Time to Bin Those New Year’s Resolutions?

Transform Your Life with Year-Round Meditation Questions - By Jilly Shipway

Reading time: 4 minutes

New Year's resolutions are so last year! Or at least that's what online influencers all seem to be shouting in a chorus of disapproval, issuing stark warning of the dangers of making those January resolutions. As a partially reformed, indefatigable self-improver, I can see their point. However, I also understand why people make New Year resolutions and their desire to start anew and steer their lives in a more positive direction.

Since I've been working with Seasonal Meditation Questions my need to make New Year's resolutions seems to have just slipped away. By working with the meditation questions, you become your own year-round life coach. Each set of seasonal questions encourages you to review all aspects of your life, including relationships, work (or study/home management), self-care, and community or environmental involvement.

So, if you're struggling to stick to your resolutions, consider binning them, and resolve to start afresh working with Seasonal Meditation Questions.
We use the meditation questions every six weeks or so to correspond with the solstices, equinoxes, and seasonal transition points.

The questions are a series of open inquiries that will help you do the following:

Connect with the season you are in.
Reflect on how you wish to use your energy and set your intentions for the coming season.
Look back over the previous season, celebrating your successes and learning from the seeds that failed to germinate.
Know when the is best time to plant seeds of intention, giving them the best chance of growing and blossoming.
Learn how to align your own energy with the prevalent energy of the season and know which time favours contemplation or action. Use your knowledge of the seasonal energy to balance periods of activity and rest.
The meditation questions combined with a meditative approach will give you access to the deep wisdom of your subconscious mind.

The meditation questions for each season in my Yoga Through the Year book have been devised so that you can either devote a lot of time to them or very little. If you are short of time, there are a few quick and easy ways of working with the questions. Simply read the meditation questions through before you go to bed and trust that your subconscious and universal conscious will come up with answers to the questions.

You might also integrate one of the questions into an activity that you are doing anyway, such as walking to your car, walking along a corridor at work, exercising at the gym, jogging, showering, and so on.

If you have 10 to 30 minutes available, then the seasonal meditation questions can be used in yoga sessions, sitting meditations, writing meditations, informal walking meditations, and formal walking meditations.

Now, let’s look at some seasonal meditation questions that are perfect for banishing those January blues.

Winter to Spring Meditation Questions

Imbolc is the Celtic Wheel of the Year festival that celebrates the Earth’s transition from winter to spring. The Imbolc Meditation Questions below are from my Yoga Through the Year book, and they are designed to be used any time from around the end of January to mid-February in the Northern Hemisphere, and from around the end of July to mid-August in the Southern Hemisphere.

Nature is coming back to life after her winter sleep. What signs have I noticed of green shoots in my life?
This is the start of the growing season; whatever is set in motion now will expand and grow. What do I wish to grow more of in my life?
Which projects do I wish to prioritise, in order that they might have the best chance of coming to fruition over the next few months?
What actions will I need to take to ensure a successful outcome?
How can I connect and collaborate with others to ensure the success of each venture?
What will my spiritual focus for the year be?
Which values will guide my actions over the coming months?
How will I stay in touch with my inner wisdom whilst taking outward action?
What do I wish to grow in my relationships? What are the seeds of love that I will be planting out?

You'll find a full set of Imbolc Meditation Questions in the Winter to Spring chapter of my Yoga Through the Year book. You can also download a free Introduction to Seasonal Yoga on my online teaching platform:

The Seasonal Meditation Questions are a simple, accessible way of finding balance in your yoga practice and your life by connecting with nature and the cycle of the seasons. They will help you work with the prevalent energy of each season and develop an authentic practice that makes you happier and healthier. And that’s a great way to start the New Year!