Embodied Intention in 3 Parts! This is Part 1 of a 3-part series of prompts that invite you to connect to an intention for the new year in your body. Read Part 2 here and Part 3 here.
As pretty much everybody everywhere on the interwebs and beyond is happy to tell you: January is a good time to set an intention for the new year.
Resolutions, which are goal oriented, don’t tend to stick much past February. But intentions which are more sensation or state-oriented (how do I want to feel?), have a much better chance of moving with you through the year.
The One Word practice is one (but not the only) way of intention setting and you could absolutely do the One Word or any intention practice completely from your head. My experience is that when we take it a step further and make our intentions sensation-centered, they become something we can connect to more easily and regularly.
Intention often begins in the mind but an intention you feel in your bones can act as a guide. We can feel it. I can ask myself when making a decision, for example, When I think about doing this/not doing this, do I feel [insert your word or intention here]? An embodied intention is one that you can tune into no matter what is happening around you.
In the next three weeks, we will consider what you want more of, less of and to add to your days. I’ll invite you to connect with the what of those things but also the sensation of those things. Each week, I’ll offer a writing prompt to get you into the real deal feels of your intention.
To begin: what do you want more of? What do you want to bring with you from last year?
More That.
Think back over the past year (or more) and remember the times when you felt in the flow and you felt good. What relationships and experiences gave you the feeling of YES?
Write down as many activities, people, images, conversations and habits that filled you up as you can. Set it aside then come back and see if you can remember more.
Pick one or two strong YES memories and write down some details about that experience. In particular, recall how it felt in your body? What physical sensations did you feel when you were in the flow? What does YES feel like, very specifically, in your body? Is it warm or cool? Tingly or expansive? Where do you feel it? In your belly? your heart? your hands? Is it different in different situations or the same?
“What a year for a new year! Last one left us lying in a mess.” ~ Dan Wilson, What A Year For A New Year
Sometimes at the end of a year, we look back and can only remember when things went sideways and exploded in a dumpster fire. But the truth is, no matter how bad the year was, there were some good things, too. Take some time to re-member, re-embody those good things and bring them along, maybe even more of them, into 2024.