As 2016 draws to a close, many people begin to buckle down with a list of New Year’s resolutions, often in the areas of self-growth, self-care and health.

We all know the January plight far too well, we begin the month with bright eyes and hopeful hearts—convincing ourselves that we will remain true to our resolutions. This will be the year that we put ourselves first and focus on growing in the areas we’ve set out to conquer. Maybe for some of us, it’s being more intentionally grateful in everyday life, for others it’s the conscious effort to integrate more exercise into our routines. We might aim to focus on our personal relationships with others—vowing to call more, send birthday cards or schedule in time for date nights.

Whatever the resolution might be, too many of us lose sight of it by February. We become swept away in our lives again, convince ourselves that everything is okay just the way it is—at least for now. We set a goal that we will pick up our resolution again when things slow down (and they often never do).

The thing about resolutions is that deep down we know the continuation of our plans will benefit us (assuming they are realistic and positive focused), but we lack the self-discipline to see it through.

This is where Tapas comes in. Tapas is the Niyama of yoga that encourages us to practice self-discipline and do something that we might not want to do—but that will ultimately benefit our health. Reflecting on this Niyama encourages us to be mindful of our intentions, to recognize where we can grow to be more moral, healthy and enlightened and then to see those intentions through.
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To that end, here are 3 ways that might assist in utilizing the self-discipline that exists within you to continue self-growth after the start of the New Year.

1. Clarify Your Priorities
Part of staying true to a goal is feeling so tied to it that the thought of stopping feels like you might lose a part of yourself in the process. The only way to tether yourself so tightly to your goal is to link it to your personal values, your priorities. Write a list of what you value most in your life. What really matters to you? Then, think about what self-growth areas might support these values, allowing you to become a better version of yourself. Doing this more in-depth exploratory work removes the shallow goal setting we sometimes do on December 28 and instead replaces it with meaningful, intentional, and deeply personal goals that you feel intimately attached to.
 
2. Work Your New Resolution List into Your Routine
Spend time turning your seemingly lofty resolutions into SMART goals. SMART stands for: Specific, Measureable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-Based. For each goal, run through these steps. If your growth-area is to connect more with your loved ones, your SMART version might look like this: Specific (Call friends and family more often), Measureable (Call each loved one once a week), Action-oriented (Use drive home from work to call one, two or three people every day), Realistic (Maybe only make calls 3 days a week instead of 5), Time-Based (starting January 1 and continuing indefinitely).
Doing this takes something more abstract and makes it concrete. You now have something in place that allows you to take your deeply personal resolution and turn it into an actionable plan.
 
3. Hold Yourself Accountable
This can happen in any way. You might want to journal about how your resolution is impacting your life, which might make you less likely to abandon it without giving it second thoughts. You could talk about your progress with a friend or significant other—because sometimes sharing our goals and progress with others makes us more accountable and proud. Maybe you reward yourself in some way for every week that you maintain your goals—making this specific to you and that will serve as a reason to keep going. Whatever holds you accountable, build that into your plan. This will again help you maintain your resolutions much longer.
 
Self-discipline requires practice. But, it is not as difficult as we might think. Following these steps might allow you to make your New Year’s resolutions last all year long (or longer). While self-disiciple is hard, reaping the benefits is far reaching.

For the month of December, the fourth yama of yoga, Brahmacharya, will be explored. Brahmacharya reminds us to regain control over our impulses and desire for excess so that we may instead lead lives of moderation. A fitting moral testament for the holiday season of over-eating, over-buying, and over-indulging, brahmacharya encourages us to break any bonds that attach us to our need for abundance and rather, to use our inner strength and will to find balance in our wants and needs.

