With all the things a new year brings,
Here's a little reminder to take it one day at a time.
I love the saying we tend to overestimate what we can do in a day and we tend to underestimate what we can do in a year.
This shows how much really can change in a year and grow in a year but when we narrow it down to a day it just seems impossible.
While it's easy to want to jump into the year with a hundred goals to achieve,
Let's take it down to cultivating intentions for this new year.
So as you settle into a comfortable seat,
Noticing your environment,
Your surroundings,
When you're ready you can close your eyes or lower your gaze and just spend the first few moments noticing your body,
Any tension in your muscles.
Draw your awareness to the parts that may feel heavy,
The parts that may feel a little bit more tensed.
Sending your breath into those areas and gently let it go.
This meditation is going to be focused on setting intentions for the new year.
Intentions allow us to focus on the why behind what we do.
For example,
If it's going to the gym,
The intention behind it is being healthy,
Wanting to be fit,
Being strong.
Or it could be taking a course you've always wanted to take because you want to learn,
You want to grow,
You want to stimulate your mind.
Or maybe it's traveling around the world so you can cultivate a fresh perspective to absorb different cultures.
So as you sit here in stillness,
In silence,
As you contemplate your plans and goals for the near future,
The year ahead,
I encourage you to sit behind the deeper meaning behind what it is deeper meaning behind what it is you want to do.
So often we jump into our goals without really thinking them through,
Without thinking about the why behind it.
And the why is actually what will keep you going during the hard days,
The challenging moments.
Setting your intention,
Coming back to your why,
This will keep you going.
Allowing the breath to be normal and natural.
No need to try and shift or change it.
Notice what it is that you want to do in the upcoming year and then try to dig a little deeper.
Finding the reason behind it,
The why behind it.
Maybe it's for you,
Maybe it's for someone else,
Your loved ones.
Try and visualize what will happen once this goal,
Once this intention is achieved.
How would that future version of yourself look like?
As you visualize your intention,
Breathe through it,
Feel in your body what starts to come up.
Is it tension?
Is it rigidness?
Is it tightness?
Is it ease?
Is it freedom?
Is it ease?
Is it freedom?
Now whatever that intention is,
Whatever that goal is,
Think of the next step,
Just one step.
You only need to know your next step in order to get closer to that thing that you want to happen.
Whether it looks like reaching out to someone,
Whether it looks like submitting an application,
Booking a flight,
I really want you to hone into the small step,
The next step that you're going to take.
Taking a deep breath in and a full exhale out.
Another deep breath in,
Filling your lungs,
Filling the sides of the ribcage and a full exhale out.
One more just like this,
A full breath in and a full exhale out.
We're going to end this short intention setting with a couple more deep breaths at your own pace.
Noticing how your body feels,
Noticing how your muscles feel,
Noticing the mind after you've thought about this intention,
This goal and the why behind it.
Without rushing,
Slowly begin to open your eyes,
Bringing movement into the fingertips,
Into the toes,
Coming back into your space,
Coming back into your environment.
We're going to end with a full breath in,
Filling your lungs and a nice full exhale out.
We've come to the end of the practice,
Wishing you a great year ahead.
