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This lull between Christmas and New Years always gets people thinking about resolutions and what they want different in their life by the next time they clink champagne glasses.

It’s good to set aside a little time to think about such things. Otherwise we would only let change run us over. But this year I’m taking a slightly different approach.

Just like setting an intention at the beginning of a yoga class, I’m deciding on an intention for 2011. Then it’s not about goals of keeping up my daily yoga practice or crossing something off a list. But I do love lists.

I see this as something broad reaching – like compassion, kindness or joy.

“You set your intentions based on understanding what matters most to you and make a commitment to align your worldly actions with your inner values,” meditation teacher Phillip Moffitt wrote in a Yoga Journal column about Buddhism and intentions.

In the last few years, Bhutan has become known as the center of happiness. The government has a happiness index. So it’s not just looking at how something affects the economy of a country, but how does something affect the happiness of Bhutan’s residents.

What if you started considering that with every day activities? Which will bring more joy into my life, a new Coach bag or going on a yoga retreat?

Setting an annual intention is like that. Bringing this thought into daily decisions. Of course I’ll have to remind myself of that intention from time to time. That’s just how it works.

I could set goals within my intention if I want to. If my goal is positivity, does that mean limiting time with someone who is always an Eeyore. Or if my goal is joy, do I volunteer or join a group to socialize more.

Without the set marker there isn’t success or failure. It’s up to me how much or how little I bring that intention into my life. So in 2012 I won’t be thinking about all those failed 2011 resolutions.

Stuttgart, Germany, Christmas market By Sonja Bjelland

This Christmas I didn’t ask for much.

My family has already given so much for me to be where I am.

Christmas gifts have gotten me here.

The camera that takes the photos. The laptop I post with.

At different times, both were wrapped and under the tree.

These gifts have given me a way to start a new business and change my life.

No gift can be larger.

Such presents only solidified my belief in the spirit of Christmas. That good can come out of the over-hyped, commercialized whatnot that so many people complain about.

A friend of mine wrote today about a blogger who started a small personal campaign. As people joined, more than $40,000 went to families in need.

Ornament purchased in France By Sonja Bjelland

Tonight, I watched Miracle on 34^th Street. The story of a single mom working a high-level job trying to teach her daughter what a hard world it is still resonates today. Amazing it was released in 1947.

While in that film Santa may not have been able to buy the house the little girl wanted, he was able to help point the way.

Sometimes the gift that helps a person change their life may be one item, or maybe the encouraging words to make that dream a reality.

Snow has pummeled Europe since I arrived.

Snowy Heidelberg, Germany, By Sonja Bjelland

After months in sweat-drenching India, it has taken awhile to adjust.

To find my way back to warmth and sweat, I headed to a yoga class in Heidelberg.

The Plöck near Germany’s oldest university is dotted with Indian restaurants and bars typical to any college district. Tucked in the classic architecture rebuilt after WWII is Pure Pilates and Power Yoga.

Friendly and warm, the place has a large Pilates studio and a small yoga room as well as a changing room so I wouldn’t have had to freeze in my yoga pants. Much of the staff speaks English and helped me figure everything out.

The website is only in German but its easy enough to understand that kurse is courses and the labels are all familiar words – power vinyasa, Pilates basic.

Rolling out my mat at Friday’s Ashtanga class, I felt at home. And I was toasty warm by the radiator.

The sun salutations sent me back to India. Lunge, plank, downward dog, lunge.

I couldn’t understand the instructor but watched the other people in class. Occasionally, I could catch the Sanskrit names such as utkatasana, or chair pose, through the German accent.

Pyramid in Heidelberg, Germany, By Sonja Bjelland

He corrected my postures and did his best to help me get into lotus pose during a shoulder stand. That didn’t happen but with his assistance, I did manage a pretty good headstand.

As the poses became more and more complex, I saw the woman next to me becoming frustrated that she wasn’t able to sit in lotus pose and put her arms through the pretzel shapes. I’d never seen anyone do that in class and the thought of me doing so just made me laugh. I could imagine the chuckles in most American classes if the teacher suggested such a pose. But my fellow classmates were taking everything über seriously.

One woman appeared to have a ballet background and could do all sorts of impressive poses. Such as the arms-through-the-pretzel pose. Some of the class just looked at her with what I interpreted to be envy.

