The power of sacred intention (sankalpa)

Wishing you all happy new beginnings in every way for 2022 as we put away our festive decoration and the focus becomes on fitness and health and so many of us make new year resolutions - I’ve been there! Resolutions often start from an assumption that we are not good enough as we are and that happiness requires us to become different from who we are. New planners, organising house, getting life in order, creating structure in our life.

A sankalpa is the Sanskrit word for intention but it goes much deeper that having a simple intention or goal. ‘San’ means ‘a connection with the highest truth’ and ‘kalpa’ means ‘a vow’.

It is a vow to our soul or higher self. It is born from our deep awareness, inner wisdom and is a desire of our consciousness. A sankalpa looks like a short conscious statement that encapsulates a deep soul desire. It comes from a deeper sense of self - it’s not just based on a thought or feeling, it is a combination of the two and more.

Goals on the other hand are born from our ego with the expectation of a specific result that we attach to a positive feeling that the have when we get to the goal. Goals are coming from a space of limited information, comparisons to others or personal expectations. It is a something that we want to do/achieve where as a sankalpa is an intention with a vision. A goal is more of an ‘I will’ rather than soul intention which is more ‘I am’. 

A sankalpa is associated with who we are as we move through life and rises from love and an inner guidance.  It is like planting a seed in well nurtured soils and then watering and nurturing the seeds without putting on the pressure to germinate and grow into what we want it to be, we allow it to bloom and thrive naturally. A sankalpa gives passion and purpose to our life and the ‘why and how’ we do things feel different when we have an intention. We see and feel things differently when we have intention. Even the normal day to day tasks have an energy, power and meaning.

Intentions are not expectations. Expectations is setting a goal and then sitting, watching and waiting for something to change.

A sankalpa comes from a deeper place. A place of deep understanding of self, a purpose, an alignment of mind, body and soul all coming to gather at once and taking action in order to move forward in a certain direction. Our sankalpa becomes our guiding light.

How to set a sankalpa

1. Keep your intention clear and simple/concise - Short intention statement or your deep heartfelt desires, expressed in the present tense - this is a reflection of our true nature and it acknowledges our will and energy. E.g. I want to be compassionate turns into ‘I am the essence of compassion’. Refer only to yourself not to other things or beings.

2. Make sure that it is really important to you and that you have a drive towards it. When we are not clear we will have confusion when we approach it from fear or a mindset of insecurities. It is an intention statement formed by the heart, mind and is connected with our inner belief. We are often shifting an inner limiting belief.

3. Set a sankalpa from an internal place of knowing. Understand what is driving your intention. Is it coming from a place of connection , a place of knowing, understanding, as this only comes from the depths of ourselves. If so, we will remain true and committed to it even in the face of challenges. It should not from an external driving force. Then it is nothing more than a thought.

4. Allow your soul to express your deep and real needs. And you can steer life in a passionate and purposeful direction. It can then manifest in your life.

5. A sankalpa includes our will and energy, the actions and wisdom needed to honour the intention and this constitutes a true sankalpa. Sometimes this leads us to let go and release things that are not aligned to our heartfelt desire.

6. Be willing to hear the deeper desires of your heartBe willing to respond to your call to action as this is connecting everything together (ask yourself what is your true purpose and calling talents etc.?)

7. Plant the seed of sankalpa - shift the way you think of your self into alignment with your sankalpa. Say it as a truth and believe it and make it feel natural to you. You can visualise the reality of it.

8. Repeat several times a day to help the sankalpa manifest.

9. Live and work in an alignment to your intention, it is like a vision, and not a strategy. It should feel right and feel like you in the flow and should not feel like hard work and it should help us with how we make our decisions, how we use our time and the actions we take
   
   

When to set a sankalpa

1. Do it when you are in the right time and space (before bed, first thing in the morning or during yoga Nidra). We want to be in a totally relaxed state, when the mind is not so active and critical. Then repeat your statement regularly and take conscious initiatives towards your sankalpa without expectations or deadlines for the results. So there is an element of surrender.

2. A sankalpa can take time to cultivate. Depends how long we have had a limiting belief. Can be a challenge for some of us.

