Stepping Into a New Year
The gap between the winter holidays/celebrations and New Year’s Eve is a deep dive of reflection for me. The planet feels quieter, more peaceful. It is a time where I review this last year of my personal story and of our collective story.
It begins on the evening of the Winter Solstice. My family and I have created a tradition of hiking up the mountain behind our home. We light candles and take turns sharing the personal highlights of this last year, our intentions for the year ahead, and things that we are ready or would like to let go of. It is a beautiful way of seeing and supporting one another. This has turned into a powerful journal exercise for myself and my students as we begin envisioning what we wish to experience in the year ahead.
Are you ready to fully step into who you really are and what you really want as you transition into a New Year, a New You? This is an exciting exercise to explore new hope and new beginnings. To begin take a moment to fully come into this moment. Some gentle movement, yoga, a meditation, or simply take a few deep breaths. Anything that can help you find a place of presence and drop you out of the busy mind and into your heart-space.
Reflection Questions
What am I grateful for that unfolded in 2021? Identify the moments, experiences, and relationships that brought you joy, peace, love, or bliss. The ones that really nourished your soul and filled your heart. As you recall each memory, take a moment to feel the emotions that you initially experienced. It’s almost like reliving the experience. As we feel and express gratitude we attract even more to be grateful for. If this has been a year of struggle, we can still find moments to be ‘Grateful‘ for or perhaps it is the struggle itself where our gratitude lies. After all, it is in our grandest moments of adversity where we experience the most significant growth and expansion. Sometimes our gratitude is in the noticing of our own growth. Recognize and honor the shifts you have already made in this journey.
What am I ready to let go of in 2022? Something has been standing in your way, preventing you from fully stepping into who you really are and what you really want. When we are honest with ourselves, we can see the areas where we have been stuck. An old story, belief, habit, job, or relationship. It could be an old way of being, an old wound, or an old way of doing things. It is in our holding onto what no longer serves us that we create pain and suffering for ourselves. I have included songs like ‘Om Nama Shivaya’ (a traditional Kirtan song that invites change) in the playlist to remind us that there needs to be a death before there can be a rebirth. A more gentle way of saying it is that we need to ‘Let Go’ of something old in order to create space for the new. ‘Auld Lang Syne’ – bid farewell to the old.
What do I intend to manifest or draw into my life in 2022? New Year’s resolutions or intentions, whichever language you prefer, get really clear on what it is you want. Health, love, prosperity, the list can be endless. Write your intentions down, use vision boards, and express your intentions to the Universe, God, Spirit, Source, or whatever your connection is. Once an intention is released to the world, pay attention. The Universe will guide you to the people and experiences needed to manifest the intention but we have to notice what is being presented to us and willing to follow the guidance. Notice the synchronicities that unfold in your life. Notice those urges to call or write someone or to go somewhere. The voice or the thought to take action is often very quiet, especially if we are not used to listening to it. Creating a daily ritual of mindful breath, meditation, or just quiet alone time can help us tune in.
How will I ‘Celebrate’? I don’t mean how will you celebrate New Year’s Eve but how will you celebrate you? How will you celebrate life? How will you celebrate you today and throughout this year? In the quiet of the stillness listen to your inner voice, your inner child, your essence. They want you to laugh more, play more, dance more, explore more. Can you honor this calling within you? Can you commit to creating the time and the experiences daily or weekly to fulfill these inner desires?
New beginnings happen every single day, every single moment. We are constantly reborn into a new moment. Be the deliberate creator of your story. If you would like to go deeper in this work and discover the additional steps to manifesting the life that you truly desire, join me on a three month coaching program as we discover who you really are and what you really want.
Below is a music playlist used in my yoga class that will inspire and support you in these reflections. You can listen to the full songs and the entire playlist by clicking this link to my YouTube Music Playlist
Sample the Playlist
Support the Artists (links to iTunes)
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Song Title |
Artist Namaste Nimo Tracy Chapman Mason Jennings STING Michael Franti & Spearhead Frou Frou Donna De Lory A Great Big World Ingrid Michaelson Grayson Erhard The Goo Goo Dolls Tim Myers Jason Mraz Regina Spektor Allie Moss Meditation Guru |
Album True Yoga Empty Hands New Beginning Songs From When We Met Brand New Day Same as It Ever Was (Start Today) Details The Lover And The Beloved Is There Anybody Out There? It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense Manifest – Single Let Love In It’s My Life Have It All – Single My Dear Acquaintance Christmas Tidings Tibetan Meditation Music |
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I believe we need to move the music medicine around the planet to support the awakening that is unfolding within each of us. We need to support these beautiful artists so that they can continue producing music that will lift the vibration of the planet. Please share the blog and if you know of some really great songs/artists that need to be included in future playlists, connect with me. Love & Light my friends…
Shri Ananda is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher, wellness coach, musician, and spiritual filmmaker creating music and stories to help us awaken to who we really are. Shri is a grounded and joyful yoga teacher who invites you to journey inward. His classes promote self-understanding, intuition, and transformation from the inside-out through mindful movement and breath work. Ananda is known for his themed ‘Gentle Spirit Yoga’ classes – combining gentle yoga with spiritual exploration through music . He is presently instructing at Tandava Yoga in Kelowna, British Columbia and hosts retreats around the world.
