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Welcome back to Mindfulness Mondays! Grab a cup of coffee and use today’s mindfulness exercise to start your day off right.
You may have heard of positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are thoughts that make us feel good, peaceful, happy, empowered. They are thoughts that we want to believe or are learning to believe.
Our destructive thoughts did not start out with power. They gained power the more they were repeated over and over in our minds. The same goes with positive affirmations. Sure, initially they feel a little hokey, a little hard to believe, but they gain power with repetition. They gain power with consistency. A great way to start and/or end your day is to practice mindfulness by breathing in these positive affirmations. Below is an example that you are welcome to use in full, or you can practice by adding in your own positive affirmations.
After every affirmation, take a deep breath in and imagine sending that affirmation - and the feelings that accompany it - to every inch, every cell of your body. Send the affirmation to the soles of your feet and to the top of your head. Inhale the statement; exhale any obstacles that might keep you from believing and practicing the statement fully.
For example:
Inhale “Today I choose peace over perfection.” Breathe that statement into every inch of your body, notice what it feels like to meditate on this affirmation.
Exhale anything that might stand in the way of believing and acting on this affirmation fully. Exhale fear. Exhale perfectionism. Exhale the perceived expectations of others. Exhale control.
Let all these exhales fall to the floor. You don’t need them anymore.
Inhale “Today I choose to acknowledge my worries and then let them go.” Breathe in this statement to every inch of your body, notice what it feels like to meditate on this affirmation.
Exhale anything that might stand in the way of believing and acting on this affirmation fully. Exhale anxiety. Exhale self-criticism. Exhale restlessness. Exhale hypervigilance.
Let all these exhales fall to the floor. You don’t need them anymore.
Inhale “Today I choose to give people the benefit of the doubt.” Breathe in this statement to every inch of your body, notice what it feels like to meditate on this affirmation.
Exhale anything that might stand in the way of believing and acting on this affirmation fully. Exhale pride. Exhale resentment. Exhale anger. Exhale insecurity.
Let all these exhales fall to the floor. You don’t need them anymore.
Inhale “Today I feel healthy and strong and am committed to being better than I was yesterday.”
Exhale anything that might stand in the way of believing and acting on this affirmation fully. Exhale distractions. Exhale uncertainty. Exhale self-doubt.
Let all these exhales fall to the floor. You don’t need them anymore.
Continue this as often as you need. With as many affirmations as you need.
Proud of you for doing this hard work!
Feel free to email me at Brittany.Gilchrist@peaceandpurposecounseling.com if you have any questions about these or other mindfulness practices!