Wellness Wednesday: Mantra of Love

I was speaking to a friend of mine yesterday. She is a yoga teacher, and she was talking about how she completely transformed her life when she noticed what she called her "mantra of hate" -- self talk that told her she wasn't good enough. She was a smoker -- two packs a day, and was quite overweight.

I was shocked to hear this because as long as I've known her (less than a year) she has radiated light, vibrant life and health. She said she was already teaching yoga when she first noticed her mantra of hate. She discussed it with her yoga teacher, and began to let go of it, and replace it with thoughts and feelings of love, life and gratitude. She began to meditate more and breathe more. One day she realized she couldn't remember when she had her last cigarette. (!) Once she noticed this she asked herself "do I really want one now?" and she decided she did not. Her teacher also helped her to see that she was so much more than her body -- everyone is. She began to feel and appreciate her body as an incredible gift, to really experience life.

It's amazing to realize these little voices that play messages (over and over) that keep us from reaching our potential. The voices tell us that we are separate, not good enough, that there isn't enough, and they keep us in judgment of ourself and others. I really appreciated my friend's story, and that is why I am sharing it here. I hope we can all realize our mantras of hate, and replace them with mantras of love. If that is too much of a step (sometimes it's hard to say "I love myself" or "I am so beautiful" and mean it, especially if we have been telling ourselves otherwise for years and years!) then at least to notice and let go into the silence. Let go, and then appreciate what we have, this beautiful life, our wonderful bodies. Even if we are in pain or not functioning our best, we can appreciate that our body is talking to us, giving us signals, telling us what may not work, what we need to pay attention to and change, if only we would listen.