The Ancient Secret - Fitness Incentive

“Willpower can only take you so far before your incredibly stubborn subconscious mind – committed to doing what is comfortable and familiar – creates powerful resistance to change.“

Stephanie Cosentino

The Ancient Secret to Successful New Year Resolutions

Resolutions can be a great catalyst for change, but more often than not, they become a catalyst for depression, anxiety, and disappointment. Did you know most people give up on their resolutions by January 17th, only 40% stick to their New Year resolutions to the 6-month mark, and less than 10% ever reach their goal? There are two simple reasons for failure (and one simple way to overcome it):

1- Our behavior is heavily driven by the subconscious mind.
2- By nature, we have less energy in the winter months.

Knowing this, you can set yourself up for success by hijacking your brain and body with your breath in only 20-30 minutes a day.

Power of a Habit

Whether good or bad, habits become habits over time, but it takes 40 days at the very least to change behavior. Repetitive behaviors become automatic because they create neural grooves in your brain that get cemented by your emotions and environment. Willpower can only take you so far before your incredibly stubborn subconscious mind – committed to doing what is comfortable and familiar – creates powerful resistance to change.

Starting a new habit has been proven more successful than trying to break a bad one. Specifically, starting a breathwork practice is not only proven to help break bad habits but to create an environment where bad habits quit us.

Breathwork: a High-Performance Habit

The secret to success is literally right under your nose: your breath. Studies show that most people (around 90% of us!) are breathing incorrectly, which is now considered a missing pillar of health. How we breathe affects our nervous, immune, endocrine, and circulatory systems. Kundalini yoga is a transformational practice because it features breathwork (pranayama in Sanskrit) that powerfully shifts the mind and activates your natural energy.

Prana is lifeforce energy. Food and air are the two primary sources of energy for the body. With a consistent breathwork practice, we aim to increase our natural energy from within.

That brings us to Fitness Incentive’s Pre-New Year’s Resolution 40-day Challenge!

Sadhana

Sadhana is a Sanskrit term that translates to a dedicated, methodical discipline to obtain a desired goal. For 40 days, beginning on 11/22, we will begin cultivating a 20-30 minute breathwork and meditation practice that will help you to reprogram your subconscious mind and give you a boost of pranic energy to sustain your goals in 2023.

More info to come!

Until then, I invite you to experience Kundalini Yoga at Fitness Incentive. My class is at 9:30 am on Sundays. It’s a fantastic way to start your week.