Confessions of a Yogi – A weekly column by Jamie Silverstein.
This article is about using your wants to find your intentions.
I stumbled on to a blog the other day that was entitled "18 Things I Want" and it got me thinking. My own wants and needs are tricky – primarily because they are seen through the lens of my past. I too often find myself questioning: "Do I really want this?… or, am I craving a feeling that I've experienced before?". And, because my answer tends to be a 'yes' to the latter, my wants frustrate me. I've done enough self-study to know that wanting in this vein is misguided; It's like trying to repeat a yoga class. Or, feeling upset when your lunch tastes different. I cognitively know that I cannot re-live moments of my past, but I often want to. You too?
Finding Out Why You WANT Something
Still, wanting is not the issue. In fact, wanting can be an amazing tool for creating intention and finding clarification, both in our yoga practice and in our lives. When you find yourself 'wanting' you might ask yourself: Why do you want that side-crow? That new apartment? And the here's the trick: allow yourself to listen to the deeper answer.
Do You Want To Lose 5 Pounds Or Do You NEED To Live More Healthy?
When we look closely at our wants, we often find things we need… or need to reassess. It is from this place of (re)assessment that our wanting becomes fertile ground to develop intention. Look at your wants and see what NEED is behind them. Do you 'want to lose five pounds', OR, do you need to cultivate a healthy relationship with your body? Let you need become an intention. This intention is something we can embody in our yoga practice and take with us in our lives.
And, here are my 'want's' for you. Feel free to use them to set your intentions or STOP wanting and create your own!
18 Things I Want For You
1. An open heart
2. Permission to pursue a job you LOVE
3. A best friend
4. The ability to say 'No' (and not judge yourself)
5. A healthy relationship with your body
6. Permission for delight (for no reason)
7. Someone to tell you "I love you" (and for you to believe them)
8. You to tell yourself "I love you" (and for you to believe it!)
9. A private yoga session
10. The permanent change of the notion of "Failure" to "Important life experience"
11. To work through a challenging situation
12. The humanity to say "I was wrong and i'm sorry"
13. Permission to unplug
14. Peace in your family
15. Gratitude
16. Permission to be held… and whatever might happen next 🙂
17. A massage
18. You to trust that you are ENTIRELY okay
And, for me – I want to ACCEPT the "I'm doing the best I can"!
