Sankalpa…and balloons
March 2024
Second month of teacher training and the struggle is real: emotional, mental and physical, but then why wouldn’t it be? This is a journey of exploration and it would be folly to think that everything I discover I am going to welcome into my life, enjoy and be proud of. Oh, no i don’t think so, there is nowhere to hide on the mat.
Sankalpa…. sounds simple enough?
“A sankalpa speaks to the larger arc of our lives, our dharma—our overriding purpose for being here.” The sankalpa becomes a statement you can call upon to remind you of your true nature and guide your choices” (Yoga International 2024)
A fantastic session with Nadine, focussing on hip openers, with a strong focus on non-attachment to whatever arises, easier said than done! We are cultured to believe what our thoughts are saying about us, that they are well evidenced, credible and real: well actually………………
Nadine asks us to think about “I am……” statements and to create our own Sankalpa:
I am good enough
I am enough
I am strong enough
Again easy to say: our negative, berating, monkey-mind is a series of ballons with labels like “you are too old”, “you can’t do this”, “you’ll never make” it and these balloons have been inflated throughout the course of our lives, the air being provided by many people, places, experiences. But throughout the session, we are asked to think about not attaching any meaning to these thoughts ie not holding onto the balloon string: acknowledging they are there but not what they mean. They suddenly become very “real” for me, with colour, long strings, but very light and ethereal: light enough to let go? Fear of letting these go again is driven by many years of over identifying with unfounded negative “chatter” but as a balloon it certainly feels more tangible to let it float away.
A helpful reframing of this negative self talk is to “invite them in and ask them what they want, what do they need to say” and listening with an open mind to the constant stream of “I am not…….” and tell yourself “i am not my thoughts”. This is so true, we are not our thoughts, they are thoughts, always have been, always will be but that’s all they are.
The session provided so many clear analogies, helpful images to enable me to embrace the stillness in the session, let go the balloons, the labels and the weight of hanging on to them: time on the mat letting the air out of the balloons, and my sankalpa was born! It takes practice, time and space to create your Sankalpa, but it’s in there you just need to listen more carefully!
Some really good tips for creating your Sankalpa can be found here
