Daily Intent

This is a habit that I have picked up from years of yoga practice; setting an intention. This intention can last for an hour, a day or a lifetime but today's goal is to set a daily intention. A simple short term goal that will hopefully lead to a long term change.

In yoga, the teacher will often guide the class to set an intention from the outset. Sometimes they give everyone the same intention and sometimes it is up to the individual to set their own. Mine are usually something short like "relax" or "happy" or "strong."  These are easy words to constantly refer back to throughout the course of the class. If something pulls me away from my intention I take a break and go back to my word or phrase and then rejoin the class.

Outside of yoga, I use the same approach. For example; last Saturday I set an intention to eat more slowly all day. I have a bad habit of eating without putting down the fork. I often over eat as a result of cramming food down my gullet too fast. Not mindful. I ended up doing this all weekend, although my usual Sunday morning fish tacos (best in the world) were gone in about one minute. In the long run I will still find myself eating too fast on occasion. But setting a short term intention will serve as a memory of how it felt to eat slower and hopefully remind me to do so in the future.

This practice can be applied to any arena of your life, from eating to business to sports to parenting. Pick one thing that you want to change and make that your intention for the day.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Jack