness. The thought that soon I will be able to bring some of what I have learnt to Forest Row and hopefully some other beautiful places across the globe, fills me with so much joy and so much gratitude. 'We all inquire into yoga. Yoga happens in the resolution of consciousness. Through yoga, consciousness can become aware of its interdependence.' In Matthew Remsi's translation of Patanjali's yoga sutras.