I just smiled in amazement. I wanted to tell the others in the class to smile as well. For me yoga is stress relief, not stress inducing.

I thought back to one of my instructors in India who repeated throughout every class to smile, and carry to it with you all day.

By the way, this is post 100. I should try another headstand to celebrate.

One of my favorite things about giving gifts is finding something you know someone will really use.

Even if I’m picking up gifts from an open-air market in India, I still want it to be something I think the person would wear or otherwise use.

So what will a traveling yogi really need?

First check out my What to pack? page for a few basic ideas of what he or she will need.

If they’re heading to India for serious yoga study, it’s helpful to know the Sanskrit words for yoga poses. The Language of Yoga: Complete A to Y Guide to Asana Names, Sanskrit Terms, and Chants gives exactly what it says. This will explain some of the chants common in yoga houses and a little translation help for the yoga poses.

Yoga teacher training, local or abroad, requires a good thick mat. Four to five weeks on a thin travel mat will just not work. If your yogi does sweat-inducing Bikram or Ashtanga yoga, they might also want a yoga towel, which keeps you from slipping on your mat.

With a yoga mat you probably need a yoga bag. This is nice to have at ashrams because you can have your mat, Kleenex and notebook all together.

As always for a yogi, gift certificates to a favorite studio are also good. Not sure which studio or if they travel frequently, Passport to Prana is a multi-studio pass good in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Colorado Springs Gazette featured a column this week with several good ideas from going to class with your yogi to paying for a private yoga session.

Then there’s the amusing creations people come up with that are just fun. This sock-monkey Shiva ornament struck my fancy.

But what a yogi would probably like best is for you to give to someone else.

Cathedral in Speyer, Germany By Sonja Bjelland

I’m taking a break from traveling in Asia to spend the holidays in Europe.

It’s about the opposite of my yoga austerities.

Wine, Christmas markets and chocolate are all about indulgences.

Mistletoe hangs from trees like ornaments and snow blankets the mountain-scapes.

My body has craved yoga so I’ve managed to keep up some of my practice. It’s not been the 4 hours a day I used to devote. However, I’m starting to think I definitely need a more active practice. My body contains more energy than I can expend working on xhtml code and writing essays and travel stories.

It’s also the holidays. That means spreading joy – decorating, music, baking.

Usually, I would have a baking party with my friends, again with the music and a whole lot of butter. That would only be topped by my annual party where my guests would eat the various concoctions that butter and sugar can form.

For me, baking has it’s own yogic qualities.

I grew up in one of those Garrison Keillor-envisioned Midwestern homes where cookie baking was a priority at the holidays. My Grandmothers took it to levels of martyrdom. Hundreds of cookies came out of their kitchens. Kringle, pizzelles, butterballs, peppermint pinwheels, eggnog logs, truffles, meringues, caterpillars, thumbprints, pecan tassies.

The list goes on.

In creating my own Christmas traditions, I focused on making my favorite cookies and a few special requests. I wanted a balance. Nothing as time consuming as some of the delicate delights of days past but enough yumminess to spread joy, for myself and to others.

Now how on earth does this tie back to yoga?

Well, I do yoga for myself. My body tells me when I could really use a few more sun salutations. This time of year my body tells me I need to bake. To fill the house with cinnamon, allspice and cardamom.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Yoga Journal recently carried an article on the Meditation of Baking and it’s been addressed by blogs for years.

Snowy roads in Germany By Sonja Bjelland

It takes concentration and mindfulness and that’s what the meditation aspect of yoga is all about.

And when it’s all over, I get to spread the joy of what I’ve created. But you can only spread joy if you have joy within to spread.

When we focus on bringing joy to our lives, than we see more joy around us.

I can bake a few cookies and, as long as they’re edible, that will make someone happy.

I’ve already been inspired to make cranberry-oatmeal muffins. But now it’s on to cookies. At least a few.

I’m off to Thailand a month from today so I have been looking at some of the yoga options I may have there.

Now some of you may say, Thailand? For yoga?

But yes, it’s hugely popular. One woman I met in India said the classes were even better in Thailand.

If some of what I’ve been reading online is any indication it should at least be fun.

