Setting intentions

I have been really bad at making time for yoga lately.

WAIT! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ok, yeah, so yoga. I have BARELY done any in the last several weeks. Despite how much I love it, and how centered I feel after doing it, once I don't get to do it for legitimate reasons for a week or so, I start to forget. It becomes indulgent to spend an hour on yoga. No matter how much I need it, how much better it makes me feel whatever the circumstances... And I do NEED it. I need it to calm my monkey-mind and to maintain my flexibility. I'm not 20 anymore and I have no illusions about being in good shape forever. In the last year, I've noticed that my tattoo, which is right above my butt crack is getting more and more difficult to see since I can't quite twist like a pretzel anymore (fear not, I can still put my foot behind my head).
Anyway, where was I? Ah, not making time for yoga... It is not an indulgence, and I need to stop treating it that way. People MUST do things for their bodies. And, anxious people are much better off with a small reprieve from the raging thoughts a few times per week. So, I will simply have to make this more of a priority. ALSO! There is an hour of FREE yoga after work on Mondays. Free. Yoga. For free. Many places around here cost $20 per session, so how can I NOT take the opportunity to do something I love and NEED for free? The instructor is really good, too. He has a part-time job, and goes to nursing school and teaches yoga. If he can make time to teach it, I can make time to take it. There.

All of this was a lead up to something this instructor says at the begining of every class:

Take this time to set an intention for yourself for class today.

I like that so much. Typically, I come into class thinking about a million things (work, rehearsal, dinner, the cats, my man, etc...) and my intention is: "SHUT THE FUCK UP". And, invariably, I do have some level of success, because I leave the class feeling calmer and more able to face whatever I have left in the day. I like the idea of "setting an intention" WAAAAAAAY more than "making a resolution". Setting an intention is softer and more forgiving. You can mess up, lose track of time, stop, start again. You can get back on the horse. Resolutions seem unforgiving and I'm done with them (I never really liked them anyway). I do like the idea of starting fresh in the new year, so this year, I will set some intentions. Some guidelines. I hope some of them stick. But if not? I've got years left...