Carolyn Creative

Welcome to 2005! The arrival of January often comes with a renewed spirit of positivism, accompanied by a drive for healthiness.

Athletic clubs, the neighborhood sidewalks, even the veggie and fruit aisle of the grocery store are packed with well intentioned, newly resolved, health conscious Americans. You can’t avoid them ….and sometimes, based on the apparent failure rate, you wonder why most folks even bother.

Not that I turn my nose up at making resolutions - to be honest, I’m a serial resolution maker. I make promises to myself daily. Sometimes hourly. Here’s a sampling of what I’m working on at the moment: 1) Floss daily; 2) Begin and end yoga classes on time; 3) Blow dry hair on my day off; 4) Reconnect with smoothies.

Yet often, good intentions for healthy living, not unlike my resolve to improve my time-management skills, inevitably fade. Many of us find ourselves making the same resolutions year after year. Why is that? Could it be that part of challenge involved in creating real change involves overcoming the side helping of guilt that often accompanies holidays and habits? The lingering guilt over the almond pound cake we pounded down at Christmas brunch and the throbbing headache on New Year’s Day reminds us that we could have done better. January ushers in a whole new set of self-esteem issues. If we detour from our resolutions, we chastise ourselves, creating low feelings that may be more debilitating than the abandoned Stairmaster or the extra calories from the unassuming Twinkie.

While it might seem heretical to suggest that folks sidestep resolutions, perhaps new intentions can be coupled with a kindness or an acknowledgement of our present gifts. In Pantanjali’s translation of the yoga sutras, there is an expression abbyasa and vairagya, which translates as “best efforts” and “surrender the results.”

When starting a new yoga practice, or any fitness program, being hard on oneself does not help a person reach his goals sooner. Why not congratulate yourself for making the effort to move toward wellbeing, nurture the positive and be present in the experience? Applaud yourself for motivating onto the mat. When we focus only on the end result, we invite impatience and frustration. Focus on the journey.

I certainly don’t want to burden anyone with an additional resolution, especially since I’m already a bit overwhelmed about my commitment to my hair, but perhaps 2005 could be the year to work on accepting yourself. Connect to the peace and joy that is already there. See you on the mat!