January 2025 is upon us, and it’s all about intentions and resolutions. Who among us hasn’t said to themselves: “In this coming year, I will lose weight and get in shape!” or “I will work harder at my job and earn more money!” or “I will drink less, speak to my neighbors and family more, and get off my phone!”? Sound familiar?

However, if we look closely, most New Year’s resolutions have an inherent liability within them—they start from a place of lack, insisting that we must do better, be better or look better. They typically imply that something about ourselves must change, and as a result, they imbue a subtle sense of guilt or shame for who we are. And since it is usually framed as something to succeed at, we might feel even more guilt and shame if or when we fail.

But what if you’re already whole and enough?

The yogic philosophy takes us out of this essential framework, removing us from the realm of guilt and shame and the paradigm of success or failure. Yoga’s proposal and fervent promise is that we are already whole and enough. We just have to remember that we are.

Yoga provides a long list of concrete tools and strategies to help us along the path of remembering the Self, including meditation, contemplating inspiring people and lengthening the exhalation of the breath, for example. Additionally, remembering who we are can involve a form of intention-setting or resolution-making that is quite different from the everyday New Year’s resolution. In Sanskrit, it is sankalpa. 

Deepest Intention + Personal Purpose

“San” is a Sanskrit root with nuanced meaning and application. It often refers to acting in accordance with and can mean the opposite of “against.”

Kalpa is another nuanced Sanskrit term, referring to a significant length of (cosmic) time with a spatial dimension; it is also an aspect of rightness in action and thought or contemplation. The two come together in “sankalpa” to refer to an encompassing sentiment that’s in full accordance with divine time. In practice, students think of their heart’s deepest intention aligned with personal purpose.

Practicing sankalpa is usually part of a longer yoga practice, such as restorative yoga or yoga nidra. [See our articles on restorative yoga and yoga nidra here: bit.ly/restorative-0824 and bit.ly/nidra-1124—Ed.] It is a present-tense statement of one’s heart’s deepest longing or desire, and it is expressed in the present tense because it is understood to already be true. It is also a fervent expression of one’s pure Self and/or purpose. The latter might be obscured from our awareness, but the yogic lesson is that they are already there and waiting for us to know. We are already whole and enough. To come home to ourselves is our yogic work; our innate ability to do so is yoga’s promise.

To illuminate the key differences between a classic New Year’s resolution and a yogic sankalpa, consider how differently a desire around diet and exercise might be approached. A New Year’s resolution might be: “I will exercise more. I will eat according to my new diet.” The person might hope for a change in appearance, an increase in self-satisfaction and a greater sense of being worthy of love due to that change in appearance.

With a very different approach, a sankalpa on the topic might be: “I take care of myself,” and the possible outcomes might include greater self-love, more enjoyment of one’s actual physical capacities and an increase in mindful eating practices.

It Only Works If You Do It

One of the uncomfortable truths about yoga is that it only works if you do it. It’s important to remember that sankalpa is an active practice and a skill we hone. It involves what is often referred to as kriya yoga practices—the combination of which underpins all other yogic work—dedicated effort, meditation upon the self and surrender. 

As you begin to work with sankalpa, keep these things in mind:

Reflect. Sankalpa involves intentional consideration. In order to act in accordance with your true light, reflect upon it. The active thinking aspect of sankalpa expresses dedicated effort and intentional meditation upon the self.

Do. Sankalpa involves intentional beginning. The poet David Whyte writes, “What is important is simply to begin,” but he counsels readers to be aware of “subtle methods of delay.” Beginning is hard. Each time we state a sankalpa, we initiate a relationship with our Self.

Believe. Sankalpa also involves intentional surrender. It is human to fall into self-doubt and uncertainty. Offering a surrendered acknowledgment of the value of the yoga path and trusting in a purpose we can’t see or feel are sometimes the hardest actions of all.

Practicing Sankalpa

First, take a comfortable position. Many bodies will find themselves most at ease in a propped and supported reclined position on the earth or in a bed, or a propped/supported seated position, such as up against a wall if seated on the ground, or at a slight incline in a chair or sofa position.

Expect to stay in this position for eight to ten minutes.

As you settle in to ease, allow the tongue to widen in the mouth and to come away from the teeth. Allow the cheekbones to grow a little heavier. Soften around the temple space and the jaw joint where it meets the skull. Invite the eyes to ease in their sockets and the brow space to smooth.

Observe the breath print just as it is. Notice the shape of the inhalation. Notice its place in the body. Where is it? In the chest? The shoulders? Then, notice where it isn’t. Nothing needs to change; just observe the inhalation and its qualities and place.

Notice the exhalation, its shape and its place. Nothing needs to change; simply observe.

Allow awareness to consider the natural pause at the top of the inhalation and at the bottom of the exhalation. Stay with the breath print. Nothing needs to change. Observe the breath print and bring awareness to the breath. Anchor the mind to the breath with as much ease as possible.

Begin to connect your observational self with your heart’s deepest longing. Allow whatever arises to arise. Notice this longing as an affirmative statement of your own self-being that is already true. Sense and feel the clarity of your sankalpa as an alighting. A coming home.

Allow the body-mind to rest in your sankalpa, to be at ease. You might repeat your sankalpa several times. With each repetition, consider fostering a slightly longer exhalation, resting in the pause at the bottom of the exhalation.

An image of clarity, such as a reflective mirror, a shining or multifaceted light or a clear and open-aired resonant space, might also arise for you. Allow the truth of your sankalpa to permeate or emanate from this image.

Continue to take deep rest. Abide in the clarity of your sankalpa and notice yourself receiving the promise and bounty of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.3, which might be paraphrased as “When the student stills the turning of the mind, she will rest in her true Self.” Notice and welcome yourself receiving this promise, however fleeting. Notice the felt sense of this deep rest and abiding in your true self.

To close the practice, deepen the breath. Allow an intentional breath to enter the body. Notice the mind watching the body and then something else entirely watching the thinking mind. From your true self, begin to awaken awareness of your surroundings and take a few additional deep breaths. Begin to welcome movement to your limbs, rolling through wrists and ankles, awakening the flesh of the body. Open your eyes. Notice the end of your practice, and quietly begin to return to your day. ❧

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Patricia Schmidt, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP, is a certified yoga therapist specializing in pelvic health, accessible yoga and yoga for cancer support. She is a Franklin Method trainer, Roll Model method teacher and somatic movement specialist. To learn more, visit PLSYoga.com.