8 New Year Resolutions for Yoga Seekers

Resolve to evolve this new year!

Yoga has been a boon to mankind since its inception around 5,000 years ago. We have witnessed tremendous growth in the world of yoga with the western hemisphere accepting it as a phenomenon and not a cult.

Most of us who know the importance of yoga may already have it on our resolution list for this New Year. For them, yoga is a lifestyle and not a mere practice. It is not only about yoga poses but also about the philosophy of life.

For these sincere yoga seekers, we bring the 8 best resolutions for the New Year:

1.Try something different: For a yogi, getting into regular yoga poses is like getting out of the bed and brushing teeth. Try out some different postures this New Year. This will not only expand your list of yoga poses but also take your body by surprise as you get into the more challenging postures which will test your body to a great extent.

2.Turn to veggies: One resolution which yogis can try this New Year is to turn to vegetarian food. It is light on the stomach and easy to digest. As you like going deeper in your practices, turning vegetarian might act as a catalyst.

3.Make pranayama a part of the practice: Yoga practices are incomplete without pranayamas. For, different pranayamas have different effects on the body and can help deepen your experience. They are also an effective tool to go deeper into meditation.

4. Practice what yoga preaches: The philosophy of yoga encourages you to be wise, speak the truth, be one with nature, practice ahimsaor non-violence and non-cruelty. When we take a resolution to apply this philosophy in our daily lives, the planet would blossom with more and more beautiful people.

The yoga philosophy also encourages oneness, human values and service to the mankind. If you know more yogis in your area, you can come together and take up a service project of educating someone over the weekend or cleaning the neighborhood, for instance.

5.Introduce yoga to your nearsand dears: Take a resolve to introduce yoga to at least four to five people this year. Wouldn’t you like to share the joy that yoga brought you with the outer world? Spread the awareness about yoga to people you know and let everyone reap the benefits you did.

6.Read the Patanjali Yoga Sutra: The ultimate knowledge for yogis as it covers the complete philosophy of yoga in a nutshell. Right from how a human should be when in school to its death bed. You should surely make it a point to read/listen to minimum one sutra (principle) every day this New Year. These are the wisdom sutras which when practiced in everyday living can make your life a cakewalk.

7.Yogis like green: As the philosophy preaches being one with the nature, yogis find themselves close to the nature. Let planting a tree or saving electricity or conserving water be one of your resolutions this year. When you turn back and look, you should be satisfied with your deeds, leaving a good place to breathe for the generations to come.

8.Meditate: It brings the best out of you, makes you wiser, sharpens your intellect, improves memory and energizes you to face the everyday challenges of life. Meditate for yourself and see all this happen! The magic of going inside deep in meditation, being one with yourself, exploring yourself, knowing yourself, and coming out of meditation fresh as a daisy can only be experienced.

Let’s all come together and make this world a better place to live in. I have done my bit by creating awareness, by encouraging yogis like you to take up these resolutions so that when you look back at this year in December, you have something to smile about.

http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/yoga/off-yoga-mat/8-new-year-resolutions