A Note on the Word Sankalpa

In Sanskrit, words are rarely one-dimensional. They are not meant to be reduced to a single translation, but to be understood through relationship, context, and lived experience.

The term sankalpa is often translated simply as “intention,” but its meaning is more nuanced.

It is commonly understood as arising from two roots:

• sam — meaning together, with, or fully

• kalpa — meaning to shape, form, or bring into being

Taken together, sankalpa points toward a unified or coherent forming… a resolve that gathers the mind, heart, and direction of practice into alignment.

This is why sankalpa is not a wish, affirmation, or personal preference. It is not about declaring what you want from practice. It is about how you are orienting yourself within it.

Understanding words in this way was an important part of my own journey. Seeing how terms relate to one another (how meaning unfolds rather than fixes itself) helped me recognize that yoga itself is not a system of rigid definitions, but a living inquiry into how experience is organized and understood.

In this sense, sankalpa is not something you “set” once and carry forward unchanged. It is something that matures as clarity deepens. As attention becomes steadier, intention naturally refines itself.

Sankalpa, then, is not about controlling the path. It is about aligning with it.

Why This Matters

Approaching Sanskrit in this way mirrors the practice itself.

When words are treated as absolute or final, the mind grasps.
When words are understood as pointers, the mind relaxes.

Yoga asks for the same discernment.

Sankalpa does not narrow you.
It gathers you.