Cultivate a Spiritual Space for Manifestation Through Yoga

As we approach the year’s final months, we begin to envision who we want to be in the year ahead. We often think of resolutions to reach while forgetting the root of our goals – ourselves. Many of us have begun to practice manifestation to help better actualize our dreams. Setting positive intentions and finding our affirmations are two essential steps before manifesting what we desire. These, in addition to another practice that touches our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health – yoga.

When we practice yoga, we allow ourselves to check in and acknowledge the present, Kassandra Reinhardt, founder of Yoga with Kassandra, tells rē•spin. 

Sankalpa – the Sanskrit word for intention – is at the root and foundation of our yoga practices. When we practice with a Sankalpa in mind, it can help guide our meditation into a prayer. It allows us to remain connected to our vision while creating the ideal psychological environment when we practice manifestation. Reinhardt explains, “If manifestation relies on clarity of thought, yoga can help us hone in on this through mindfulness and sustained focus.”

“Every action begins with a thought and intention setting is at the root of all manifestations,” she adds. “If we can define what we long for, we can focus our attention on it and redirect thoughts that are counterintuitive towards pursuing this goal.”

As a fitness practice, yoga is often used to help our physical health by making us stronger and more flexible and improving balance and coordination. When practiced regularly, yoga’s benefits extend to our connective tissues and joints to improve our mobility, a necessity for healthy aging. But beyond the vast physical benefits yoga can provide, Reinhardt emphasizes its profound impacts on our emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, too.

“When we release physical tension from the body, it becomes easier to access and release mental and emotional tension as well,” she explains. “When we practice mindfully, we come face to face with our current state of being. We can move stagnant energy and process thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that might no longer be serving us.”

Yoga poses are also at the center of helping us balance our energy, in addition to strengthening our vessels, Reinhardt explains. To help us regulate our nervous system – which is necessary to navigate our emotions and manage anxiety and stress – we can leverage tools including pranayama – or breath control –  and dhyana, which means meditation.

Even if you’re practicing yoga regularly today, it’s a routine that can constantly be elevated by other factors for a spiritual lift. Because yoga is a spiritual practice and philosophy, Reinhardt emphasizes that most work will happen internally through svādhyāya, which means self-study. To continue to enhance this internal connection, she adds that literature is just one means of elevating your yoga practice, including reading some of yoga’s sacred texts such as “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.”

Reinhardt also shares that closing your eyes while you flow can help enhance your practice by allowing you to rē-discover poses and challenge you to connect with your breath and feel your body. And, if weather permits, practicing outdoors can boost your spirit, deepen your connection to nature, and rē-vitalizes the body and mind.  

Beyond the physical act of yoga, Reinhardt also encourages carving time out to journal at the end of each day. This process keeps us out of autopilot mode and allows us instead to process what happened that day and reflect on what matters the most to us and what we can continue to prioritize throughout the year. She explains, “When it comes to being my best self, yoga, affirmations, and journaling are my most important and meaningful practices.”