Accepting moderation (brahmacharya) in each aspect of our lives can be a bit more difficult than we might presume. There is this seemingly innate human quality to constantly desire more: more money, more space, more possessions, more personal freedom, more control over life, more abundance, more appreciation from others; the list goes on. However, this drive to accomplish, possess and acquire more only pulls us away from the gratitude we can be experiencing for the abundance we already possess. Even further, we might realize, upon reflection, that the acquisition of ‘more’ never seems to make us as happy as we thought. Because once we receive what we want, we immediately start planning and desiring the next thing.
This places us in a never ending pursuit of happiness—because we are attaching our happiness to something outside of ourselves.

When we recognize this innate pursuit, we take control back over our lives and our happiness. We begin to understand that this desire for excess is only crippling our ability to enjoy life in the present moment.

And instead, we aim for moderation. We begin looking within; we begin to understand that self-growth, self-reflection, relationships and gratitude are more tied to happiness and true life abundance than any of the things we had been chasing before. We seek more opportunities to expose ourselves to these things and spend less time worrying about the things that occupied so much of our mental space previously.

So, this holiday season, be reflective of the areas in your life where you are always striving for, or desiring, more. Pay attention to how this relentless pursuit of excess impacts your life. Notice if the acquisition of what you’re chasing brings you lasting happiness.

Do any of us feel good after over-eating? Do we feel fulfilled and enlightened after buying a new gadget or object? Are we better people after binge watching 10 episodes of a show on Netflix? Does that promotion bring us the appreciation and happiness we were searching for?
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Once you find your answer, begin to think about how moderation might better serve you. Exercise your will power and inner strength to turn down the desire for excess and to turn your attention inward instead.

​Learning and achieving flexibility in yoga is about more than gracefully sliding our hands under our feet after bowing forward in a sun salutation. It is not just in our ability to get our head down to our knees in a seated pose, but also in our approach to handling the unpredictability of life. 
 
In yoga we learn that we need to breathe through discomfort to see progress. We learn that our goals and plans for ourselves are not met the first time we step onto our mat. 
 
But we also learn to be okay with that. In that acceptance, we are taught flexibility of the mind. We are taught that flexibility is patience. It is breathing in and letting the exhalation push us just a touch closer to what we envisioned and hoped for and to wait until our bodies are ready to take us the rest of the way. 
 
Try breathing through these 3 flexibility promoting asanas to practice your patience in acceptance, your ability to be flexible. 

​1. Forward Fold Standing in mountain pose, take a deep inhale and let your arms reach up above your head. On the exhale, hinge at the hips, adding a slight bend to your knees and forward fold. Depending on your current level of flexibility, your hands might rest on your shins with your knees bent, your shins with your knees straight, or the mat with your knees straight. Wherever you are, notice any tension you might be feeling in the back of your thighs. Breathe. This is a simple pose, but often one that brings up emotions for us if we cannot touch our toes, touch the mat, or straighten our legs completely. Be patient here. 

2. Triangle Pose Returning to mountain pose, step your right leg back on your mat in a 90 degree angle, coming into a warrior 2 position. Then, straighten your bent front leg and reach your left arm down your left leg, resting it against your shin or on the mat if that is accessible for you. Your right arm reaches above your head, forming a straight line with your left arm. The goal here is to keep your back straight and your chest forward. If you notice you are starting to fall into your chest, it is probably because your ego has forced your hand further down your leg than the pose warrants for your level of flexibility. Again, breathe here and notice your posture, notice your hand placement, and notice any emotions that bubble up if you cannot go as far into the pose as you would like. Then, switch sides. 

3. Wide-Angled Seated Forward Bend Returning again to your mountain pose, gently come to a seated position on your mat. Extend your legs out to either side of you, coming into a split. Again, notice how far apart your legs can stretch in this pose, be patient with your body and learn how to judge the difference between discomfort and pain in yoga, especially in poses that push our flexibility limits. You can push yourself to discomfort, but pull back if you begin to feel pain. Once your legs are at a distance that supports this idea, start to hinge forward at the hips by walking your hands out in front of you. Try to round your back, but keep it straight so that the inner thighs are really put to work. This pose will likely start to bring up emotions as well. You might begin clenching your jaw as you push forward or stopping your deep breathing. Notice these things and correct them, returning to a peaceful place in an uncomfortable pose. Breathe here for as long as you would like. 
 
