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Even if you’re someone who’s more keen to roll your eyes at the thought of positive mantras than actually use them, the reality is that research surrounding words meant to affirm and reassure is pretty airtight. Gassing yourself with optimistic phrases has been shown to boost feelings of self-worthand facilitate clear responses when times are tough. Like, um, right now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
So to get in on some of that good-vibes science, we asked a host of our favorite meditation teachers, yoga instructors, and energy healers to share the affirmations for calmness they personally rely on for restorative energy during times fraught with uncertainty.
If you didn’t believe in the power of affirmations for calmness before, give the following six some airtime in your mind and, who knows? You might just change your tune.
6 wellness experts share the affirmations for calmness they use rely on amid uncertain times.
1. “I see you. Thank you for the information. I love you.”
MNDFL meditation teacher Adreanna Limbach, author of Tea and Cake With Demons, says she likes to use mantras and affirmations for calmness to validate her own feelings. “Something that I’ve been working with over the past few weeks is the realization that it isn’t a question of if highly charged emotions will arise during this time; it’s a question of when,” she says. “Anxiety, restlessness, loneliness, fear, are all to be expected while we isolate indoors during a global pandemic… When feelings are especially charged, I’ll place one hand on my heart and one hand on my belly while I repeat these phrases to physically signal to my nervous system that I am here. I am not going anywhere. And I am safe.”
2. “Just for today, I am safe. Just for today, I am healthy. Just for today, do not worry. Just for today, be kind to yourself and others. Just for today, be grateful.”
Spiritual empowerment coach and Reiki master Kelsey Patel, author of Burning Bright, recommends a mantra that returns you to what you can control: this very moment. Then you say the same thing tomorrow, the next day, and so on.
3. “Things are uncertain, but I can handle it. I’ve never experienced this before, but I can handle it. These are uncertain times, but I can handle it. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I can handle it. I can handle it. I can handle it. I can handle it.”
Need to remember your inner-strength? Mitra Manesh, mindfulness expert and founder of the Innermap meditation app, says to take as many opportunities as you can in her go-to affirmation for calmness to remind yourself that you are equipped to handle what’s going on right now.
4. “May you be happy, may you be healthy.”
Meditation app Calm has been serving up a lot of compassion-led practices lately, and Tamara Levitt (the company’s head of mindfulness) says that this phrase works just as well in heart-forward meditations as it does as a mantra or affirmation for calmness. Whether you’re talking to yourself or thinking about someone you love, “happy” and “healthy” are things to aspire to any day.
5. “You are more resilient than you know.”
Lindsay Pirozzi, yoga teacher and mentor with Y7 Yoga, turns to this seven-word sentence as an affirmation for calmness to remind herself that she’s perfectly capable of weathering this particular storm. And you can, too.
6. “That which you put your attention upon grows.”
“This mantra feels especially true for me personally right now,” says Ellie Burrows Gluck, co-founder and CEO of New York City’s MNDFL meditation studio. “I notice that if I become obsessive with the news or social media, I can really get myself worked up about all the stuff that is happening that is wholly out of my control, and before I know it, I’m engaging in some pretty destructive thinking that can be paralyzing.” In those kind of moments, Gluck likes to say this phrase and return her attention to the thing she cares about most.
You don’t have to sit down to meditate: Try this walking indoor meditation instead or go for therapeutic cooking.
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