Energy Express by Marilynn Preston

Most of us are big flops when it comes to keeping our New Year's resolutions. Within a few weeks or months or minutes of promising to lift weights, go meatless or learn Spanish, our resolve begins to dissolve and before we know it, we have forgotten our best intentions and fallen back to old habits having to do with sloth, gluttony and sleeping in.

Happy New Year. Here's a new way to go about it all, handed down to us by ancient yoga philosophers, experts at inspiring change. These guys have the inside track on the inside track, and have lots to teach us all about setting an intention and staying with it.

Even if you don't know a twisted triangle from a tree pose, you can benefit from this advice because it's practical and down to earth, though it does begin by introducing you to a Sanskrit word: sankalpa.

Sankalpa may sound like the capital of Costa Rica, but basically it is the Sanskit term for resolution. It's wildly and wonderfully more complicated than that, so feel free to research it on your own. Another translation of sankalpa is "a thought, intention or will directed toward a specific outcome."

What specific outcome are you looking for in 2010? Only you can say. It has to be personal, meaningful, achievable. When yogi's make a sankalpa, they are setting their intention, and they come back to that intention time and time again, using their brains, beads or breath.

It's the consistent coming back to our intention that moves us forward. At least that's the theory, still being test-marketed after 5,000 years of splendid practice. Here is some more information about setting your sankalpa so it will last a lifetime. Or many lifetimes:

— Sankalpas are not marching orders like "I will lose 10 pounds" or "I will stop drinking." Those are statements of will. They are temporary, negative and punishing. A sankalpa goes deeper. It is expressed in positive, uplifting language.

Bobbi Misiti, a yoga teacher from Honesdale, Pa., writes about sankalpa on her website, www.bfityoga.com, and says that hers is "to remain open hearted and go with the flow of life." Another superb sankalpa, my mother's favorite, is the Serenity Prayer: "Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I can not change; Courage to change the things I can; Wisdom to know the difference." See? I told you this stuff is down-to-earth.

— To get out of the resolution rut, create a sankalpa that goes beyond bad behavior and explores a part of you that you know needs some attention. Instead of telling yourself you're a sugar addict and must never buy another jelly doughnut, set an intention to be a conscious eater. When cravings come up, watch them arise, feel the discomfort that results and then calmly let it go.

Don't get swept up in the drama. Strive to be nonjudgmental at the same time you stay engaged and enthusiastic. Sankalpa- making beats resolution-making because it takes you to a new level of awareness. And awareness is what leads to lasting change.

— Set your intention, keep it in the present tense, and refer to it daily. It should work to direct you toward behavior that brings energy, insight, strength and balance. Some examples from random sources: Connect body, mind and spirit. Develop more awareness. Pull over to text.

— Make your 2010 sankalpa into a short personal statement that you can memorize and repeat. "To open my heart to new possibilities" is one I ripped off the Internet. Once you've chosen, find ways to include your sankalpa in your everyday life. Post it on your mirror. Repeat it at every red light. Say it to yourself before you go to sleep at night.

— Don't play the blame game. Instead of focusing on what you're doing wrong, give yourself full faith and credit for the strength it takes to make the effort you're making.

This is only the tiniest of introductions to a vast understanding of the universe that is contained in the concept, the word, sankalpa. If anyone out there has a juicy personal anecdote that is sankalpa- related, please email it in.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! HOW IT WORKS

"With a sankalpa, the self-loathing that comes from dwelling on past transgressions can begin to dissolve. In its place is an exercise in effort and surrender — create an intention and open yourself to the universe." — Catherine Guthrie

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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