Affirmations

Affirmations as a Tool for Success
Affirmations are powerful, but they are not magic. The Fairy Godmother doesn’t appear to transform our lives with a sparkly wand whenever things are tough, as most of us know. When we want to achieve something significant, for ourselves or for others, it’s pretty certain that we will have to work hard for it — and the effort required usually turns out to be far beyond what we anticipated. Affirmations keep us focused on the outcomes we want, even when we feel exhaustion, have doubts and fears from within, or experience discouragement or resistance from others.
How do you want to go forward on your yoga path? Do you want to deepen your studies and expand your practice? Do you feel drawn toward working with specialized groups or in non-studio class formats? Once you articulate what you aspire toward, ask yourself, “What do I want to affirm?” Answer the question with a positive, time-specific statement. For example, several years ago I wanted earn RYT 500 status. My affirmations was:
“I earn 500-hour yoga teacher certification in 2014.”
(A caution: be concrete, but realistic when you set timeframes, and be prepared to adjust if needed. Things don’t always go as expected.)
Maybe you want to have a stronger relationship with a family member. An affirmation could be something like: “I establish a schedule that includes regular visits with Grandma.”
There is nothing tricky about writing such affirmations for yourself. Take a few days to jot some priorities down, then spend dedicated time to form a few simple, positive statements. Write, paint, or print them out and put them somewhere you can see them often. Look at them and read them regularly. Don’t forget this important step — affirmations only work when you are involved with them. You can always tweak when it makes sense.
Another type of affirmation is not strictly goal-related, but can be instrumental in making positive internal shifts. You may try affirming something general, such as, “I trust my intuition,” or “My work is important.” Or you may want to change an attitude such as self-righteousness or judgemental feelings toward yourself or others. An affirmation that I have said almost daily for the last three years goes like this:
“I recognize that others meet me from where they are, and that I meet others from where I am. I have compassion for both.”
Repeating this changes how I respond to snarly traffic, a slow cashier, or a cranky friend. We can teach ourselves to consciously recognize and soften our responses to things that we see as problems others bring into our lives by considering the opposing backgrounds and desires of both parties simultaneously.
Getting back to the Fairy Godmother — wishing for a magical resolution or praying for personal rescue is not the same as creating and working with an affirmation. Such half-hearted attempts absolve us of self-responsibility by side-stepping the tapas and swadyaya needed to move forward. But more than that, Isvara Pranidhana, personal devotion to the divine – however that presents itself to you – is left out of the equation. Instead, the desired outcome is swept into the nebulous “universe” with no effort, self-reflection, or follow through. (Niyamas, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, 2.1.)
Use affirmations to create structure and support, then through daily reference and repetition, you will start crossing your goals off your list – maybe because you have achieved what you wanted to, or maybe because they didn’t belong on your list after all. Affirmations have a way of clarifying and resolving what is really important in the end.
Paramhansa Yogananda’s method of using an affirmation is to first say it out loud, then whisper it, then say it internally. This sequentially brings it deeper within, turning it into a kind of focus meditation, and really sets the affirmation squarely into your awareness. (Scientific Healing Affirmations, Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.)
Affirmations come directly from you, and their realization is created, step-by-step, from within an increasingly awake you.
No wonder they are powerful.
by Jools Andrés, BA, ERYT 500.
Jools is a Lead trainer for SOYA Vancouver at the 200-hour and 300-hour teacher trainings. Jools has studied extensively in Yoga Therapy and travelled to India to learn directly from the sources. To learn more about Jools, or to study with her at her Restorative Yoga Teacher Training or the SOYA Teacher Trainings, go to https://joolsandres.com/about-us.php.