Mantra Meditation - February 7, 2022

Mantras and affirmations are often used synonymously, but they are different. Both are great tools to integrate into your self-care routine, and there is research on each method indicating the potential for self improvement and better health including reduced stress and anxiety.

Mantras

Mantras are often one word or sound used in conjunction with a meditation practice to help you maintain focus on the meditation. As stated on the Modern Om blog, a mantra is “Commonly used in Hinduism and Buddhism for thousands of years, mantras are words, sacred sounds, prayers or phrases used in meditation. Believed to raise physical vibration and positively affect body and mind they help to focus concentration, deepen meditation, achieve inner peace and connect to a higher power.”

This always makes me think of the word and sound of Om while seated in the classic crossed leg meditation pose, however you can use a mantra at anytime throughout the day. 

Affirmations

Positive affirmations are future oriented phrases that are spoken in the present tense as a way to shift your mindset. Speaking an affirmation such as, I am healthy and calm, helps to activate your brains reward system releasing ‘feel good’ chemicals that benefit your brain and body. Part of the power of an affirmation is believing in the statement even if you don’t currently see evidence of it. You are using the affirmation to help bring that thought and feeling into existence within you.

Try This

Choose a mantra or affirmation to work with for the day and create a piece of artwork that you can carry with you. You can use an index card or postcard size piece of paper and write your mantra / affirmation in the center. Use your markers or pens to create a beautiful background and design around your statement while focusing on the feeling the statement brings you. Continue to really feel what the statement says. When you have completed your notecard, put it up somewhere you will see it everyday or carry it with you to periodically look at throughout the day.

References:

• Mantras vs. Meditation: What’s the Difference?
• Mantras and Affirmations (Modern Om blog)
• The Neuroscience of How Affirmations Help Your Mental Health