Living Intentionally
(Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash)
Intentional: done by intention or design.
We only have one life to live. If there is something you desire, it is up to you to make it happen for yourself, or at least give it your best shot within your circumstances.
For example: say someone has always fantasized about being a cabaret singer. It is very hard to become a professional cabaret singer, so they probably didn’t make it and/or life took them in other directions. Very common and not a failure. But they still have an inner cabaret singer inside them, wanting to come out.
It would be very self-loving for that person to pursue cabaret singing now in some form, using whatever time and resources they have at their disposal. They could start small, like learning just one song and performing it in a talent show or open mic night, or at home for friends and family. That way at least they get to have the experience.
Or they might scale back the goal even further to easy little things like following cabaret singers they like, listening to a podcast about cabaret, or finding out where the cabaret venues are in their area and going to a few performances. Baby steps.
Living intentionally happens in baby steps. Baby steps are everything.
Like a good parent supports their child’s interests and desires, you should support your own interests and desires. To make your own wishes come true as best you can is a profound act of self-love.
Weirdly enough, NIA Technique holistic dance fitness can help you live more intentionally.
Every class has a focus. NIA trains your mind to stay focused on one thing for a whole hour - and focus is critical to fulfilling our desires. Without focus, we take one or two baby steps, then get distracted. With focus, we take many baby steps and go a long way.
NIA helps you set intentions, because it teaches you to listen to the body’s voice (sensation). The body says more than just “Ow” or “Mmm.” It also speaks larger truths, like “I want to spend more time outdoors” or “I want to explore [X]” or “It’s not okay when [person] treats me that way.” Listening deeply to your body’s voice helps you discover what is true for you - the raw material from which intentions are made.
NIA teaches you to move with conscious intent. Whether the particular intent of the moment is suggested by the teacher, or by yourself, moving with conscious intent is a major goal of the NIA experience. As you move, so might you live.
In this final few weeks of the Self-Love quarter, the focuses and intents of my online classes will help you develop intentionality in various ways. You’ll listen to your body’s voice, explore your desires and inspirations, and learn how to stay focused and (re)direct your attention. You’ll even learn to set your own focus and intent for class and maintain it for the whole hour. It will be powerful - and it will help you live intentionally.
