An Intention-Setting Yin Yoga Practice for the New Year

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Yin yoga always releases parts of your physical body and creates more space in between your thoughts. This special intention-setting yin yoga practice targets your entire physical body and helps you cultivate the mental and emotional clarity to explore what you want for yourself in the days and months ahead.

During the practice, you’ll experience some hip openers, some backbends, quad stretches, and reclined twists as well as stretches that target your chest, shoulders, and upper back. Each yin yoga pose also offers the potential for introspection with optional affirmations to help you start thinking about what you want for yourself.

The first half of the class asks you to look back on the last 12 months. The latter half of class helps you hone in on what is most important to you in the coming 12 months. What are you trying to call in? What do you want to be your focus?

After you read each affirmation, repeat it quietly to yourself a few times. Simply notice if it rings true for you or how it makes you feel or what it brings up for you. If you experience any resistance around any of the affirmations, there’s no need to judge your thoughts or your reactions, although you may want to contemplate or journal about it afterward. I recommend keeping a pen and paper close so you can write down anything that comes to you.

This yin yoga practice is especially helpful on New Year’s Eve, although it can be useful anytime.

One-Hour Yin Yoga for Intention Setting

Let yourself linger in each pose for 3 or 4 minutes or so to allow yourself an opportunity to release into the shape. Keep your breath slow and easy. You’re welcome to use props.

Butterfly

As you come into the seated forward fold known as Butterfly in yin yoga. Bring the soles of your feet together to touch and let your knees fall apart. You can play a little with the distance between your heels and your seat, perhaps taking your feet farther away from you and making this a very passive forward fold in the yin yoga version of the pose. I like to turn my palms to face upward. Take a few cleansing breaths here, as you relax your upper body, relax your head, and soften into the pose. Breathe in and out through your nose, relaxing a little more each time you exhale.

Affirmation

I release the past and joyously welcome the new year.

Shoelace

Push your hands into the floor and take your time as you roll back up through your spine and lift yourself upright. Take a big inhalation here. Try to cross your right thigh over your left in the center of the mat and then try to stack your right knee on top of your left as you would in Cow-Face Pose. Your top leg might be lifted off your bottom knee and that’s perfectly fine. As much as possible, try to anchor your knees together by bringing your feet toward your hips. Ground down through your sit bones as lift up tall through your spine and draw your lower belly toward your spine.

You can play a little with the shape of the pose. Usually the closer you draw your heels toward you, the easier it will feel, although it’s still an intense pose. You can also slide your heels away from you to intensify the stretch.

Stay upright or walk your hands forward and lean your chest toward the mat. Sometimes propping yourself with some blocks or resting your head on your hands can be nice as well.

This is an intense pose. Remember, we’re here for a little while so you don’t need to go super deep right away, especially for the first minute. Give your body the chance to open up and relax a little more. As you settle into the pose, repeat the affirmation internally.

Affirmation

My priorities are crystal clear.

After you settle into the pose, consider what your priorities will be in the coming year.

Shoelace on the Other Side

If you had folded forward, take your time as you lift yourself back up. Release the crossing of your legs and maybe stretch them in front of you or take a little windshield wiper motion and let your knees drop from side to side. Whatever feels good here for your hips, do that. Then set yourself up for Shoelace on the other side.

Once you find your comfortable seat, maybe stay tall or start to walk your hands forward again, supporting your head or letting it dangle. If you are supporting yourself, like what I’m doing here, try to draw your shoulders away from your ears. Make this pose as passive as possible, so a complete surrender to gravity with slow, steady breaths to support you.

Affirmation

I am a force of good in the world.

Caterpillar Pose

Let’s come out of this pose like before, either stretching your legs in front of you or letting your knees drop from side to side to give your hips a little break.

Straighten your legs in front of you. Start with your legs about hip-distance apart and you can play with this by widening your feet or bringing them closer toward one another. As you come into your forward fold, you can absolutely have a bend in your knees. Don’t worry about having a straight back. You can let yourself round and your feet roll out to the side. Whatever is most comfortable for you. This pose targets the entire posterior chain of muscles, which stretch from the back of your head all the way down your spine and along the backs of your legs. When you settle into the shape, internally repeat the affirmation.

Affirmation

My potential is endless.

Allow yourself to be curious about the idea of potential and how this might show up for you over the next 12 months. What could this look like?

Child’s Pose

As you come out of this forward fold, move even more slowly than you think is needed, being careful with your low back. Use your arm strength and keep your breath steady as you press your hands into the floor and walk them back, inch by inch, feeling your way out of the pose as you sit tall. Before you transition into the yin yoga version of Child’s Pose, bring your hands behind you, lean back, bend your knees, and lower your knees side to side in a gentle twisting motion to release your low back.

