January 2023 Dispatch: A New Year of Sankalpah and Sadhana
Welcome to 2023, Galaxy friends! I want to start right out of the gate with this cartoon from Calvin and Hobbes, because at the heart of it, this is the foundation from which the rest of this dispatch springs forth:
The Upanishads begin with what is called “The Perfect Prayer,” which you might have heard me chant in a yoga class before (or you can hear me chant it at the next Harmonium Saturday Sadhana class):
Om Purnamidah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadayah Purnamevavashishyate Om
It’s often translated as: “Om, that is perfect, this is perfect, perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect. Om.” I’ve also heard the word “perfect” replaced with “full,” and “whole,” both of which I also like as well.
Let’s start our January journey from that point of perfection. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, to rush headlong into excessive new habits, or to completely leave behind the person you currently are. That’s why, for as long as I’m alive and kicking, I’ll never encourage people to do a 30-day yoga challenge. Which is not to say that it’s not a good thing to do a little bit of yoga every day - but an hour of intense yoga, or even doubling up to do two classes because you missed a day… that’s an express ticket to injury that will likely put you back where you started, or even further back.
But consistency does have to be a part of the picture. The formula that I really like is one that gets us to a sustainable solution, and it combines consistency and variety. So maybe you don’t do an hour of intense yoga every day, but you do SOMETHING every day. And as NPR just reminded me in this article - there are a lot of myths about fitness that we need to be disabused of:
You don’t need to sweat for it to “count” or to reap health benefits
You don’t need to engage in your activity for 30 uninterrupted minutes
You don’t need to work really hard and feel the burn for it to count.
There are metrics and best practices that you can reference in this article and beyond, but the big takeaway from me is that healthy habits are not an all or nothing situation - scale up slowly and sustainably. And the most important thing is to focus on how the exercise makes you feel, not on what you look like. As many of you know, I love running (and have fallen off the running wagon due to the demands of these first few months of studio ownership). The times I was running the fastest were the times that I felt the absolute worst and was the most injured (I know so much more than I ever wanted to about shin splints, in case you need some help with yours). Over the years, I’ve discovered that my body really likes to run at around a 9:30 to 10-minute mile pace. It keeps me moving, happy, healthy, and uninjured, and I’m going to stop fighting my need to “improve,” so that I can engage in a physical discipline that I adore in a way that feels affirming, not punishing. (Side note: anyone want to run together? We can do a meet up and run before one of my classes. HMU.)
Sadhana and Sankalpah
Let’s also talk about ways that we can approach the New Year with a sense of intention, purpose, and solemnity, because that’s important, too. There are two words or practices I want to unpack with you this month that comprise our theme. The first is Sadhana, which is a way we refer to our practice that gives it solemnity and importance. It generally refers to a spiritual practice or aspiration, and I hope that a part of why you practice yoga is for what it does to your soul and spirit.
The second word is Sankalpah, which is a vow, promise or intention that you set for yourself at the beginning of a spiritual endeavor. At most of my classes, I’ll ask you to set an intention for your practice, and I do this because it’s a part of the lineage that I come from, and it’s a way that we elevate the practice time as important, special, and an essential, ritualized part of our lives. Rituals are important parts of habit creation. My teacher Dana used to call the rituals of practice “bringing along your friends,” by which she meant, put on good music, gather a few good books of poetry, create a beautiful space to practice in (make yourself beautiful with some glitter maybe…), and practice with people who will inspire you. When practice is a celebration, you’ll always want to come back to it.
So into this January soup, we’ve thrown the ideas of variety, consistency, moderation, ritual, intention, and committing to practice. What does that give us? BINGO!!! Yes, Bingo.
We’re playing Bingo this month at the studio, and here’s how it’s gonna go:
Fill in a row of five, and you get a free MG hat
Fill in five rows of five, and you get a free yellow star MG t-shirt
Fill in the entire grid and you’re entered into a randomized drawing to win either a free month of yoga, or $200 off of registration for our November 2023 Lake Atitlan Guatemala retreat!!
Pick up a Bingo sheet at the studio, and we’ll get it rolling on January 1st.
One last component of our month of Sankalpah and Sadhana is five-minute daily meditation. This is a practice that I can absolutely get behind recommending that we all do every day, with probably no risk of burn-out or injury. It doesn’t need to be complicated - just a few quiet moments where you sit, pay attention to your breath, and see how it feels. If you need a little help, we’ll be offering live five-minute meditations on Instagram - feel free to hop on if you see that we’ve started one - but you can access them after the fact for a little gentle guidance. I also recommend meditating with the RZA, because one other ancient spiritual adage that I live my life by is that Wu-Tang is forever.
What I’m Reading
I’m going back to an old favorite that has the potential to be a daily companion: Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates.
I adore Rolf Gates’s way of breaking down the components of the spiritual and philosophical practice of yoga, and the fact that it’s a daily companion with the potential to take you through an entire year seems like the right way to kick things off. I’m planning to have copies for sale in the studio, but it’s a bit of a deep cut, so it’s on order, and hopefully arriving soon.
What’s happening in the Galaxy
This weekend offers two really cool ways to set the tone for your year - join Kelsey for the first 108 done in our space as The Galaxy on New Year’s Eve! It goes like it always goes - 108 Sun Salutations, mixed with a few Vinyasa sequences, and a cute little sticker for everyone that completes it. There are only a few spots left for this, so sign up soon. Then, New Year’s Day will be intention-setting, gentle yoga, meditation and reflection with Sherie (if you need a journal, we’ve got some at the studio). There’s something special about kicking off the year with yoga, don’t you think?
Later in the month, check out:
For yoga teachers, I’m offering a small mentoring group that runs four weekends in January and February - we’ll do lots of hands-on assisting practice, and then work a bit with sequencing theory, and practice teaching with gentle, affirming feedback. This is donation-based, and geared toward folks who might have trained online during Covid times, and need a little extra practice getting into the groove of teaching in person again. If you’re interested, email me - I have a few spots left and would love to have the right people round out the study group!
Before I fire up my sauna and sweat my way into the New Year, I’ll sign off with a Ram Dass quote…
And before I share that, I’ll preface with another favorite, slightly saucy quote that I have also heard attributed to Ram Dass, but can’t find documented anywhere..
Apparently, Ram Dass said, “When you’re hungry, all you see are restaurants, when you’re horny, all you see are beautiful people, and when you’re looking for God, you will see God everywhere.” This quote seems to be driving toward the same point, which is that creating a Sadhana is about being not just committed, and narrowly focused, but open, joyful, and a dedicated seeker. Here’s a certifiable Ram Dass quote:
“At first you think that your sadhana Is a limited part of your life. In time you realize that Everything you do is part of your sadhana.”
From one dedicated seeker to another,
Anna
