new years resolutions round-up

As we reflect on 2017 and set intentions for the coming year. We wanted to connect with our team and ask what they think about New Year’s Resolutions and if they have any for 2018! We also want to know, do you have any resolutions for this year? What was your favorite part about the past year? 

“I like to find one word as a point of focus or anchor — I create space for this to come intuitively and really feel into whether it aligns or not, so I know it’s coming from my heart space, not head space. (Does it excite me, relax me, create anxiety etc? I honor the somatic response — the body knows first!) I like this practice because I can do it daily, weekly, monthly etc — but the word of the year keeps a certain tone throughout the whole year. One is brewing right now (came to me in an Uber ride home — inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime!) but I’m holding it close for a few more days (giving it space) in case it needs to be flushed out a little more. I’ll share once it completely lands! (Or remind me after 1/1)” Maura Manzo, Co-founder

 

“New year, huh? Have to say, I am really happy about that. I love fresh beginnings, a chance to start anew. This past year definitely isn’t what I wanted it to be. In a fantasy my years would increasingly improve over time. Although, things aren’t perfect I am happy where I am. I have been through ups and downs this year, but I have been able to learn from every step (forward and back) I have taken. I feel like each year my resolutions are pretty familiar; do this, don’t do this, etc, etc. This year my resolution is different. In yoga we say “do what makes your body feel good” If something doesn’t make me feel good– I will not push it. My goal this year is not to push my body to its breaking point..because God knows my body has been damaged a lot this year. Even though I was able to push forward, it gave me emotional and physical damage that didn’t serve me. When searching through quotes I encountered one that really spoke to me “There are three values: Feel good, be good and do good.” If we all lived our daily lives through these three values we would wake each morning that much happier.” – Erin Park, Work Exchange

 

“I used to scoff at the idea of making new years resolutions, primarily because i was against anything that had to do with a schedule, a regime, a continuous routine. it felt in complete contradiction to my personality of just going with the flow in the moment. once i realized the positive benefits of having a schedule as it pertains to certain things, i got in to the idea of also making the decision to be accountable to myself for starting something new that i may have otherwise procrastinated on, stopping a habit that was no longer serving me….or just setting the intention for myself to invite something new [or old] in to my heart space. i got in to the idea of making resolutions a few years ago, still not fully sticking to them because i can admit that some of them were just a bit unrealistic for where i was in my life at those times. however, for 2017, i approached my resolutions more as intentions [i had 3], and held the intentions as being seeds that i planted. i watered these seeds daily, 2 of them rooted and grew and bloomed, the other did not [because it was planted too soon]. i liked this approach more, it makes more sense to me and has helped me to plan realistic and attainable short term and long term goals. so for 2018, my focused intentions are :: self care :: expression :: patience”Lisa Alexander, Work Exchange

 

“For me, I like the concept of “starting fresh” in a New Year and the energy that a brand new year can bring. However, I also use my birthday as a similar totem and am constantly reminding myself that I do not have to wait for a New Year to make a resolution, and that I can resolve for change at anytime. My resolution for 2018 is to wake up earlier and give myself time to feel my feet on the ground, prepare something to eat and spend time with myself before taking on my day.” – Brynne Travis, Studio Manager 

 

“I don’t make New Year resolutions. Instead I set intentions. It was a more positive connotation for me. I journal my thoughts which some years are just vague thoughts, hopes or dreams. In December I go back and read my intentions to see what has come to fruition. It’s a good reminder for me of all the good and positive things that have happened during the year.”   Kim Shipman, Work Exchange

 

 

“I think that making a New Year’s Resolutions is great for people who need some extra motivation or a special reason to make changes in their life. I do feel that many of these resolutions can be too big or unsustainable. Rather than attempting to make big changes or lifestyle adjustments, I think one should ask themselves which resolutions/intentions can I work towards and maintain? A question often overlooked is “how” can I sustain this change? Embracing the notion of positive change is a great thing… as living beings, we continue to develop and grow. Each new year brings the feeling of a fresh start, so I think that New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to embrace (rather than reject or avoid) new changes! and my resolution is to meet my present body where it is. Although this is an intention I try to set each time that I practice, it is hard to struggle and deal with chronic pain and my body’s “temperament”. But, I seek to be more gentle with myself. If I can hold half moon one day, but I cannot hold child’s pose the next, that is OK. I am still practicing yoga and meeting my body where it needs to be.”

Jess Gladstone, Work Exchange

 

“I go back and forth on how I feel about resolutions. I find that I am inclined to make unrealistic ones and then am very hard on myself when I fall short. Because of that, I made two resolutions for this year 1. Stop being so hard on myself and 2. Read more books. Simple as that.”  Amy Crichton, Teacher

 

“Sometimes I make New Years resolutions and sometimes I don’t. Historically they’ve been to do things like read more, or journal more, etc. I totally agree that we shouldn’t necessarily wait to start a new habit on January 1st, that any day can be the right day to start, though I think there’s something about a socially/culturally agreed-upon restart button that makes for rich soil for reinvention. Last year, New Years Eve was more solemn than usual for me because I was only thinking of 2017 as the year Trump would assume office, and Ben and friends and I very soberly toasted to the resistance at midnight. My resolution for the year was sort of fed by that (and I think I might renew it for 2018 because I can still do more and better by it – to more often express love when I feel it. Ben is really the only person that I consistently tell how much I love him (and our cat, obviously, goes without saying) but there are so many other kinds of love that are equally enriching in my life that I never express (family, friends, other dogs on the sidewalk). I don’t know how I got to the place where telling someone I’m not dating that I love them is awkward and embarrassing because no harm can come of sharing love, my cousin will not be hurt if I write him a letter telling him how much fun I had at his wedding and that I love him, or even just writing him a note period because sometimes that says it all. For example. Anyway. I’m working on not censoring my love out of fear of rejection or societal norms!” – Kat Sullivan, Team Lead

 

“I read today; “make the shift to be process oriented instead of goal oriented” (baron baptiste)… and I decided that was a good way to approach the NY. Im always looking ahead at the goal instead of appreciating the process, or even better, the journey. So – rather than make official resolutions, I’m going to try to trust the process.” Steph Spangler, Teacher

 

“I’m a resolution person; I love goal and intention setting. 2017 was a special year for me- my first full year as my new role as not a wife/teacher, but also a mom and a yoga instructor here at Yoga Home. Like Amy Crichton, I would like to be less critical of myself and journal my experience this year. Kat J. Sullivan inspired me to do the moon journal and I hope to complete that next year to learn more about myself. And run my first marathon post partum in May.” – Jennifer McCracken, Teacher

 

I think about resolutions a lot as I talk with friends, family members, and clients about theirs. The people I feel closest to have always served as my greatest teachers and most honest mirrors. I’ve sensed so much resentment and fear in many of the resolutions I hear from others. Then I consider my own tendencies towards resolution and see the same thing. It’s been a hard year politically and personally, and in the same breath, very inspiring. And, honestly, I think I need both. I need to let myself be critical, and dark… then take a step back in order to find love in the Fear.
That being said, looking back and ahead at all of my fears, in attempt to transform them into love… My intention for the new year is to spend less of my time/energy breaking down rhetoric and ideas that I don’t believe in or agree with, and more time/energy finding things to love in the ideas that are different from my own; to be less stubborn about what I believe is right, in order to more compassionately collaborate towards a positive future. AND I choose to do this not because I resent myself for carrying judgement or criticism, but because I acknowledge my own capacity for love and understanding.” – Jenna Brown, Teacher