Then bring your big toes together to touch behind you and take your knees as wide as you like. Try to push your hips toward your heels as you walk your hands in front of you to lengthen through your lower back. Release your forehead to the mat or a block. With your arms outstretched, try to slide your shoulders away from your ears so there’s no compression in your neck. Just lots of space. Relax your belly and melt your heart toward the mat with no tension in your shoulders or hips.

Affirmation

My life is full of prosperity and abundance.

Consider what prosperity and abundance mean to you? What kind of abundance are you calling in? Abundance of health, wealth, love, joy, creativity, whatever it may be.

Quad Stretch

From Child’s Pose, slide forward on your belly and straighten your legs behind you. There are a few different options here, each with the intention to find a quad stretch. The least intense version of the pose is to bring your forehead to the mat, bend your right knee, and reach back with your right hand to pull your heel toward the glutes. Keep your knees about hip-distance apart.

If you’d like to take this a little further, come up onto your left forearm in a partial version of Sphinx with a quad stretch. If you lift yourself, think of reaching through your heart, making this more about an expansion in your mid back and upper back as opposed to something that’s happening in your low back. If you feel any compression or pinching in your low back, lower yourself back to the mat. Adjust your grip on your foot as feels comfortable.

Affirmation

I dedicate my time to what matters most to me.

Use this as an opportunity to define and clarify what it is that you care about most.

Quad Stretch on the Other Side

Carefully release hold of your right foot and, if you are in the Sphinx variation, let your forehead rest on the mat and take a few breaths here. Maybe sway your hips a little side to side in a gentle rocking motion to release your lower back.

Then come into the second side. Your first option is to stay low and bring your left heel toward your left glute, remaining here or propping yourself up on your right forearm.

Affirmation

I am self-motivated and full of energy.

When you’re ready, release your left foot and, like before, give yourself a few moments here while lying on your belly, maybe rocking a little gently side to side through your hips.

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Spinal Twist

Roll onto your back and move your hips a little to the right. Wrap your right thigh over your left thigh to intensify and then lower both knees over to your left. If it’s comfortable, reach your arms out into a cactus shape. You’re trying to create space between your right knee and your right shoulder, as they’re moving in opposite directions. Try to encourage your right shoulder blade to anchor to the mat so your chest is facing the ceiling rather than the side wall. You can face the ceiling or turn your head to the right.

Affirmation

When I look back on my year, I am deeply proud of myself.

Notice where this affirmation takes you and what memories it brings up. Regardless of the kind of year you may have had, there is something that will make you proud of yourself.

Spinal Twist on the Other Side

Carefully unwrap your legs and float them back to center and ease into your twist on the other side. Move your hips a little more to the left, cross your left thigh over your right, and lower both knees drop to the right. Try to anchor your left shoulder blade on the ground and either keep your head neutral looking up or you can turn and look over your left shoulder. Keep sending deep belly breaths all the way down, in and out through your nose.

Affirmation

I allow myself to dream big.

After you unwrap your legs, it might feel good to draw your knees toward your chest and maybe rock a little side to side.

Happy Baby Pose

Still lying on your back, bend your knees, stack your feet over your ankles, and hold onto the sides of your feet, ankles, or calves. Try to keep your elbows to the inside of your legs as you push your knees outward. At the same time, try to draw your thighs toward the mat and press your tailbone into the mat in Happy Baby Pose.

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

If you want to make the stretch less intense, keep your feet lower, closer to your glutes, and work on taking your knees wide. If you want to make this a little more challenging, straighten your legs out to the sides in more of a reclined wide-legged Straddle shape to target your hamstrings. Take any option that works best for you here.

Affirmation

I easily balance work and play.

Really become curious what that balance might look like for you and stay here for several more breaths.

Savasana

Bend your knees and pull them in tight one last time, maybe rocking a little. Then make your way to Savasana, your final resting pose. Go ahead and take up some space with your legs and your arms. Get really comfortable here, making this a receptive pose by turning your palms facing up toward the ceiling. Feel your shoulder blades slide down your back, close your eyes,

and come back to an easy rhythm of the breath to allow for deep relaxation and introspection,

and keep in mind your final affirmation for the new year.

Affirmation

I look forward to the future.

As you repeat this, you might become more specific with what it is that you forward to or you might make it more expansive by being open to great things coming your way.

When you’re ready to come out of Savasana, breathe a little deeper, all the way down, so your abdomen expands and your chest expands. This breath is what allows us to reenergize ourselves and even adding movement, rolling your ankles, your wrists, turning your head side to side, and stretch it out by bringing your arms overhead. Roll to one side and pause here.

Slowly lift yourself lift to sit and close your eyes once you’re there, feeling the effects of your practice, feeling into what you want for this new year, calling it in, and anchoring it down. Even if you don’t have a clear intention at this time, just be open to receiving and it might show up and clarify for you throughout the day over the next few days. Thank you for practicing this yin yoga intention-setting session with me.