Sankalpa: Why Intentions Often Fail — and What Yoga Has Always Known

🎙️ Show Notes 

Keywords

Sankalpa, intentions, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, subconscious mind, habits, self-worth, alignment, personal transformation, mindfulness, Yoga Nidra

Summary

In this episode, Katja Patel explores Sankalpa, an ancient yogic practice often misunderstood as simple intention-setting. Drawing from yoga tradition, lived experience, and modern understanding of the subconscious mind, she explains why so many intentions fail — and how Sankalpa works differently.

Rather than forcing change, Sankalpa reveals the habits, beliefs, and inner patterns that shape our behaviour. When practised with honesty and patience, it becomes a bridge toward real alignment — and eventually, something that can be let go of once it has done its work.

Key Takeaways

• Sankalpa is not a goal or wish, but a deep inner commitment
• Many intentions fail because they don’t address subconscious conditioning
• Sankalpa works by revealing resistance, not overriding it
• Resistance, doubt, and fear are signs the practice is reaching depth
• Sankalpa is formulated positively and in the present tense — not to pretend, but to speak to the subconscious mind
• Change happens through repetition, safety, and awareness, not force
• Sankalpa is a temporary bridge: once behaviour changes, it can rest
• True transformation is about alignment, not self-improvement

Episode Titles

 Sankalpa: Why Intentions Often Fail — and What Yoga Has Always Known

Alternatives:

• Beyond Intentions: The Deeper Practice of Sankalpa
• Sankalpa and the Subconscious: Why Change Can’t Be Forced
• When Intentions Fail: A Yogic View on Sankalpa

Sound Bites / Pull Quotes

• “This is just how I am — that’s not truth, that’s conditioning.”
• “Sankalpa doesn’t override resistance. It reveals it.”
• “Sankalpa isn’t about becoming someone else — it’s about stopping living against yourself.”
• “Once behaviour changes, Sankalpa has done its work.”

Chapters

00:00 — Why intentions so often fail
 04:03 — Habits, conditioning, and the subconscious mind
 08:38 — What Sankalpa really is (and isn’t)
 13:04 — Resistance as part of the path
 17:20 — Sankalpa as a bridge — and when it can rest
 20:30 — Integration and gentle reflection practice

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Transcript

Katja Patel (00:00)
Hello and welcome back to Rooted in the Seasons where ancient wisdom meets modern life with a strong cup of tea and

practical tools for real busy women. I'm Katja Patel Ayurvedic, diet and lifestyle educator, yoga teacher, teacher mentor. I help women find more calm and clarity through small daily rituals, seasonal rhythm and

timeless wisdom that actually fits into real life.

In today's episode I'm talking about one of my favourites the Sankalpa often translated as intentions but is it really the same? So let's dive in. At the beginning of the year we often feel this pull to set new intentions.

It's almost a ritual in itself. We decide to stop smoking, eat healthier, exercise more. The gyms fill up in January and by February many of the classes are empty again.

And it's easy to think, well, that's just how it is. People try and then they stop. But I don't think that's the whole story. I think the real question is why do so many intentions not work in the first place? Most of our intentions are born out of habits.

habits that have been formed over years shaped by our working hours, our meals, our stress levels and the way we live our daily lives.

We eat lunch in front of a screen. We overide tiredness. We move quickly from one thing to the next. And at some point, those habits start to feel normal.

They feel like who we are. Once something becomes familiar, we repeat it. And the more we repeat it, the more comfortable it feels. Even if it's unhealthy or doesn't serve us.

So when we decide we want to change we mostly stay on the surface. I want to eat better. I want to have more energy. I want to feel less tired.

but we don't always look at what's actually underneath those wishes.

This is why we might be only successful for a few days or a couple of weeks until something happens and then we fall back into our old patterns.

And with that, another belief gets reinforced. This is just how I am. I can't be X, Y, Z. I'm not good. I'm not disciplined enough to do But that is a belief. It's not the truth. It's a conditioning. This is where the sankalpa comes in.

Sankalpa is an ancient concept in yoga.

The word Sankalpa already appears in the Vedas, composed several thousand years ago, where it referenced to a conscious resolve, often made in connection with a ritual action.

Then in the post Vedic period, particularly in the Upanishads, the emphasis begins to shift inwards. What was once primarily an outer declaration of intention becomes more closely linked to inner alignment and movement of consciousness.

Later yogic and tantric traditions continue this in return. Working with Sankalpa as a personal inner commitment rather than a formal ritual statement.

Sankalpa is not a goal, it's not a superficial wish, it is a commitment, almost like saying to life, this is where I am, this is what matters now. In my own yoga practice, Sankalpa was introduced in a very specific way. It had to be short,

positive, no ands or ores without I will or I'm going to but

formulated as if it is already true. At first that can feel strange. Why would I say something as if it's already happened when it clearly hasn't? But the Sankalpa isn't trying to convince the thinking mind. It works on the conditioned subconscious mind, the part shaped by repetition, habit,

and lived experience.

