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Manifesting, experts say, isn’t just about vision boards or positive thinking. It starts with reflection. Many yoga instructors encourage people to get grounded, look back on the year they had and release the guilt that often comes with feeling like they didn’t do enough.
Maybe you weren’t as productive as you wanted to be. Maybe you spent the year simply trying to get through it, and that’s OK. Others may realize they actually accomplished a great deal — they just haven’t taken the time to pause and recognize how far they’ve come.
Kelli Biehle, owner and instructor at Granville Yoga, said checking in with yourself is essential before setting intentions for the year ahead.
Instead of judging the past, she encourages reframing it — viewing experiences and accomplishments as information. Rather than focusing only on what you want to achieve, she suggests asking yourself what you want to feel more of in the new year.
“We’re go, go, go, and we’re always looking for that next thing, right? We’re trying to get to the next career goal or whatever,” Biehle said. “Our tagline of the studio is listen to your body to hear what’s on your mind that like, feel that like your body knows. Your body knows already. You just have to slow down enough to like, actually take stock and see what it’s trying to tell you.”
She said awareness is a critical first step. From there, manifestation begins with gratitude — intentionally acknowledging the people and moments you’re thankful for.
Biehle recommends starting with reflection and release: looking back on the past year with gratitude while letting go of what no longer serves you. From there, she suggests clarifying intentions in areas like health, career, and relationships — being specific about what you want, such as financial security rather than simply “more money.”
Visualization is another key step. Closing your eyes and imagining yourself living your goals — and allowing yourself to feel the emotions associated with achieving them — can help make those goals feel more tangible. Using present-tense affirmations, such as “I am healthy” or “I love my body,” can also help train the mind to believe change is possible.
Finally, she emphasizes taking action by breaking big goals into smaller, achievable steps for the first few months of the year.
One practical tool Biehle recommends is journaling to help process the past year. She suggests writing about what did and didn’t serve you — and why — focusing especially on how certain situations made you feel.
She also encourages answering the question, “What would it take?” For example: What would it take to start a business? To become a yoga teacher? To go back to college?
Another exercise is writing down what excites you, then repeatedly asking yourself why — digging deeper each time. The final step is defining what success looks like for you personally, and understanding why it matters.
“Sometimes I think that we get really focused on goals and we get really focused on this outer version of success. And I think as a whole society, we would really benefit a lot from thinking about what types of success we want and what actually makes us be like a successful human being, not a human doer,” Biehle said.
For those who don’t enjoy journaling, Biehle said writing notes in a phone or even talking things out loud can be just as effective. The key, she said, is getting thoughts out of your head and into conscious awareness.
“Sometimes stillness isn’t really possible, you know, just for life reasons and so it can also look like these times of reflection can look like not putting in your earbuds for the first ten minutes of your walk, or the first ten minutes on the, the bike, whatever it is,” Biehle said. “It looks different and the idea of just finding some time to reflect is what is important here.”
Above all, she reminds people to be kind to themselves. Growth and success look different for everyone, and progress isn’t about rushing to a destination — it’s about honoring the journey along the way.
For more information about Granville Yoga and new year yoga classes, click here.
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Taylor Bruck
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