Welcome to the first newsletter of 2017.  Today I have a free downloadable workbook that I’ll explain more about below.

I also want to make sure you know about the Early Registration Special that runs to the end of the weekend on the next module of Kids Yoga Teacher Training.  The upcoming Themes and Dreams Certificate is a favourite because of all the songs, stories, meditations and philosophy for Kids.  If you are planning to get Certified as a Kids Yoga Teacher this year, register now to reserve your spot.   We’re also polishing up the details of the 95 Hour Summer Certification 2017 – you can get a sneak peak here.  Let me know if you have any questions about Kids Yoga teacher training.

Tools to Consciously Set Your Course

January marks the beginning of a new year and the passing away of an old one. Appreciating the fact that all things are temporary, they are born, they grow, and they pass away is an integral part of the yogic life. It helps us truly appreciate them while they exist and to learn from them to create better tomorrows.

A new year brings a natural opportunity to reflect on the year that just passed and to consciously set intentions for one that is coming up. My meditation teacher always warned that if you don’t set your own vision for your life, you will be living the vision of someone else. I have lived other people’s visions of what life should be and I prefer to set my own course!

Writing Your Goals to Create Your Life

For this reason I started keeping journals of my goals, plans and desired lifestyle when I started meditating regularly.  When I look back through my journals I can see that everything I’ve done, including Young Yoga Masters, Ambassador Yoga and even finding my husband, were shaped by the intentions I wrote in my visioning journals.

The benefits I got from my visioning practice inspired me to start teaching a yearly workshop for Conscious Intention Setting seven years ago.  It is always offered at the beginning of the year and it’s called the Kundalini Kick Start (I got my adult yoga training in Kundalini Yoga). During the workshop we do yoga, meditation and conscious intention setting.

Historically the workshop sells out and many who attend are past grads. I love to reconnect with you all in person through yoga and meditation, the practices that brought us together. I know we teachers have to consciously make time to keep our own practice healthy!  This is one great way to do this.

Conscious Intention Setting for Yoga Teachers Using the Free Download Worksheets

However not everyone is able to make it to Toronto for this workshop, so this year you can use the worksheets below to participate in the process.  Having a conscious intention setting ritual to begin a new year helps us to create the work and life we want for the upcoming year and beyond.

In Kundalini Kick Start we do a thorough yoga set and one or two x 11 minute meditation sessions before we dive into the visioning for the new year. Consider attending a yoga class or doing an hour of yoga at home, then meditating before you start. Make an afternoon of it. You’ll be glad you did!  It will help you look at what you want more clearly.

Then use this free downloadable workbook (modified from Kundalini Kick Start) to guide you through the process.  It’s a way to think through and vision the year ahead for yourself personally, socially and professionally. Below are descriptions of what’s in its pages.

Reflections on Last Year- Page 1

Reflection on 2016.  You can start with positives and what went right for you in your personal, social and professional life. Or you may be drawn to look at What Didn’t Work first.  Some yogis say the mind comes up with negatives first and fastest so that you can avoid danger. You can fill this out in any order that suits you.

Then take the reflections from what went right and what could have worked out better to draw some lessons to carry forward into 2017.

Your Vision for Yourself – Page 2

Now turn your focus towards forming a vision for what you want to be in 2017. What you want to be will determine what you will do and what you do will lead to what you end up having in your life. This is the Be/Do/Have model for forming a vision for your life.

What You Need to Achieve Your Vision – Page 3

Once you’ve sketched out a vision for 2017 you can look at what you need to bring that vision to reality. In this worksheet you identify what you lack.  Often yoga teachers train themselves to focus on gratitude and the positives.  Allow yourself to feel what is missing when you set your vision because our lack can provide the clue to the direction we need to go.

It might be training you need, resources that are required, or relationships that need to be developed.  It might be letting go of other things to make room for what you really want.  Search your heart and apply your yogic wisdom then put what you need on paper to clarify how you feel now.

How to Spend Your Time and Maintain Balance in Your Life – Page 4

Before moving onto action steps, take some time to think about how you currently spend your time during a typical twenty four hour day. Ideally, how would you like to spend your time? Fill in the twenty-four hour pie chart with estimates of what you do during a typical day and what you would like to do in an ideal day (don’t forget to include a good night’s sleep).

Turn Your Vision into Action – Page 5

Apply the insights from previous pages to add action steps you can take to build upon your vision and move it forward. Be as specific as possible in this part.

Timelines for Action – Page 6

Take the action steps sketched out on page 5 and arrange them on the timelines in a sequence that seems appropriate to you.  Is what you have written realistic?  Do you need to adjust your goals, plans or timelines to be able to have a balanced life?

You may want to print out one or more of these pages again to update and modify your vision as you learn more about what you want and whether it is really what you thought it would be.

Let your vision be a work in progress that you return to and update as a living breathing force in your life.

Finally, congratulate yourself!

You’ve earned it. It’s not easy to take time out to think about what you love about your life, what could be improved upon and how you might go about doing that. But taking the time to do that helps you move towards what you really want from life so you don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again out of habit.

Have a beautiful balanced 2017!

(check your email after you click the button above)