Intention

It is the work of the heart to birth intention, rather than that of the mind.

Phillip Moffitt, a Buddhist meditation teacher, offers this article on fine-tuning our understanding of intention and differentiating intention from goal-setting. With goals, Moffitt says “the future is always the focus: Are you going to reach the goal? Will you be happy when you do? What next?” Intention, by contrast, “is a path or practice that if focused on how you are ‘being’ in the present moment.” A goal says “I want to grow a tree.” Intention tends the soil.

 Moffitt is clear that intentions are generated not by the mind, but in the heart (see the intention meditation below). “Goals help you make your place in the world and be an effective person. But being grounded in intention is what provides integrity and unity in your life.”

 Setting an intention is not a one-time event, but a process, a practice. We set our intention and live it. We use our practices (yoga postures, pranayama, meditation, journaling, etc) to move inward into that reflective space to again cultivate those intentions and then we move it back out into the world. We walk it off our mats and into our lives. And then we begin again. It’s this dialectic process of working back and forth between the mat and our lives that allows us to stay engaged in life in a way that is grounded in our deepest truths.

"And now the teaching on yoga begins."

Thus begins the Yoga Sutra, a quintessential text for anyone intending to take the study of Yoga deeper into their hearts and lives. It's easy to see this opening, as Charlotte Bell did, "as a throwaway verse," but on deeper examination, it can be honored as a setting of intention.

Next time you take to your mat, or begin anything -- your day, a task, a conversation -- try pausing to feel an intention take form in the heart. I'll offer here a formal way for creating that pause, but know that even the pause of one breath can create a framework for what proceeds that is more fully-tethered to your inner truth.

Find a quiet space and take a seat which supports the spine. This may be a traditional seated posture, or it may be sitting in a supportive chair. Wherever you may be, sit with purpose. Let your spine be supported by the rooting of the sitting bones and lengthened by the suspension of the crown of the head towards the heavens.  Rest your hands on your knees or thighs.

Inhale as you let your gaze soften to the floor. Exhale as you let your eyes close and your shoulders melt down and back. Scan your senses, bringing your awareness into the present moment. Let your present moment awareness come to focus on your breath.

As your breath lengthens, direct the breath to the heart center. As you breathe in, behold the space of your heart. As you exhale, feel any tightness there float out. As you inhale, draw your hands together in prayer position just in front of the heart. As you exhale, hold the space open as you feel intention arise. Trust whatever comes through -- be it a word, an image, an affirmation, or something you can just glimpse a bit of. Trust that you have more than enough to begin.

As you feel ready, press the thumb knuckles into the heart center to seal your intention. Rub the palms together vigorously to begin to manifest your intention. Split the warm palms over the eyes. As you are ready, open the eyes into the palms -- begin to see with your intention. Float the hands back down to the knees and proceed with your practice, whatever it may be.

Namaste