Living in the Present for a Brighter Future

How yoga, meditation, and mindfulness can get you where you want to go next year

Readers, this is your reminder to close your eyes and take a deep breath. (And then one more. And maybe another.)

Between dashing through the sleet and snow and rushing off to those last-minute work parties, the weeks surrounding holiday festivities and the first notes of "Auld Lang Syne" can feel like a crawl to the finish line. And if you just felt your teeth crack a little under the pressure, you’re not alone.

As we close out a busier-than-ever 2023 and look toward the year ahead, health and wellness resolutions abound, and research shows that incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices into our every day can play a big part in achieving greater mental and physical health.

So, relax your jaw, take one more of those deep breaths, and read on. Three local yogis have your post-holiday crash—and those resolutions—covered.

First, Just Breathe

We weren’t kidding about that breathing thing.

“We take [our] breath for granted,” says Libby Robold, co-director of Yoga for Health Education in Traverse City. Though yoga, mindfulness, and meditation are all separate practices, they work in harmony on the foundation of teaching us “how to use the power of our own breath to relax,” as Robold puts it.

No matter the practice, she explains that breathwork is key because, while navigating life’s busyness, many of us are holding our breath. Taking a few moments to correct shallow, constricted breathing can mean a big energy boost, quieted anxiety, and letting go of negative thought patterns that are counterproductive to our New Year’s goals.

If one of those goals is to stress less, Robold says that through a simple yogic breathing technique, we can unlearn stress while rewiring our brains to respond to it differently over time. And, bonus, unlike Child’s Pose, this can be done almost anywhere, anytime.

To start, just acknowledge those short, clipped breaths when they’re happening, whether it’s while unloading groceries or hustling to the car after one too many rounds of euchre with the in-laws. From there, “Take a short time out and sit,” instructs Robold. “Invite yourself to use your ability to gaze inward and watch your breath.”

Pay special attention to the space at the end of each inhale and exhale while relaxing your shoulders and facial muscles. Focus on your breathing, and after a while, that space between breaths should widen, meaning your breathing will slow to a calm and steady pace which Robold notes supports the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of our nervous system that keeps stress in check.

This exercise not only calms the physical symptoms of being overwhelmed and overstimulated (specifically calling out those repetitive department store Christmas tunes) but it also helps us live in the present—an important aspect of mindfulness and meditation.

“Our breath is always happening in the present moment,” says Tiffany Lenau, director of Yoga Roots and Healing Arts in Petoskey. “So it can be an anchor for us. In our lives, the only constant is change, and our breath is the only thing that won’t change. The quality of our breath can change and our awareness of it, but the simple fact that we are breathing won’t change.”

Looking Forward by Looking Inward

Reducing stress and anxiety isn’t the only goal we’re chasing. Setting intentions while practicing mindfulness is another way to grow in the New Year, and this can mean meditating on a word you want to align yourself with (like “joy” or “freedom”) or picturing something you want to work on (like curbing bedtime doom scrolling) while holding a favorite yoga pose.

As for intentions that veer towards finding companionship in 2024, Lenau shares some meditative advice that worked for her: “If you are looking for love, don’t look with your eyes. Sit in meditation and cultivate the feelings you want to feel with your partner. Safety, contentment, acceptance, grace—whatever you are looking for in your relationship, cultivate that in yourself. Then you will emulate those things and attract it to you.”

Pertinent to any practice, say our yogis, is consistency, which leads to the confidence boost that’s needed to pursue bigger-picture goals like, say, making the jump to a new career.

“The self-esteem and self-respect you gain from a yoga practice and the community of supportive, healthy people is the greatest gift,” says Lenau, who offers students both online and in-person classes from her Petoskey studio. “With this, you can more easily stick to resolutions, set healthy boundaries, or make positive changes in your life. Yoga gives us a foundation of self-respect and that foundation is a place to build other healthy positive habits.”

Building Strength, Inside and Out

For those resolutions that center on physical health, retired RN-turned-yoga-instructor Jan Boettcher says yoga can help folks incorporate more movement and strength building into their routines.

“Moving is so important to keep our joints healthy, to keep our bodies healthy, and we do that in yoga,” she says.

And, as cold and flu season continues, Boettcher says that engaging in movement and mindfulness supports our immune systems by using the same breathwork mentioned by Robold and Lenau. “When we are stressed, when we are anxious, our breath is very shallow. When that happens, we really are decreasing our immunity and our overall health response.”

As the owner of Elk Rapids Yoga Flow, Boettcher’s advice to newbies is to study class descriptions to find the one that best resonates with their intentions. So, to strengthen cardio stamina, a combination yoga/high intensity interval training (HIIT) class could be the perfect fit. Hoping to catch more Z’s in the New Year? Try a slow-paced, restorative class that integrates yoga and the calming effects of guided meditation.

“Also, try different teachers,” suggests Boettcher. “Because you may feel this real connection to a certain teacher that is teaching the same class as another teacher, but you just have that connection.”

A Practice of Acceptance, Not Perfection

As much as the well-marketed idea of “New Year, New You” can be a catalyst for positive future changes, Lenau emphasizes that focusing too much on what’s ahead, or on what could be, is a risk to current contentment.

“Joy happens in the present moment. If we want to enjoy life, we must be present. It takes some practice in mindfulness to live in the present moment.” In fact, she says, “It might take a lifetime of practice, and the practice itself is moment to moment.”

If chasing resolutions seems altogether contradictory to the meditative principles of living in the present moment, that’s because it can be, especially if those resolutions aren’t paired with self-love and acceptance—foundational philosophies of mindfulness—and some flexibility along the way.

“Try not to get glued to your projected outcome if circumstances or intuition invite you to reshape your goals,” reminds Robold.

Boettcher echoes this: “Being accepting of yourself is the most important part, because if you get discouraged with your [resolution] progress, then that’s not going to be helpful… You have to be very accepting and loving with your whole pathway as you move towards this resolution or goal.”

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