San = truth Kalpa = vow

Sankalpa is one of the defining tools within the practice of Yoga Nidra. We use a Sankalpa to repattern and reprogramme the mind. One of the most important things to remember when practicing Yoga Nidra is that you are already perfect, you are already whole. You are everything and nothing at the same time and are pulsing with polarities.

Sankalpa is placed twice in the Yoga Nidra script. The first placement is to bring the statement front-and-centre into your experience before we surrender the intellect. The second placement comes at the end when the bliss body is centred and you are beyond your patterned, conditioned mind. It is here you can affect the underlying energy of your life and have the potential to experience miraculous healing, sudden remission of a limiting belief, or welcome an aspect of your potential to life.

Sankalpa is a vow. It resembles an intention, but it is so much more because you are more suggestible where you use it in the practice. It is a resolve to create a difference in your lived experience. According to our teacher Jana Roemer, there are two main ways to use Sankalpa:

1. To transform a limiting belief into a liberating belief.

2. To plant seeds of intention of something you want to create.

It is most potent to have a short, concise Sankalpa. Create a statement that includes the personal pronoun “I” and very little after that. For example: I am worthy.

It is also helpful to use the present tense and positive language. For example: I am calm and peaceful.