As we work on these poses, we have the ability to take this lesson of flexibility off of our mats and remember that when loved ones, friends, our jobs, or life in its many forms are not going as we planned, are not following the expectations we set, we must be flexible. We must come back to our breath and remember that flexibility is patience. Just as we cannot rush our bodies in an effort to get our hands to touch our toes, we cannot hold stringent to the expectations we have for others or for ourselves. 
 
Let the mantra for flexibility poses such as this one be 'flexibility is patience' and use the inhalations and exhalations to reflect on how you can become a more flexible person off of your mat.
 

This is the topic that has the ability to immediately send us into a state of stress. The peak of the holiday season often does not help this stressful association we have linked to our finances. So, as this time of year might be about giving, it is okay to admit that while giving and spending can elicit many positive emotions within us, it can also bring about some negative emotions as well.
Using mindfulness can help us to become more in tune with the financial pillar of our holistic wellness. How? By allowing us to better understand how our financial choices are linked to our overall wellness and happiness. Some people spend when they feel sad, others spend when they feel happy. Some people feel like they are on an emotional high after shopping or spending money, others feel guilty and overwhelmed. Some of us spend frivolously and some of us are much more frugal.
There is value in taking some time to understand where you fall on this spectrum so that you can make stronger decisions moving forward. Here are three ways to incorporate mindfulness into your financial choices and wellness.
 
1. Pay close attention to your motives for spending
Sometimes we head to a store for a day out, not quite needing anything—but open to the possibility of spending. Sometimes we make an intentional trip because we are lacking something and see value in purchasing it. Regardless of the motivation, be mindful of it. Take note of whether or not you need or want what you are purchasing. The answer might not change your decision, but this extra level of reflection has merit. We spend so much of our lives running on autopilot—so our financial choices sometimes fall right in line with this habit of mindless existence. When we are mindfully intentional in our actions, in whatever area of our lives/wellness we are working on—we allow ourselves to feel more connected to and secure about the decisions that we make.
 
2. Reflect on how your choices make you feel
This is both an in-the-moment and after-the-fact reflection. In the moment, consider how reaching for that item makes you feel. Are you excited about it? Are you pretty neutral? Are you feeling slightly stressed even looking at the price tag? What emotions drove you to pick up the item in the first place? Are you in a good place today or are you feeling a bit down? Then, after you make a purchase, think about how you feel in the hours, days or weeks after. Do you still love your item when you bring it home? Are you still happy about your spending during an evening out after the night is over? How do you feel when it’s time to pay off your credit card? Do you feel validated, knowing that your statement is manageable and a reflection of things that make you happy? Are you feeling guilty, knowing that your spending was out of range and slightly unnecessary? These are all important emotions to consider as you spend this time in a reflective state. Again, you might not be making any changes yet—but awareness is the first step to change. Right now, just bring awareness to something you might have otherwise neglected to acknowledge.
 
3. Be mindful of your priorities
When we spend in line with our priorities, the purchases always seem slightly more acceptable. Do you value traveling? Then maybe spending $___on a shopping trip isn’t the best use of your resources. Are you a fan of collectors’ items? Then maybe a larger purchase in this category is exactly what brings you joy. Do you love to be charitable or buy for others? Then this might shift some of your decisions on personal spending. The point is to be mindful of the priorities you have in life and to allocate your resources appropriately. Without this mindful attention to what you value—you lack the helpful guidance in knowing if your purchases are in line with who you are and what makes you happy.
 
As we move through a time of year that is notoriously known for financial stress, be mindful of how your spending affects your wellness and your happiness. Understand your motives, your emotions and your priorities. Your knowledge of these areas will guide you to making healthier financial decisions that hopefully result in less stress and more positive feelings and wellness effects.