That part of the mind doesn't change through explanation or willpower. It changes the same way it was conditioned in the first place, through consistency, safety and felt truth. And this is why Sankalpa is often introduced in practices like Yoga Nidra, when a nervous system is calm,

and receptive.

not to force change, but to allow it.

What makes some kalpa different from ordinary intention setting is that it goes deeper. If we stay with the example of eating healthy and we keep asking why, why do I want to eat better?

because I always feel tired. Why am I tired? Because I'm not living in an energy efficient way. Why am I living that way? Because somewhere along the way

I stopped valuing myself enough. I feel I need to do XYZ to fit in or to be accepted. Now we're not longer talking about food. Now we're talking about self-worth and that's where a true Sankalpa forms

This Sankalpa is shaped carefully. As mentioned above, it's stated positively. It doesn't argue with the mind. It's phrased as it is present reality. Not because we're pretending, but because this kind of formulation speaks directly

to the subconscious. When we repeat a Sankalpa quietly, once in the morning, once in the evening for one minute, something interesting happens.

Resistance can show up. Fear can show up. Doubt can show up. And that's not a problem. On the contrary, this is a sign that this kalpa is reaching the right depth.

Because the Sankalpa doesn't override resistance, it reveals it. It makes us aware of what still needs to change or to be addressed. Not so that we can force ourselves forward, but so we can live in a way that actually supports who we want to become or what we want to call into our lives.

These days you often hear you need to live your goals

as if they have already come true. Be the person you want to become. Fake it until you make it.

There's a truth in this, but it's often misunderstood. Sankalpa was never about pretending or

performing a better version of yourself. It was about alignment. It asks the nervous system to notice, where does my life not yet match this truth?

and then it waits.

This is also where the Bhagavad Gita offers an important correction. In the Gita liberation doesn't come from fulfilling every wish. It comes when the mind no longer needs to project fulfillment into the future.

When all sankalpas or longings, wishes and mental projections fall quiet, freedom is revealed. So this sankalpa is not meant to be

practised forever.

It's a skillful means, a bridge. We use sankalpa while we're still behaving in the old ways, even when we know they don't really serve us anymore. Once your behaviour changes, once you've become that person in real life, the sankalpa has done what it needs to do.

A scary sankalpa is often a good one because it usually touches something real.

something that matters.

something close to the heart's true desire. Not a wish to become someone else, but a willingness to stop living against ourselves.

Sankalpa doesn't force transformation. It patiently re-educates the subconscious mind. Not by pressure. Not by pretending.

but by repetition, honesty and presence.

until behaviour, identity and inner truth slowly begin to match. And when that happens, the need for sankalpa itself begins to dissolve.

Okay let's recap the essence because we covered quite a lot. So when intentions fail it's usually not because we lack discipline it's because we are trying to change behaviour without addressing the condition.

the conditioning underneath it. The Sankalpa works differently. It meets the subconscious mind where habits are formed.

It reveals resistance instead of fighting it. And it stays with us only as long as we're still living from old patterns. Once behaviour changes, the Sankalpa has done its work.

Katja Patel (13:59)
So maybe the Sankalpa isn't about setting better intentions. Maybe it's about listening more honestly,

listening to the habits we've been living from, listening to the resistance that shows us where change is still needed and listening to what really matters underneath our wishes. If you're curious about working with Sankalpa I wouldn't start by trying to phrase one straight away.

Instead, start by noticing patterns. Over the next few days, observe where you keep repeating the same behaviors, especially the ones that leave you tired, frustrated or feel disconnected. You might find it helpful to write this down.

not to analyse it but to see it more clearly. When you notice a pattern ask yourself why do I want this to be different?

and then again ask the why and maybe again not to force an answer but to let the deeper reason reveal itself just as we did earlier with the eating example

very often what we think isn't the real wish and what's underneath is something much more honest. That process of noticing, asking the why and staying with what comes up is already part of the Sankalpa practice. Sankalpa isn't something to rush into.

It reveals itself when we listen long enough.

Katja Patel (16:07)
Thank you so much for listening to Rooted in the Seasons. If you enjoyed this episode, can subscribe or follow Rooted in the Seasons on Spotify or Apple Podcast. That way, new episodes land automatically for you.

If you'd like more support between episodes, can download my free guide, my five quick Ayurvedic fixes to move from scattered to steady and join my Sunday read newsletter. You'll find all the links in the show notes. If something in today's episode resonated, I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

You can connect with me on Substack or even better, send me an email. I always read and reply to them. Until next time, stay rooted in the seasons. Bye bye.