Introduction To Sankalpa & Intention Setting in Yoga Nidra

Hi,

My name is Natalie and I'm a Yoga Nidra teacher here to give you a little overview of a sankalpa.

So oftentimes when we do Yoga Nidra,

We're invited to form a sankalpa in the moment or we may be given a suggested sankalpa relating to the theme of the practice.

So it's totally up to you in what you choose to do with your sankalpa.

Let me first tell you what it is.

So a sankalpa is a heart's intention or a heart's vow.

It can be used as a life's purpose in the bigger sense,

And we could have sankalpas that we take with us through our entire life,

Or we also may have little sankalpas that we're kind of temporarily focusing on.

We may have many different ones that all weave together in our life,

Kind of like the mycelium network that connects all the trees and nature together that we don't actually get a chance to see because it's under the surface.

Can kind of think of a sankalpa in that way where it's almost this root system that is the essence of our consciousness.

It's the essence of our own life's purpose.

I would recommend taking some time to sit and discover what your sankalpa is.

So you may give yourself the space to discover it as you practice yoga nidra.

So it's not always necessary to know what it is at the beginning.

You can actually discover it from within through the practice of nidra or meditation or yoga.

You can also take inspiration maybe from your teacher who suggests something or from something else that you feel that you'd like to bring into your life and cultivate more.

And oftentimes,

What lives within us and what lives outside of us will often connect at some point in some way.

And as I mentioned,

We can have many,

Many sankalpas in our life.

One important thing when you're forming your own sankalpa is knowing the power of words.

So we want to avoid any negatives in the sentences that we create.

So for example,

If you want to get rid of stress in your life,

And you want to feel peace,

Then you'd want to focus on the word peace.

You would want to say it like,

I am peace,

Or I invite peace into my life.

You wouldn't want to say,

I don't want to be stressed.

And it's just the belief that the words are so powerful and that however we say them,

They will land in our consciousness.

So we want to have those positives,

If that makes sense.

And as you begin to plant that seed within your consciousness and your practice,

You can say it to yourself a few times or you can embody the feeling.

And almost imagine that it were already true.

So if your sankalpa is,

I invite peace into my life,

Or I am peace,

Then you would almost imagine that it was already true and what that peace could feel like and how it would manifest in your life.

So I hope this helps.

I do have a sankalpa practice that you can join me for to explore your values,

To discover your own purpose.

So join me for that if you're interested.

May you find peace,

May you find rest.

Thank you.