Create Your Sankalpa

“Attention energizes and Intention transforms. Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life.” – Deepak Chopra

Did you ever just need a statement to remind yourself who you are … especially in trying times?

I remember a time I was completing a bike ride from city to shore to show my son of 5 how to bravely move forward when things seem hard or scary. Riding 65 miles when I was not training felt just a bit scary and honestly I needed a challenge to prove to myself I could keep leaning into new things as they were being presented. I was in my teacher training at the time feeling stronger then ever in my body and mind so I went for it. I grabbed my bike from the shed, dusted it off and showed up on race day.

I remember the whole ride being challenging, rightly so after not being on a bike for years but the last few miles were especially hard and that’s where I remembered my Sankalpa ” I am strong, I am powerful, I am confident.” I can tell you when I said this statement, I remembered more of what brought me to this race, what I had inside of me, the will to finish and also see my son at the finish line. I used this again when floating out to sea on a stand up paddle board in Costa Rica on a full moon. My sankalpa brought me in, that and dropping to my knees to paddle as hard as I could remembering what was bringing me back to shore. 

Sankalpa translates to “will, purpose, or determination” -a tool we can use along our path to creating meaningful and authentic work. 

To make a sankalpa is to set an intention; sankalpas have the potential to release tremendous power by clearly defining and focusing on a chosen goal.

By definition, a sankalpa should honor the deeper meaning of our life. A sankalpa speaks to the larger arc of our lives, our dharma-our overriding purpose for being here.  The sankalpa becomes a statement you can call upon to remind you of your true nature and guide your choices. It is something you intend to become or to achieve. 

Write down one, two or three words that best describe your true self, let this be your Sankalpa and call to this whenever life gets a little hard, scary or you just need a reminder of who you truly are!

Examples 

“I am playful, I am creative, I am free” 

“I am strong, confident and happy”

“I am patient and I trust the timing of my life”

“Joy is my nature”