A few years ago I spent New Years Eve at Mangrove Yoga, which was a working ashram at the time. Their teachings followed the Satyananda tradition. The wisdom from the night has stayed with me and I would like to share.
I was looking forward to the the fire ceremony, chanting, yoga classes, yoga nidra and good vegetarian food – and all my wishes were fulfilled.
We were sitting on mats under the stars on a beautiful summer night. One of the senior swamis asked the question: Why do New Year’s resolution fail?
WHY DO NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FAIL?
Then swami went on saying: Generally our resolutions are based on something negative, which has to be changed, i.e. I am not happy with my partner, children work, and boss or not happy with myself.
What if we looked for the good in each person and in each situation? Swami admitted that developing this positive thinking takes time, maybe a life time.
I am not able to recall her beautiful words but the message was it is up to us to shift our attitude and look for the good. See my blog on Gratitude: https://tranquability.com/2021/12/10/gratitude/
The Sanskrit words for the chanting were projected to a white board so we could all participate. Close to midnight we moved to the fire-place which was beautifully decorated. Here we expressed our gratitude. The mantra was repeated 108 times and we sent our best thoughts to our loved ones.
In these uncertain times it is helpful to include restorative yoga in our daily practice.
Have a good year and set achievable goals, one step at a time!
Tranquability 