What was your intention going into the first session? And did anything unexpected show up alongside it? You may not have an answer. Some people can't remember their intention five minutes after they set it. It happens. The intention still works. It's more like a general direction than a GPS address, you don't have to keep looking at it for it to aim you.
Why we say it out loud
Saying something out loud creates a reality to it that thinking alone never does. Gratitude, in particular, can only fully exist when it's spoken.
Sharing your intention in the opening circle is an act of vulnerability. And being vulnerable is difficult. That's exactly why we practice it.
You can always pass. No pressure, ever.
What is an intention?
Not a goal. Not a wish. Not a prayer, exactly. An intention is the quality of energy you would like to bring into the present moment. It's about how you want to be, not what you want to get. Goals live in the future. Intentions live right now.
Breathwork takes you to the exact place you need to go to actually live the intention. It's almost never what you expected.
You said "I allow ease" and spent twenty minutes crying. That's not a contradiction. That might be exactly what ease needed to come through so you could let go and be at ease.
Another benefit of breathwork
Greater emotional discernment. Before breathwork, most people describe their inner state in blunt instruments: stressed. Fine. Tired. Anxious. Good. After a few sessions, it's more precise: there's a tightness in my chest. My shoulders are up near my ears. I feel kind of blocked in my throat. It's being fluent in your own body's language. The body has been talking the whole time. Breathwork allows you to hear it.
Write your intention down before your next session. One sentence. Present tense. Positive framing. About a way of being, not an outcome. Then let go of it after the opening share. You've set the heading. Now you can sail.
I am present.
If you'd like to take a deep dive on intentions, I recorded an episode on exactly that.
Listen on Spotify