An article from The Sidney Morning Herald lists several places in Thailand from seaside meditation to elephant yoga. Um, what? Yes, this may be more difficult than the paddleboarding yoga I wrote about awhile back.

“Yoga poses are practised while seated on the elephant’s back, followed by a full yoga session in the jungle and a massage,” the article stated about the session at Anantara Golden Triangle Resort and Spa.

If I get a chance to do this I hope the video is working on my camera because it could be tremendously funny. Maybe more funny for you all than for me.

The possibilities are actually a little overwhelming. A Google search on “Thailand yoga” came back with more than 3 million hits.

Tons of yoga studios and resorts cover the beach towns and the mountains.

It’s going to take a lot of research to narrow down which ones I’ll be able to visit. Some reviews on TripAdvisor.com talk about sunset yoga on rooftops and yoga/scuba combos.

So much yoga. So little time.

India’s a difficult place to travel but also an incredible place to visit. A few tips can be the difference between starting your trip off with a lot of crazy or only a little crazy. After all, this is India – it will be crazy.

Men in line for a Hindu temple in Kanyakumari, India By Sonja Bjelland

1. Spend the first night in a nice hotel wherever you land. Jetlagged and tired you’ll be miserable sleeping on a wafer-thin mattress with bells waking you up before 6 a.m.

2. Research what you can. This is easier for Europeans than Americans because so many Europeans know someone who has been to India. Not so for Americans, but Yoga Journal has written extensively on the topic. British newspapers such as The Guardian’s travel section and European travel publications are also great spot to find information on traveling in India.

3. Headlamp. The power goes out all the time and they’re not easy to find in India.

4. Don’t over do it. Western bodies aren’t used to sitting cross-legged for hours or contorting ourselves the same way. Don’t let the teacher push you in to some pose you know will only mess up your back in a mean, mean way.

5. Do some yoga before you go. No, it’s not likely you’ll be able to fit 4 hours of yoga into your day before you head out on an Indian yoga vacation. But you won’t want to start off cold. It’ll just hurt that much more.

6. Take the big bottle of Advil. See No. 5.

The Taj Mahal at sunrise By Sonja Bjelland

7. Learn the names for a few basic poses in Sanskrit. It’s the language of yoga and it will be much easier to understand what the teacher wants you to do if you know your tadasana from your savasana.

8. Plan a few trips out of the ashram. Either before or after your yoga time, take the chance to see a bit outside those walls. Ashram life does teach a lot about India, but seeing it in person gives you more perspective on what you’re learning and challenges that yogic calm.

9. Keep tabs a little on the outside world. Security alerts from your home embassy and reading India news websites can let you know if you need to reroute your trip because of weather problems like I did or violence such as tonight’s bombing at an Aarti on the Ganges river.

10. Pack an open mind. India is far from the Western world and that much farther from American life. But it’s still incredible to witness.

After bending and twisting my body so much over the past two months my body is craving a daily practice.

Some days I’m better at fitting it in than others, but I’m working on developing a daily routine that works for me.

I’m working on a mix of meditation and poses that I will stick to everyday. Maybe in the morning or maybe as a midday work break. Or maybe a little of both.

As much as I’m traveling, I need to build in some routine. I know it’s good for me.

It’s just always tough to do.

Somehow in the ashrams I didn’t have much trouble getting up at 5:30 a.m. If you know me that may well make your jaw drop.

Now, I’m back to my old schedule of working late and sleeping later.

So how do I break the cycle and find a home practice I enjoy?

Apparently I’m not the only person who has struggled with this. It’s somehow easier to say at 6 p.m. on Wednesday I’m going to yoga class and just let the teacher tell me what to do.

Fortunately, Yoga Journal just carried an article on this exact topic.

Now, I just need to find the mix of poses and what my body feels like on different days.

I know I need to practice headstands to build up my abs and back and maybe someday do a proper headstand. It’s also good for me to spend a bit of time stretching my super tight hamstrings, IT bands and shoulders. Oh, and my hip flexors also need some strengthening. Or maybe I shouldn’t worry so much and do what I feel like just to get some practice in.

Finding this practice nourishing will keep me doing it just like how I have to eat breakfast every day. If I’m on the road or settled down for a while, I can do a little or a lot to calm my mind and refocus my day.