Are you a fan of affirmations? Saying things like, “I am a money-magnet” or, “I am confident and capable of anything I set my mind on”? I like the intention behind affirmations but they’ve always felt a little surface-level to me.
I started speaking intentions while doing body massages and movements and that completely changed the game!
How to connect the mind and body with an affirmation:
1. Pick a belief or intention you’d like to hone in on.
Ex: for me, I’ve been repeating “I am pain-free and in optimal health”
2. Connect what you’d like to affirm with your body
Ex: massaging my body is my favorite but some other movements that work are: jumping up and down, tapping any part of your body, standing and alternating flexing your feet, or making brushing movements over the body (I love this one if my affirmation involves “letting go” of something). Affirmations can also be said when exercising but I would just recommend keeping the movements gentle and low-impact.
3. Use this practice in the morning to set you up for an amazing day or use anytime you need to remind yourself of what matters most.
Why does this work?
Well, our bodies store and receive information just as our brain does. So the same way you can see something gross and your mind right away says “NO, stay away!”, your body can cringe or tense up in response. So, we can’t simply TELL ourselves to think a certain way, we need to show our body there is trust. This is similar to the principles that EFT therapy is built upon.
Establish trust by saying an affirmation you want to embody and moving in a way that feels good to you. Repetition of this builds trust. Trust builds follow-through on what you’d like to bring to fruition.
Are you a fan of affirmations? If you feel like they’re a little pointless, try adding in some body movements as described above and see if anything changes!
xo,
Melanie