Creating a Sankalpa

by Kristy Manuel

Setting an intention involves bringing forth a resolve or desire that you’d like to be present in your life. An intention isn’t necessarily bringing a material item into your life, rather it’s an action or something to do. Or it can be centered on a feeling you want to have more of in your life. Here are a couple examples: “I am setting an intention to meditate 5 minutes each morning.” or “My intention is to create a feeling of safety and comfort in this room.” Setting an intention isn’t a requirement for a yoga practice though it can help us increase commitment to our practice.

What is a sankalpa?

Sankalpa is the Sanskrit word for intention yet it has a deeper meaning. The prefix ‘San’ conveys the idea of connection, wholeness and togetherness, and the root ‘kalpa’, translates to vow, commitment, or can also infer the idea ‘to create’. Sankalpa then can be thought of as vow to connect to the truth or wholeness of who you are. Another way to express sankalpa is a connection to your heart’s desire. Sankalpa reminds us to align our actions with our dharma or life’s purpose. Sankalpa helps us connect to something greater than ourselves and which can increase our sense of purpose in life leading to more joy.

How do we uncover our sankalpa? 

One of the most direct ways is to listen to our inner guidance, however, being able to really hear and connect with our heart’s desire can be challenging due to the noisiness of everyday life. Do we have practices in place to find and get comfortable with stillness? 

One of the true gifts of our mat-based yoga practice is the time to cultivate the ability to listen in. As we slow down and move around on the mat, we first tune in to our body. We practice feeling sensations and then maybe we can begin to observe feelings associated with various sensations. It takes time to cultivate the ability to listen and to recognize the messages from the body. 

Over the years, I’ve developed a simple process to help people begin to uncover their sankalpa. One of the first times I practiced a yoga nidra meditation I remember being asked to repeat my sankalpa. My brain immediately went to work deciding what that should be. Instead of settling on one, my mind jumped around trying to find the perfect intention and I lost out on the experience of the nidra! I thought if this is happening to me, it’s likely also happening to others so I set about creating an exercise to help find my sankalpa. I hope you find it useful!

Five Steps to create your Sankalpa:

Step 1: On a blank paper, brainstorm and write down everything that comes to mind from asking yourself this question: What are my dreams, wishes, & desires. Try not to judge or filter. Write down everything as if you’ve all the resources needed to accomplish any of these things!

Step 2: Look over this list and circle the ones that really excite you or ones that you want more than the others (maybe 3-5 of them).

Step 3: Spend some time thinking deeper into the ones you’ve circled and write down any feelings and emotions associated with these wishes. Try to imagine you’ve already accomplished your dreams and really feel the emotions of that accomplishment. 

Step 4: Looking at the answers to the above step - can you see any connections between the dreams and wishes that stand out as more important. Is there an underlying need or belief you can identify that underlies all of these? Sometimes the answer to this step surfaces after the meditation in step 5.  

Step 5: Set up for meditation: Listen to this meditation as often as you like to help you decide on a sankalpa.  Creating a Sankalpa (guided audio)

You can stay with one sankalpa until you feel like you’re ready to find a new one or refine this one. Sometimes it takes a while to find your sankalpa – be patient!

Writing your Sankalpa and intentions:

You’ll want to construct your written and verbal sankalpas and intentions in positive terms and in the present tense. Adding in positive emotions is a plus! Write it down as if it’s already accomplished. Here are a few examples:

·  I am grateful for my 5-minute meditation each morning

·  I enjoy creating an environment of safety and comfort in my yoga classes

·  I am a peaceful loving presence

·  I nourish my body choosing healthy vibrant foods 

·  I am joyful and present in each moment

·  I celebrate my ability to stay clear and present in my relationships and in my life

·  I speak with kindness and truth

(Originally published on April 23, 2024)