3. Keep it a secret (it is a personal promise to you r divine self to your soul. We generally don’t share a sankalpa. We attract judgements and this dilutes the energy of your sankalpa. Don’t have too many intentions statements. Keep focus on one area/desire of change.

Nankhatai (an Indian biskoot original)

Diwali is a perfect excuse for an Indian biskoot! Or traditionally know as #nankhatai and this has to be up there as one of my all time favourites when it comes to Diwali treats.

This recipe is a slightly healthier Ayurvedic take on this Indian shortbread which originated in North India. My version is made with organic wholewheat flour, jaggery and ghee. This one is not vegan or gluten free but you can easily substitute the ingredients. 

Think - shortbread meets biscotti with a punch of aromatic sweet spices. I love the soft crumby texture and it’s perfect with #masalachai at teatime. I’m all about ‘the quick and easy to make’ and that they are if you have the ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 cup (125gm) organic wholewheat flour
¼ cup (40gm) gram flour (chickpea)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp (20gm) fine semolina
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg powder
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ cup melted ghee (80 gm)
½ cup (100gm) jaggery sugar
½ tbsp yogurt
1 tbsp milk (any)

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl

• Add the melted ghee and mix well

• Add the yoghurt and bind

• Add milk as needed to bind. The mix should be bind but still have a slight crumbly texture. Do not kneed. If your mix feels too crumbly then add a little milk.

• Grease a baking tray

• Roll shape into 12 equal flat balls in your hands 

• Place the ball with plenty of space in between as they will expand

• Oven bake for 25 minutes at gas mark 3-4 (180c) until golden brown

• Remove and cool on a wire rack

• Eat and enjoy and store the rest in an airtight container 

• For texture - Think - shortbread meets biscotti.

Do your foods create digestive toxicity?

Do your favourite food combinations create digestive toxicity? Amongst many foods eaten together, if you particularly love fruits and yoghurt for breakfast then the answer I am afraid is yes.

No individual food is considered intrinsically good or bad in Ayurveda. However, it is said that ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’. What we really pay attention to in Ayurvedic nutrition is how foods are processed, how and when foods are eaten, how foods digest and if hunger for the food is there in the first place. When we soak, cook, cure, ferment, blanch, freeze or preserve we change the properties of foods in the processing of it. For example, the processing of butter to ghee, yoghurt to takra and soaking nuts, lentils and grains etc. make these foods much easier to digest. For me this is the art of eating healthy that is aligned to nature and our body.

What’s more Ayurveda suggests an approach for a correct diet based on the individual’s doshic constitution (vata, pitta, kapha) rather than focus on a breakdown of foods into groups such as carbs, proteins and fats and eating based on recommended daily allowances. Every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya) and post-digestive effect (vipaka) and based on this every food can either balance us or imbalance us if we have too much for our mind body type.

Although I do encourage diversity in our diet, our gut was not designed for overly complex varieties of foods in any one meal, as it can over work our digestive system.  The focus of healthy digestion is to minimise ama (toxins) and keep our agni (digestive fire) nice and strong. Some food combinations are incompatible and subsequently disturb our digestive fire and causes toxins to accumulate because they require conflicting digestive processing.

Not only can incompatible foods remain in the stomach for several hours, combining foods improperly can cause indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction and gas formation. If prolonged it can lead to toxemia and lead to various other diseases.

When foods are eaten correctly or separately, they can aid digestion. Eating bananas with milk; egg with fish; radishes with milk, bananas or raisins; lemon with yoghurt; melons with any other foods; raw foods with cooked foods; fruits and grains, are some examples of incompatible foods. Some common western food combinations that get the thumbs down in Ayurveda include, berry cheesecake, salmon and cream cheese bagel, fish pie and many more. You can find a list of incompatible foods in my book Ayurveda – Ancient wisdom for modern wellbeing.

What happens when we eat for example lemon and milk? If you squeeze lemon in hot milk it causes the milk to curdle and this also happens in the stomach. The digestive enzymes required to digest lemon cause the milk to curdle due to the sourness. This type of constant digestive confusion can be the cause of many diseases, especially related to respiratory or skin conditions.

Enough to make you think about how you combine foods?