A brief guide using Yamas and Niyamas to create gentler, more flexible New Year's Resolutions this year, and give yourself room to grow and explore.

The New Year is traditionally a time for taking stock and starting fresh. Consider using Patanjali's Yamas and Niyamas to guide your list of resolutions this year.

Remember Ahimsa - Do No Harm

Year after year, it’s the same old saw: lose weight, quit smoking, stop eating junk food, watch less TV. Aren’t you being a little hard on yourself?

The very first and most important Yama is Ahimsa. This principle of non-harming applies to the way you judge yourself, and to the way you send messages to your subconscious.

Try to think of positive, affirmative goals for the year ahead. Instead of laboriously listing off habits you'd like to break, try to think of habits you'd like to replace them with: drink more water, take up jogging, join a book club.

It is important to recognize how powerful intentions are, the subconscious hears what we say, and takes us seriously. Whatever you send out into the universe as a desire, you will be able to make manifest as the year proceeds.

Use Satya to Take Stock

Take some time to practice Satya – and tell yourself the truth about where you really stand.

• What are your values?
• Your short and long term goals?
• Is it time to revise your Mission Statement?

A look at the bigger picture can give you perspective on the year ahead, and the things you'd like to accomplish.

While you're being completely honest with yourself, this is also a good time to look back and assess your accomplishments from the previous year. This might give you a good guide as to what is "reasonable" to expect from yourself in the year ahead.

Santosha - Say Good-Bye to Yesterday

Let that final assessment of the previous year be an exercise of letting it go.

You might journal about it, meditate on it, or create a little personal ritual (e.g. writing a letter to you yourself, and then burning it, letting the year blow away in the smoke and ash) to better visualize letting it go completely.

Contentment is the lesson of the Niyama Santosha, and this teaches students to be happy with who they are, where they are, right now.

Let this time of annual renewal help you to renew your spirit.

Aparigraha - Pack Light

Anyone who has traveled abroad knows the axiom. No one lugs a suitcase or backpack around thinking “Gosh, I wish I’d packed more stuff.”

With experience, travelers learn to pack the same wrinkle-free black skirt that can move from day into evening with the purchase of a beautiful scarf (and what better souvenir?). Paring down to the absolute essentials makes the luggage lighter, and leaves more room for creativity as you pick things up along the way.

The same principle can apply to New Year’s Resolutions. The Yama Aparigraha teaches students to recognize when "enough is enough". If your resolution list is short, and filled with smart, versatile items, you leave yourself room to grow and change shape throughout the course of the year.