Living with Intention . . . what does that even mean?

Before each yoga class, my instructor asks for the class to silently think of an intention to dedicate the day’s practice to.  

You’d think this would be easy.  

Given that she only allows for 10-15 seconds of thinking time, it’s much harder than it may seem.  Out of all the times I’ve been to yoga class, I’ve not once been able to come up with an intention that was tangible and focused enough for me to dedicate my practice to and to focus on for an hour.  Moreover, I don’t even think I know why I go to yoga clearly enough to develop an intention for it … this is problematic for an introspective, reflective individual like me.  

Perhaps I need to infuse more intention into my daily life, that is, understanding why I do what I do and attaching meaning to it.  I know I’m not the only one. We lead such busy lives that we often do things without considering why we are doing them.  I need to take time to figure out the why behind my actions, and, voila, and intention will surface. 

I’m thinking this could make even the mundane things - grocery shopping, resume editing, driving, doing dishes - more meaningful and less daunting. 

Let’s see… 

• Grocery shopping: to find healthy options and ingredients to nourish my body so that I can live a long and happy life


• Resume editing: to quantify my experiences on paper so that I can see what I’ve accomplished and communicate that to the world


• Driving: to get from place to place safely and quickly (Air conditioning is quite the bonus!)


• Doing dishes: to have a clean kitchen and something to hold the food I make

Although developing intentions may take more mental stamina, the extra energy expense is worth it.  I suspect there’s a pretty hefty return on investment for attaching an intention to everything I do. 

I’ll keep you posted on that hypothesis. :) For now, as I sit in a local coffee shop typing away in my blog, I’m developing an intention for my time at the coffee shop.  Here it is: I’m spending time here today to relax, spend some quality time alone, and get a bit of work done. 

Beautiful.  Now, I’m off to make that intention a reality!

Peace.