Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

This month at Arogya we’re celebrating the incredible ability we have to create positive change in our lives by upholding tangible resolutions.  It’s through this resolve that we can begin to dissolve old, less productive habits and create lasting transformation in our lives.

Though ancient calendar systems varied from culture to culture, the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions has a deep, widespread history.  Did you know the first known New Year’s Resolutions were made about 4,000 years ago by the Babylonians in Mesopotamia? The Romans, whose calendar closely resembled the Gregorian one we use today, would make promises of self-improvement to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named after. In Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions.  His appearance is quite symbolic – he has two faces, one looking into the past and the other into the future.  How we shape our future is so dependent on our ability to accept and find resolve with our past.  This is also essential for more fully embracing the present moment.

So, we invite you to give yourself some time this week to think about what you’d like to achieve in this New Year.

What changes do you want to make in your life?

What are the things you don’t really need?

You can take these questions with you on a quiet walk or sit with them in meditation.  If journaling is a practice you enjoy, feel free to write down your thoughts.

Next, take action!

Think about small steps you can take this week to start creating change.  De-clutter your closet, desk or pantry.  Initiate a conversation to resolve an outstanding conflict with a friend or loved one.  Give yourself permission to resume a hobby you truly love and miss.

Honor that the only way to let go of the old is by consciously making room for the new.  Believe in your ability to create change in your life, one step at a time.