The practice of yoga extends well beyond the mat. In fact, the true challenge and beauty of yoga is to allow it to permeate and inform every area of our lives.

On our mats, we’ve been trained to link our movement with breath, align our bodies with our purpose, and as a result, we’re able to move our bodies into amazingly beautiful, challenging poses. Well, that very same purposeful dedication can be applied to your life off-the-mat in order to manifest the life of your dreams.

You’ve likely heard the term “vision board,” thanks to Miss Oprah who popularized the concept a few years back, and perhaps dismissed it as a silly exercise. But, creating a dream board, filled with your highest hopes and wishes for not only you and your family, but for the world, is nothing to scoff at.

With the fresh start of spring, new energy all around and things literally springing to life, it’s a wonderful time to take stock in what truly matters to us and think about what we wish to create, do, see and experience in this life. Then, it’s just a matter of building a visual reminder to set us on the path towards achieving it!

The power of intention is remarkable, and it’s something I teach not only in the yoga studio but also to my yoga teacher clients who are looking to build a business doing what they love most. If you want to manifest the life you’ve always dreamed up, the first step is intending it to be so.

A vision board is simply a tool of intention. Just the way we seal in our dedication in yoga class by Om-ing with our hands in anjali mudra, we can set an intention for the direction of our lives and what we draw into them with a visual representation of our highest goals.

Furthermore, creating a vision board or dream board is both fun and easy and is a great project to do with family members, friends or even your kids.

Below is a simple outline which explains how to build a vision board and what to include.

Write It Out

First off,  we need to make a list of our dreams, goals, wishes and desires. Have fun with this, and list anything from the material (“I would like a pair of hot pink yoga pants”) to the grandiose (“I would like to see more compassion in my world”). Write down anything and everything that pops to mind—no judgment! And remember, this process should be fun and uplifting, so if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, take a break from writing and come back to it a little later.

Find Visuals

Now it’s time to bring that list to life! Page through some magazines, catalogs, and check online for images, pictures, and quotes that visually represent your desires. Now, we needn’t have a visual for everything on our list, but when a picture “speaks” to you, or you find a poem or mantra that embodies your dream of world-wide compassion, cut it out for the board. Okay, now that we have a stockpile of lovely images, it’s time to assemble our masterpiece!

Put Them On Display

Lay out the images, without pasting them down (for now). Take time to find a pleasing arrangement, then, tack, tape or paste all of the cut-outs onto the board (a 16 by 20 inch piece of poster board or cork board will work nicely). Then, hang or prop your vision board in a spot that you’ll see each and every day! Having a daily visual reminder of our hopes and dreams will plant seeds for attaining and acquiring them. So cool!

Revise

This is an important step as we’re constantly evolving! Every 6 to 12 months, we need to take an hour or two to really examine our boards and our lists (which I like to tape to the back of my board). Did you magically receive a pair of hot pink yoga pants on your birthday from a friend you hadn’t seen in ages?! Take any images down that have been fulfilled, change the ones that need changing because they no longer speak to you, and then add a few new pictures to the board to represent new things that you’re hoping to draw into your life.

It never ceases to amaze me how many miraculous things have appeared in my life after including them on my board!

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Editor: Travis May

Photo: Pixoto