Sankalpa
Transform Your Life with Ease
Before starting your yoga nidra sessions, it’s essential to determine your Sankalpa. Often, sessions come with ready-made Sankalpas, and you can simply let yourself be guided. However, I believe it’s important to take a few moments here to understand what it is, how to choose it, and why.
What Does It Mean?
The term Sankalpa comes from Sanskrit and consists of two elements:
★ San (or Sama) : the rule, the vow, what one follows
★ Kalpa : balance, perfection, completeness
Thus, Sankalpa can be understood as the desire to modify a rule or belief to achieve personal balance.
A Sankalpa is a short, positive phrase that you wish to integrate into your daily life. It’s an affirmation that you can repeat as often as needed to help you move forward in your life and find a sense of balance.
How to Create a Personal Sankalpa?
A Sankalpa must adhere to certain guidelines :
★ Be in the present tense
★ Preferably use the verb “to be” or “to have” (avoid “I want,” “I wish…”)
★ Embody what you expect (examples: “I am centered,” “I am surrounded by positive people…”)
★ Feel the phrase within you : it should resonate, and you should believe in it.
Take time to reflect on your Sankalpa and write it down so you can revisit it during each session. Over time, just like you, your Sankalpa may evolve; this is perfectly natural.
How Does It Work?
Just as repeating negative words affects our mood, personal beliefs, and confidence, repeating positive words has an equally powerful effect.
We are often guilty of speaking harshly about ourselves. Why is it so easy to criticize and so hard to compliment ourselves? We may not be aware of the impact of our words. Yet, with our children, we make sure to use positive language (for example, “You are amazing,” “You are beautiful…”).
Whether due to repetition or a genuine internal transformation, it is undeniable that repeating positive words and gradually eliminating hurtful ones is beneficial.
Want to try yoga nidra by choosing your own Sankalpa? It starts here… (soon in English)