What yoga can teach us about acting with intention

Many of us start the new year with good intentions, goals in mind, promises to finally do That Thing we’ve been putting off.

Society invests the turning of the year with meaning. But after the holiday meals and office parties, after the ball drops, after a few days off work we’re back to the grind.

Resolutions and affirmations fall by the wayside, overwhelmed by the torrent of emails, commitments, appointments, and more. We lose sight of the clarity we found in the self-reflection of the new year, not because we don’t value our goals, but because the incessant demands of daily life make them hard to prioritize.

I haven’t figured out how to consistently act with intention. But I do know that my yoga practice has given me tools to stay in touch with who I am and what I value.

Here are two lessons I’m learning from the yama and niyama, the ethical observances that are considered the first steps of the eight-part yogic path.

Brahmacharya (non-excess)

Brahmacharya is sometimes translated as the ‘right allocation of energy.’  This sutra is often interpreted as celibacy, but the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali allow for a broader definition:

“2.38 When walking in the awareness of the highest reality brahmacharya is firmly established, then a great strength, capacity, or vitality (virya) is acquired.” (Source: SwamiJ)

What does it mean to “walk in awareness of the highest reality?” So much of our yogic practice is intended to help us see things as they are – not as we think they are. To divide the thinking mind from the actual evidence taken in by your senses. As we start to strip away the filters that colour our world – our preconceived notions, our ego, our projections onto others – we are better able to assess how and where we spend our energy.

My mum is a schoolteacher, and she’d tell you that every year, there is one kid in her class who takes up a good seventy percent of her attention. Some people require more energy from us than others. Some places demand the same – workplaces, that certain family member’s house, a place with a history of trauma.

In my classes, I often say the first step of any practice is noticing. Noticing the asymmetry between your left and right hip. Noticing the habits of the mind in savasana. Can you start to notice where and who drains your energy? And conversely, who fills it up and makes you inspired?

If it’s within your power, can you make it your goal to move towards the people, places, and opportunities that align with your values and those goals you set when you had a moment to slow down and reflect?

Saucha (purity of body and mind)

Like all the yama and niyama, saucha is interpreted both literally and figuratively. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a seminal yogic text, describes numerous cleansing techniques that have been traditionally used in India before practitioners even began their pranayama and asana practices. But on an intellectual level, applying the principles of saucha to your life means cultivating a space that feels nourishing, uncluttered mentally as well as physically.

Let’s look at an example. One of my 2024 goals was to get back on my exercise bike regularly. Literal clutter in my house makes this difficult – when I bike I look around and feel guilty about how messy my home office is – so a quick tidy-up is a necessary first step.

But more than that, my brain is so incredibly busy. As a self-employed person, there’s always more work I could be doing instead of sitting on my bike for half an hour. As a part-time university employee, I have set hours I have to be logged in for. Add to these work commitments the myriad of plans with friends and family, and creating the mental commitment to daily exercise feels impossible.

I haven’t yet carved a path through the cerebral clutter. Since the new year, I’ve hopped on my bike sporadically. How do I quiet the mind so that I can have a guilt-free moment committing to a goal I set?

This is where I’m hoping the skills I’ve built on my mat come in handy. I often tell my students to notice where their minds are going during practice, to breath in, and let the observation go on the exhale. I hope to start applying this to my own busy mind.

Saucha, after all, is about more than tidy spaces. It’s about cultivating a state of mind that is orderly and clear. According to Patanjali’s sutras, it’s from this position of cleanliness that we can start to advance down the yogic path towards enlightenment:

“2.41 Purification also brings about clarity, happiness, concentration, mastery of the senses, and capacity for self-awareness.” (Source: Arlington Center)

What strategies do you have for clearing the clutter of the mind? What other ways has your yoga practice helped you slow down and act with intention?