3 Ways to Keep New Year’s Resolutions

Here are three things you can do to commit to your New Year’s resolutions every time you set them.

Learn practices that can help you stay connected to your intention all year long.

I warmly greet each New Year with positive intentions. (I like to call them “intentions” instead of “resolutions.”) Intentions (referred to as sankalpas in Sanskrit) are powerful, sacred vows you make with your mind and your spirit.

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In 2018, I set a personal intention to inspire others to live well by practicing self-care. (Read about the family intention I set that year.) It was the theme of many of the yoga classes I led, articles I wrote and conversations I had that year. As a result of manifesting this intention, I launched this website, www.JulieGtheYogi.com, in September 2018, and my first book 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas (published by MSI Press) was born on February 1, 2019.

Intentions call upon the universe for support and guidance to help you manifest them into reality.

Practice It: How You Can Honor Your Own Intention

Here are three practices that helped me live my intention.

1. I practiced yoga—a lot. I spent hundreds of hours on my mat. I always have a yoga mat in my car and some in my home. (You never know when the opportunity to practice yoga will arise!) My yoga lifestyle comes with me wherever I go—from my mat, to my home, to the office and really anywhere life leads me.

2. I meditated daily. No matter how busy my day was, I had a date with my mat and my mind every morning for at least 10 minutes. I practiced various meditations throughout the year but often simply sitting with my thoughts and my breath to reset helped open me to creative solutions and possibilities to live my intention.

3. I stayed focused. I was determined to do at least one thing every day to enhance my intention. When I wasn’t leading a yoga class, I wrote an article about self-care, I read a wellness article or book, or I had a wellness-related conversation with a friend. I limited my time with social media. (I also watch very little TV and few movies, so please catch me up!)

Use these practices to honor your intention for the new year and watch how the universe delivers, too—sometimes magnifying your original ask.