Hi,
My name is Natalie and this is a practice to guide you to discover and create a sankalpa that you might use in your yoga nidra practice.
You may also use it in other meditation practices,
Yoga practices,
As well as off of your mat outside of your practice in your daily life.
So a sankalpa is a heart's vow or a heart's intention.
If we actually break up the words,
San means a connection with truth and a kalpa means a vow.
So when we're thinking of our sankalpa,
We want to connect to something very deep.
So we may actually have bigger sankalpas that we call our life's purpose.
And it could be something that we're working towards.
It may be something that we already feel is present.
And we may have smaller Sankalpas that are for just periods of time that we focus on.
So I thought I would lead you through a few different values exercises so that you can take that time to connect a little bit more deeply to discover what resonates for you and maybe what already is sort of brewing and living within you and alive within you.
I'll invite you to have something to write on.
So you might have a journal or a piece of paper,
And I'll offer you a chance after the practice to do some writing,
Some free writing.
But we'll begin just by taking some breaths,
Tuning into our body.
And I'll guide you through a little exercise.
So you can close your eyes.
You can bring your hands close to your heart space.
And start with a few breaths.
Landing in your body.
Connected to the breath flowing through you.
And for a moment,
You may bring to mind if you.
.
.
Have had any sankalpas that have been important to you in the past,
Or maybe some that are currently present for you.
Allowing them to be acknowledged.
And also invite in a sense of openness for new discovery.
I would like to invite you to begin to imagine that you had.
One day left to live in this body on this earth.
One day left to live and.
.
.
Nobody else knew.
Only you knew.
How would you choose to spend your time?
Who would you want to spend your time with?
Where might you want to be?
You may notice images that come to your mind's eye.
Perhaps accompanied with emotions.
Allow those images to come.
Allow those emotions to come.
Now can you begin to expand?
Into the idea that Now you have one year left.
Of your life.
So not one more day,
But one more year.
More time.
And in this scenario,
You can tell others.
Who may you want to share this with?
And noticing who you may feel like you have to share it with out of obligation.
Versus who you may want to share it with.
For support.
And what other things?
Might you want to do with this time?
And now one more scenario.
And now you've reached last moment of your life.
And so letting go of the last two scenarios.
You're back in your own present moment of your own present life.
Looking over the years that you have lived,
The things you've done.
And you have.
.
.
Some moments to simply reflect.
On your life before you take your last breath.
What are some things that you feel proud of?
What are some things that really went right?
Some positives.
And some memories,
Some parts of your life.
That leave you with a smile.
And what are some things that.
We're left undone.
Or maybe things left unsaid,
Things that you didn't have time to do that you wish you had done.
Give those some space now.
Stay with your breath.
Allowing any emotion.
Any thoughts,
Any experiences.
Now you can take some time to Remember,
Reflect.
On anything that stood out for you in any of these three scenarios.
Know that if you need to go back.
And try again.
You can go back You can press pause.
And whenever you feel ready.
You may begin writing.
Allow yourself to write freely.
Please take more time.
If you need more time,
You can pause this video.
And keep writing.
And now we'll move on to creating a sankalpa from what we've learned.
So you can look at your page.
Look at some of the things that you've written and maybe you notice some themes.
Or anything that sticks out to you.
As we reflect on our values,
The things that are important to us.
This is where we can create a sankalpa.
And so some key elements when creating a sankalpa that are very important is that we use a positive statement.
And so.
Maybe in those last moments,
In that reflection of the last moments reflecting on life,
For example,
If somebody said,
I wish I had spent more time with my loved ones.
Where I wish I had spent more time.
Alone either.
Then a sankalpa that you can create from that is by Taking the positive.
And so it might sound something like.
I value the people in my life.
Or I value time on my own.
And it could expand and extend into things like.
I am strong and resilient on my own.
Or I share my love with those around me,
Or I am love.
So these are some examples of how we can create.
A Sankalpa.
So generally,
It will be a positive statement of something that you want to invite into your life.
And you can think of it like making a promise to your deepest self.
And so we continuously want to move through the layers looking for what's underneath.
And so you can take some time to reflect on your values from this exercise.
And this might shed some light on things that are really important to you in your life.
And then from there you can form your sankalpas.
And as I mentioned at the beginning,
Some of them might feel more important.
They might feel very big.
Things that you've taken with you through your whole life and that you'll continue to take with you through the rest of your life.
And some of them might be smaller intentions.
Be sure to give yourself time looking through your values list choosing different themes and then from there forming those positive statements.
That you'll treat like seeds,
Planting them in your consciousness,
Inviting them into your life.
And.
Into your yoga practice and your yoga nidra practice as well.
If you have any questions,
Please reach out at any time.
And I wish you peace and I wish you rest.
And I wish you all the self-discovery as you create your sankalpas.
