Detox, Renew… and Why January Isn’t the Real New Year
- Marica C
- Jan 18
- 3 min read
I’ve never been great at New Year resolutions.
Actually, let me rephrase that. I’ve been very good at making them. Less good at keeping them.
And the older I get, the more I question the whole January rush to reinvent ourselves.
At the Detox & Renew workshop on Saturday 17th January, I shared a different perspective. One that comes from yoga, but also from simply paying attention to life.
Resolutions vs intention (why yoga does things differently)
In yoga, we don’t really talk about resolutions.
Instead, we work with something called a sankalpa.
A sankalpa isn’t a goal to achieve. It’s not future-focused, outcome-driven, or rooted in the idea that something is wrong and needs fixing.
It’s more like an inner direction.
Think of it as how you want to live your life, rather than what you want to change about yourself.
So this isn’t a “new year, new me” moment. It’s more of a same me, clearer direction moment.
A sankalpa is short, simple, and in the present tense. It’s about being, not doing.
It can be as simple as: I am calm; I feel grounded; I am safe; I am strong; I am enough...
And once it’s set, we don’t cling to it.
We let the practice do the work.
I often describe it as a seed.
You don’t shout at a seed to grow.
You water it, consistently, and you trust the process. So we practice, consistently to let it grow.
“The mind is steadied through practice and non-attachment.” Yoga Sutra 1.12
We set the intention, we do the work, then we loosen our grip.
Timing matters more than effort
In yoga, when you plant the seed matters just as much as what the seed is.
We don’t plant it when the mind is busy and the body is tense. We plant it when things begin to soften.
That’s where detox comes in.
And again, the meaning of this word is a bit different in yoga. It is not about eliminating in a punishing, restrictive way.
Detox in yoga is about creating space. About removing the unnecessary.
It’s not about deprivation. It’s about letting the nervous system unclutter.
Through movement, breath, repetition… we clear a little space. And when the system is quieter, the seed lands more easily.
That’s why, in practice, we move, we breathe, we show up consistently.
At the beginning, you might choose the seed. At the end, you place it in the soil. And in between, we do what yoga does best: practice, listen, and let go.
This is the kind of work we explore on the mat. Join us.
A small rebellion: January is not the real new year!
Here’s my slightly rebellious thought.
If we really want guidance on renewal, we should stop looking at calendars and start looking at nature.
Nothing in nature wakes up in January and says, Right, time to bloom.
January is quiet. Dark. Inward. It’s winter. The real new year, to me, is spring.
Around the spring equinox, when light returns, energy rises, and things naturally want to grow.
That’s when seeds sprout.
That’s when momentum makes sense.
So maybe January isn’t for big plans and pressure.
Maybe it’s for clearing space. Resting. Listening.
And letting something gently take shape… in its own time.
It's not about becoming something new
So this isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s not about fixing yourself.
It’s about creating enough space for what is already there…and letting it grow.
That feels like a much kinder way to begin. Happy Non-New Year :)
Want to explore this further?
On Saturday 8th March, just as we move closer to the spring equinox, I’ll be co-teaching a new menopause yoga workshop focused on clarity and focus, together with somatic coach Anna Coscia.
It’s a time when energy begins to rise, light returns, and things naturally start to awaken. A perfect moment to explore clarity from the inside out, through movement, breath, and somatic practices.
Comments