Take Your New Year’s Resolutions to the Mat

I taught a fun workshop on New Year’s Day. I had people take their new year’s resolutions to the mat. The workshop had three parts: Letting go of what you don’t want; getting excited about what you do want; and finally, surrendering into the present with gratitude for what you have and who you are right now.

I had them begin with in a basic breathing position, on their backs with knees bent, and had them think about something they no longer wanted in their life. If there were many things, I had them pick just one to represent all of them. We then focused on the exhalation aspect of the breath and viewed whatever it was going out with the out breath. I also encouraged them to see whatever it was they no longer wanted with gratitude and not judgment. Even though it might be something they see as incredibly unpleasant, judging it just keeps it stuck in their body. Seeing it with gratitude for serving them in whatever way it did and then saying goodbye to it with a smile and a wink, helps us release it more fully. We then did a 30-minute practice of twists to further release whatever it was from their body.

For the next section, getting excited about what they want, I again had them begin the section on their backs for basic breathing. I had them think about what they wanted and begin considering what it would be like to have it in their life right now. How would they feel? What would their life be like? We then focused on the inhale – bringing something into their life. For the asana portion, we did Tadasana (Mountain Pose), the Warrior series (Virabhadrasana I and II), and Ustrasana (Camel Pose) variations for opening the heart. You could feel the excitement grow with each pose. Whenever you need to feel you could conquer the world, do the warrior poses and camel pose. I call it the “yogic cup of coffee” feeling. The entire class said they had a buzz inside of them and could feel their excitement.

For the last section, surrendering into the present with gratitude, we again returned to the floor. Yes, I had them go straight from Ustrasana variations to laying down. I wanted them to feel that ungrounded excitement isn’t good. You are unable to relax in that state. Excitement is definitely a wonderful thing. When it is ungrounded, it is more about the future and not about being present, though. The very best place to change things in your life is from a place of gratitude for the present with excitement of what is to come (grounded excitement.) We began with just following the breath. I had them feel the release into the floor and let the breath float more and more easily with each breath. You could feel the energy of the room calm as they breathed. Then we did forward folds, starting with the standing forward folds and then seated ones. I finished with a long Balasana (Child’s Pose) and then Savasana.

They commented afterward that they could see the benefit of being present and still excited about the future. It was great fun!