Intentions
Goals vs. Intensions
When I first started attending yoga classes, I was always a little confused when the teacher would say, “Set an intention.” I didn’t quite know what that meant or how to do it. It wasn’t until I attended a yoga nidra retreat and conference in 2019 that the idea of intention really began to land for me.
Since then, I’ve enjoyed starting each new year with a clear intention. But what exactly is an intention? I’ve come to understand it as the conscious placement of energy in the direction we want to move. As I learned more, I often found myself wondering about the difference between a goal and an intention.
An intention is a direction, but without attachment to the outcome. This is what makes it, as Kamini Desai describes, “reality-friendly.” We can wander, pause, or even feel off track and still be moving in the direction we wish to go. In her book Yoga Nidra, Desai outlines five qualities that make an intention effective. This week, I made small reminder cards for class so we could all feel supported and prepared as we set our intentions for the new year. What will your intention be for the coming year?
Winter Yoga Schedule
(I am not teaching the week of December 28th, I will be back in the studio January 5th).
Mondays: Evolution Yoga, Gentle Yoga, 11-12, register through Evolution Yoga
Thursdays: Cancer Wellness Center, Gentle Yoga, 9:30-10:30am, register through the Cancer Wellness Center
Fridays: Evolution Yoga, Gentle Yoga, 11-12, register through Evolution Yoga
Fridays: 1:30-2:30pm, Gentle Yoga at the Patten Building (for residents), register with Katie (katiehoffmanyoga@gmail.com)
Lately I am…
Reading: Currently, I’m in the middle of Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (excellent), and next up on my reading list is Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee—one of the New York Times’ best books of the year.
Cooking: We’ve been making a lot of Italian food around here lately, and the other night we cooked this pasta dish from an amazing cookbook a friend gifted me for Christmas (the recipe was slightly different, but you get the idea). It was so simple and so delicious!
Practicing: Time management skills! I’m hoping to start the new year with a few new tools, so this week I began listening to a course on Insight Timer. I really like the way Garcia approaches each lesson, and it’s been eye-opening to notice how I actually manage my time.
Thank you for reading my newsletter and for continuing to practice yoga with me. Here’s to a new year of steady breath, kind awareness, and showing up just as we are, on and off the mat.
Love, Katie
Katie Hoffman
MA, E-RYT, C-IAYT
Divine Sleep®Yoga Nidra Instructor
609.271.4660