Affirmations are phrases you repeat to yourself over and over again. Repeating these words reminds you of their meaning and the importance of the words. You can use these positive phrases to stay motivated and inspired.
Affirmations can be repeated silently inside your head, said out loud, or written down and hung somewhere visible.
Affirmations and the Chakras
Although affirmations are not necessarily original yoga tools, they arise from mantra, a very powerful and ancient yogic practice. In a course I’m taking from Alanna Kaivalya, PhD, I learned that the original yogic tools that have survived to this day are mantra, meditation, and ritual. Five thousand years ago when yoga was first discovered, yogis chanted mantras for hours as a way to experience enlightenment.
Mantra literally means tool for protecting the mind. Chanting mantras are meant to help protect the mind from negative thoughts and spiraling feedback loops that keep us from realizing our essential nature.
Chanting mantras aren’t for everyone though and Sanskrit pronunciation can be a challenge, which is why I like offering affirmations — English phrases that we can clearly understand and apply to our own daily lives.
The most powerful affirmations are short and succinct — easily rememberable. In the chakra system, each energy center represents a different basic right and offers a great pronoun-verb combination for creating impactful statements of truth.
Even if you don’t believe in or understand how the chakras work, these affirmations cover universal human rights. Here are the 7 affirmations to help us connect to our basic needs, using the chakras as a framework.
I have ___
everything I need, enough, amazing family and friends, an incredible life, so much to be thankful for, a roof over my head, food to eat, money to support my family.
It’s important to remember what we have. Having is not inherently a bad thing. We have to have a life before we can live that life! We have to have our basic needs met before we can start evolving in our thinking and our creativity. What do you have that inspires and motivates you?
For me, remembering that I have everything I need is a powerful reminder that I will succeed if I trust my true Self.
I feel ___
amazing, incredible, in love, compassion, better, okay, excited, energized, on top of the world, accomplished, strong.
Get in touch with how you feel and remind yourself that when you’re truly connected to your spirit, it makes you feel blissful. You can feel sad, angry, irritated, anxious, and a whole host of other emotions too and that’s okay. We need to acknowledge all our emotions and learn to understand how we can hold both sadness and compassion in our hearts at the same time.
I can ___
do this, succeed, win, persevere, thrive, keep going, survive, love, trust, change, be, shift, transform, make it happen.
In those times when you don’t think you can keep going, remind yourself that you can. An even stronger sentiment is to say I will. Taking action is the only way we keep growing and moving forward. Without action, our lives become stagnant. This is an important tenet in yoga philosophy — it’s not enough to perform rituals and meditate. There has to be some action!
I love ___
my life, my job, my partner, my family, my friends, my pet, life, nature, everyone, the world, you, yoga, writing, peace.
Tap into who or what you love in this life and remind yourself of it often. Remembering who or what you love helps trigger memories that can quickly shift your mind and feelings. When you take action (I can) and then act with love in mind, the action becomes more powerful for yourself and for others.
I speak ___
my truth, with integrity, clearly, with love, compassionately.
This affirmation is so important for us to remember. We can only show up as authentically ourselves when we speak our own truth. Being uniquely you invites vulnerability and sometimes criticism. Communication is the number one cause of misunderstanding. Commit to communicating well AND stay true to yourself. The experience is liberating.
I see ___
the way, clearly, the truth, what’s in front of me.
To really see — without the veils, fog, mud, and dirt covering our metaphorical glasses — is hard work. Seeing what is really going on helps us make wiser decisions in the moment. Refusing to be tricked or to trick ourselves will save us from lots of drama and inner turmoil down the road.
I was listening to a podcast the other day and a yoga teacher was talking about how she was finally able to see what was going on in her community. She made the hard decision to walk away from that community. Sometimes we don’t like what we see and try to put on the rose (or mud)-colored glasses.
I know ___
myself, my truth, the right way, where to go, how to do this, when it’s time.
This affirmation is more then just knowing information. This knowing is about knowing a deep truth that comes from within. Following that knowledge, even if it doesn’t seem rational or logical, is what I call being guided by the universe.
When I left Colorado I knew it was time to go. I didn’t want to leave, but there was an inner knowing within me that was guiding me to go. I still cried when I left, but I was able to follow that inner knowing toward growth.
Bonus: I am ___
divine, okay, strong, beautiful, amazing, enchanted, love, connected, ecstatic, energy, safe.
This is another favorite of mine for when times get tough or our minds start to go down that negative track. Remembering your connection with your spirit is enough to flip the switch. When you’re feeling down or in doubt, telling yourself I am divine is a sure way to get you back on track.
Create your own affirmations
Do a quick free-write filling in the blanks with your own words. Don’t think too much about it and allow yourself to write what comes to mind first. Stay positive!
When we spend time reminding ourselves of our basic rights with affirmations, we re-inforce protect our mind from negative patterns. Affirmations can help us build confidence and self-esteem and serve as our guiding voice through difficult situations.
Affirmations keep us connected with our spirit. As situations change in your life, choose new affirmations to help you protect your mind!
Pick one affirmation for this week, write it down in your journal or on a piece of paper and post it somewhere visible where you can read through it every day.
Share your affirmations with me on the Facebook page!
Namaste!
