yoga

108 New Year’s Resolutions.

Even though every day is a new day, New Year’s Day marks the passing of the old year and the arrival of a new year. It’s a kind of fresh start, a new chapter, and another opportunity for getting it right. Many people kick off the story of the new year by setting goals.

Here are some yogic and not-exactly-yogic resolutions for this year.

1) Find out what 108 means in Yoga lore.

2) Be more awesome than last year.

3) Try something new on the mat.

4) Try something new off the mat.

5) Breathe mindfully.

6) Practice the 1st Limb of Yoga (yama).

7) Think more, in general.

8) Try doing less harm (ahimsa).

9) Count to 10.

10) Plant the seed of your resolve (sankalpa).

11) Remember resolutions aren’t a to-do list.

12) Try being truthful (satya).

13) Don’t commit to what you can’t do.

14) Practice what Yoga preaches.

15) Do nothing for a week or so.

16) Eat fewer animals.

17) Eat more fruits.

18) Eat even more veggies.

19) Practice the 2nd Limb of Yoga (niyama).

20) Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity.

21) Don’t get stuck in the mud.

22) Walk on the water until you sink.

23) Try being honest about things (asteya).

24) Spend less money.

25) “Watch the parking meters.” ~ Bob Dylan

26) Practice the 3rd Limb of Yoga (asana).

27) Lay in Corpse Pose after exercise (asana) practice.

28) Try a new craft-style IPA.

29) Try a different new craft-style IPA.

30) Don’t spill any IPA on your resolutions list.

31) Try being aware of a higher reality (brahmacharya).

32) Wanderlust more.

33) Cut most people some slack.

34) Don’t cut some people any slack.

35) Practice the 4th Limb of Yoga (pranayama).

36) “Watch the river flow.” ~ Bob Dylan

37) Volunteer or contribute to a cause.

38) Pick up where you left off.

39) Head back to the classroom.

40) Waste not, want not.

41) Try being less acquisitive (aparigraha).

42) Chuck the couch.

43) Go for a walk.

44) Go for a walk, again.

45) Walk the dog.

46) Try to stay cool and clean (shaucha).

47) Pick one thing to stop doing all year.

48) Rid yourself of enemies.

49) Rid yourself of frenemies.

50) Stare out of the window once in a while.

51) Start from now.

52) Try to find some contentment (santosha).

53) Be Buddhist, even if you’re not a Buddhist.

54) Watch out for the sociopaths.

55) Breathe mindfully, again.

56) Practice the 5th Limb of Yoga (pratyahara).

57) Shop locally.

58) Shop small.

59) Finish a ChapStick.

60) Take the stairs.

61) Take a month off from irony.

62) Take a different month off from sarcasm.

63) Try to be disciplined (tapas).

64) Watch out for down-pressers.

65) Don’t be a down-presser.

66) Stay in the now.

67) Read a new translation of the Bhagavad Gita.

68) Vote in November 2016.

69) When at the polls, keep in mind some politicians are demagogues.

70) When at the polls, recall what Mark Twain said about politicians.

71) In the event, vote for somebody.

72) Turn off the internet of everything.

73) Crack open a book about something.

74) Make some mistakes, gain some experience.

75) Stay in touch.

76) Build a shelf.

77) Practice the 6th Limb of Yoga (dharana).

78) Go out on a limb. That’s where the apples are.

79) Meditate.

80) Go more green, in general.

81) Groom a green thumb.

82) Plant a seed.

83) Plant a plant.

84) Plant a shrub.

85) Plant a tree.

86) “Keep a clean nose. Watch the plain clothes. You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” ~ Bob Dylan

87) High-five a stranger.

88) Read a sutra a day.

89) Try to be self-observant (svadhyaya).

90) Don’t follow leaders.

91) Practice the 7th Limb of Yoga (dhyana).

92) Rescue a cat.

93) Or, rescue a dog.

94) Make art, not war.

95) Turn off the television.

96) Go to a live theater.

97) Go to a live concert.

98) When necessary, make better bad decisions.

99) Practice the 8th Limb of Yoga (samadhi).

100) Look inward.

101) Set your intention.

102) Get all the good laughs you can.

103) Try to surrender to life (ishvarapranidhana).

104) Make an effort.

105) Never mind about resolutions if you don’t want to.

106) Breathe mindfully, one more time.

107) Remember to find out what significance 108 has in Yoga lore.

108) Have an awesome 2016.

The difference between one day and the next is what we do with them. Happy New Year!

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Ed Staskus

Ed Staskus

Edward Staskus lives in Lakewood, Ohio, on the northeastern edge of the Rocky River valley. Read more of Ed's writing at Paperback Yoga. Short stories and non-fiction are at 147 Stanley Street. The serial novel 'Slightly Unhappy Constantly' is at Slightly Unhappy Constantly. The serial biography 'Dogs never Bite Me' is at Dogs Never Bite Me. He edits PEI Theatre, the blog for the Professional Theatre Network of Prince Edward Island, which is at PEI Theatre.
Ed Staskus
Ed Staskus