My Intentions Journal ~ a new page on my blog

Each time before I meditate or practice Yoga, I set an intention. This simple technique is a powerful way of making a commitment to myself and is an active way of me getting the most out of my practice.

I sometimes use intentions as a way to focus on resolving a particular issue. It can also be a way of healing myself or others. Injecting energy into a situation by focusing on it as an intention can promote well-being. This is basically how prayer works - you're sending your thoughts and energy towards a situation - basically, you're sending healing.

I recently started keeping a journal of my intentions and will be sharing it here on a page of my blog. I write these thoughts down each time before my practice and sometimes make notes afterwards. I then repeat them to myself several times before and during practice, either out loud or silently.
I hope you will enjoy them, and if you have intentions of your own that you would like to share, please feel free to email me anytime.

I did want to note, these are intentions mostly from my Yoga practice and sometimes personal meditations. These are not the same kind of intentions used in a private client session or in any spell casting that I might do. Client confidentiality prevents me from sharing personal information like that, and with spell work, I've always been of the opinion, that you should not reveal your intentions.

Enjoy! :)

Here's what I've got so far...

My Intentions Journal

~ Be the tree. I start this meditation or Yoga practice by closing my eyes, taking a few deep breaths and imagining roots wrapping around my feet and ankles. I visualize them interpenetrating my lower legs and growing deep into the ground. I then visualize my upper half extending into the sky and beyond, pointing towards the bright light of the sun like the leaves of a tree would.
This intention is very grounding. As I focus on it, I am more stable in my poses and concentrated in thought, wiping out all of the stress of the day by pointing all of my thoughts in this one single direction.
This same visualization of the roots and and branches, is also the basis for a lot of the other intentions I set.
~ Change my thoughts. I learned this powerful intention from an amazing and gifted Yoga teacher, Bethany from Red Hot Yoga in Atlanta (www.redhotyoga.com). One day in practice she was driving us to exceed our limits and told us, "If you don't like your thoughts, CHANGE THEM!" Wow, really?!?! It's that easy? Actually, it is. This is your mind...these are your thoughts...you own them...you can change them.
When I am working with this intention, I remind myself when I go into a pose, or face a challenge in concentrating in meditation, that I can change the thought I am having at that moment. "This is too hard" becomes, "I will go 1 inch deeper into this pose." More times than not, I achieve the goal I set my mind to.
~ Feel the roots grounding me. If I look at where I was when I started my practice, I can tell, practicing this intention is no ordinary or casual approach to my exercise and meditation. Feeling the roots wrapping themselves around me and securely fastening me to the ground, is an active way of maximizing each part of my practice. I am always more balanced and concentrated as I focus on these roots, can stay in poses longer and feel more grounded than ever when I am done.
~ Let the energy flow in. As opposed to focusing on the lower half of me as with the roots, this intention takes my concentration to the upper half of my body. I visualize the flow of the crown of my head opening up to the sky and my arms stretching out, the light from my fingertips extending and wrapping around the sky and beyond the stars. You can imagine this energy of everything out there in the Universe as swirling all around and making its way back down through the top of your head, soaking into your body from the top-down.
This is a wonderful way to put a smile on your face if nothing else. It makes me feel lighter and more clear headed.