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Happy February 28, 2023 – Intentions and Yoga Philosophy
Good Morning Yogis! Today is the last day of February. We are beginning a meditation-focused March. You do not have to participate in this or any of our particular monthly challenge themes, we will be continuing our daily Positive Practices drawn from Yoga Philosophy throughout next month. Consider getting the Daily Yogi App for reminders if you are participating – this is a great Tapas tool!
February Expect Success & March Nutrition Month 2023
February is International Expect Success Month and March is National Nutrition Month. Before we get into our Eight Limbed meditation practices, I wanted to take a day to pause and reflect on our intentions and the year so far, and these two monthly focuses.

March’s National Nutrition Month is focused on what we put into our bodies physically. I believe February’s International Expect Success Month is about what we are putting into our bodies mentally. From National Today – ‘Researchers have discovered that sadness and pessimism are linked. In reality, depressed individuals are often pessimistic in the beginning. A fundamental aspect of battling depression is to transform the outlook on the world from pessimism to optimism.
In other words, if you can learn to ‘expect success’ every morning, you can gradually improve your productivity at work, form meaningful relationships with others, and improve the overall quality of your life.’
As we begin our bonus daily meditation challenge, I want to discuss an important common concept from Yoga Philosophy – Setting Intentions! If you have attended Yoga classes at a Yoga Studio, you likely have heard your teacher recommend setting an intention for your practice that day. We have talked about keeping Santosha (Contentment) in Asana practice to avoid injury. I often set Pranayama (Breath) as my intention for Asana practice with a mantra of “breathe” or “just breathe”, since in more dynamic classes I forget to maintain my preferred Ocean Breath as the Asana series picks up speed. Here is a great article with more on intentions and mantras on and off the Yoga mat.
Today’s Positive Practice suggestion
Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to set a positive intention for yourself for March, keeping these mental and emotional wellness themes in mind. This can be big or small:
- If you practice Asanas or another exercise regularly, perhaps ensure you set an intention before each session.
- Join us on our March daily meditation challenge!
- Consider adding a positive daily habit
- Begin a self-help book to help with negative thought patterns
- Make an appointment with an action-oriented therapist trained in positive management of difficult issues
- Reflect and decide to release a negative part of your life that is no longer serving you
- Whatever you wish!
Part of the reason we set intentions in Asana practice is to have something positive to come back to that we want to focus on. Additionally, we will have this to return to when we meet challenges. I set “just breathe” as my intention for nearly a decade now, and I do truly breathe into difficulties on the mat, and I have improved my breath during Asana practice by keeping this in the back of my mind. There is much to be said for the power of positive thinking.
Although I do believe in the power of positive thinking and believe this helps with emotional wellness, I will discuss my own views on this a bit later this month. Here is more info if you do not want to wait!
More on the Power of Positive Thinking
The Law of Attraction & Power of Positive Thinking Intro
11 Ways to Boost Positive Thinking
The Old School of Positive Thinking – Earl Nightengale
The Old School of Positive Thinking – Florence Scovel Schinn
Tomorrow we start the first day of our Daily Meditation Challenge for March! Some of my favorite guided meditations are Manifest Meditations, which harness the powers of positive thinking, visualization, and the law of attraction. Today my meditation practice is one of my favorite 10 Minute Manifest Meditations.
Want more on Meditation? Check out our Upper Limbs & Meditation Guide!
More Positive Practices
Missed yesterday’s post? Read it here!
Related Positive Practices
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today’s practice and daily pop-up reminders!
Share your Practice
Please comment and share how if setting positive intentions is part of your Yoga or Asana practice. Are you taking other steps to improve your mental and emotional wellness this month? Are you going to join us in our daily meditation challenge for the month? Always remember, be kind!