I ran my first marathon in 2013 with my best friend. At mile 23, not only was I questioning every life decision I had ever made up to that point (as one does when running a marathon) but I was ready to throw in the towel. I stopped running and said to my friend “this is the dumbest event ever, 26.2 miles of Satanic torture”. Knowing that I have a flair for dramatics, my friend turned, looked at me and said “you just pushed a baby out of you, you can do hard things”. I don’t know if it was the tone of her voice or the fiercely determined look in her eyes, but that was all I needed to buck up and finish the marathon. After we crossed the finish line, I thanked my best friend for providing me with my new life mantra “you gave birth, you can do hard things.” Mantras are powerful statements or words that help quiet the fluctuations in our mind and enable us to feel empowered to move forward.
“The word mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words—manas (mind) and tra (tool). Mantra literally means “a tool for the mind,” and was designed to help practitioners access a higher power and their true natures” (Moran). Neuroscientists have confirmed using mantras either daily or in times of stress, helps clear your mind of background chatter thus calming your entire nervous system (Moran). How cool is it that repeating something with focused attention has the capacity to lower anger, anxiety and stress. You do not have to be in active labor or running a freaking marathon to need or use a mantra. You do not need to be still and silent sitting among yogi’s to develop the perfect mantra. All you have to do is to make sure you choose a mantra that you will remember, resonates with you and makes you feel at peace.
Choosing a mantra that is short and easy to memorize will encourage you to continue embracing the habit on a daily basis. Test out various mantras to make sure it resonates with you thus allowing you to feel at peace. When you find the one (or couple) that brings you to a place of beauty in your mind, you know it is the right one for you! One of the most powerful tools used in therapy is mindfulness and mediation. It is a way to quiet your mind and focus on bringing positive energy and light into your system. Focusing on/repeating a positive phase or word, allows you to distract your thoughts and lower your anxiety, depression, burnout/anger, and other emotional suffering we may experience. Try repeating your mantra for 5 minutes per day and see how extremely powerful it is to shift you from living in the past or future and refocuses your inner self to the present moment thus offering you peace.