The Art and Science of Affirmations that Work for You

You may cringe when you hear the words, “think positive.” Especially when things are tough! I know I recoil when I hear snippets of positivity that seem to me a form of spiritual bypassing. However, I’ve learned to embrace the practice of positive affirmations after learning and experiencing their benefits.

We will talk about the how and why of creating personally meaningful positive affirmations that work for you.

In the process, watch yourself evolve and thrive, as you add them to your repertoire of spiritual and personal growth practices.

The practice of reciting affirmations reflects the confluence of yoga philosophy and modern psychology, with backup by neuroscience.

 

My Story of Positive Affirmations

I’ve been including affirmations and intentions in my personal spiritual practice for over a decade now. While some life events have seemed like a “magical” unfoldment of my affirmations, looking back I can see how the positive statements I crafted for myself guided me in making choices and decisions. Perhaps some of these even allowed the magical and serendipitous into my life.

Besides bringing in new and welcome experiences, the practices of affirmations and intentions helped me grow as a person.

The practice of positive affirmations has helped me embody empowering qualities and traits and enabled me to outgrow or transcend limited beliefs.

To me, this personal growth is the most valuable part of the practice, even more than the “magical” things that have unfolded in my life. The practice of positive affirmations in alignment with my core self and values has created lasting change that prompts continued progress in the path of pursuing my dreams and desires.

More important than “manifesting” a desired object, experience, or relationship, the greatest benefit of using affirmations and intentions in daily life has been becoming a person highly aware of and living in integrity with my core self and values.

Affirmations that Work as a Form of Self-Empowerment

Affirmations and intentions are a form of self-empowerment. that cultivates personal growth and change through enlisting the psyche as well as the mind-body connection, using conscious thought to override the often limiting belief system of the subconscious.

Affirmations give us the opportunity to articulate our values and sense of self and “rewrite the script” of core beliefs.

This helps us direct our actions and choices, and sets us up to receive new and positive opportunities.

We can use this for exponential positive change.

Mahatma Gandhi distilled the process with his famous inspirational words. “Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

The Psychology of Affirmations that Work

One of the key psychological theories related to positive affirmations is “self-affirmation theory” proposed by Claude Steele in 1988. This theory elucidates that people, across cultures and historical periods, are motivated to maintain self-integrity, or a perception of themselves as good, virtuous, and able to influence important outcomes.

As two professors from Stanford and UCSB explain, our sense of self-efficacy and self-integrity can be maintained by telling ourselves what we believe or value (aka positive affirmations). “Affirmations have been shown to improve education, health, and relationship outcomes, with benefits that sometimes persist for months and years. Like other interventions and experiences, self-affirmations can have lasting benefits when they touch off a cycle of adaptive potential, a positive feedback loop … that propagates adaptive outcomes over time” (Cohen & Sherman).

Self-affirmations help people “maintain the integrity of the self, a global sense of personal adequacy.” When people write about core personal values in their affirmations, the “intervention” of self-affirmations “bring about a more expansive view of the self and its resources.”

Through self-affirmation, we create and maintain a narrative about ourselves in which we are flexible, moral, and capable. We create our self-identity as an ever-evolving and growing person adopting a range of identities and roles, while remaining true to an inner system of core values.

If our sense of self can evolve and change, our definition of success can also evolve … which serves our growth.

Enicia Fisher Shares Her Love of Affirmations

A Personal Story of Affirmations

When I was 15, my definition of success was winning the election for Junior Class President and making a lot of friends. A few decades later, I define success as the freedom to engage in work that is authentic to my core values while receiving compensation commensurate to the quality of my offerings, my skills and experience.

I may not have all the things that others in my social circles would label “success” at this stage in life. (Such as owning a house, driving a luxury car, et cetera.). But I’m able to reframe my situation with the acknowledgment that I have a lot of freedom in my life, which is one of my core values.

This is the psychology of self-affirmations at work.

I can choose to articulate it in the following way. “I enjoy freedom and success as I engage in meaningful work, and I receive abundant compensation commensurate with my skills and experience.” This positive affirmation helps me override the beliefs of limitation, financial insecurity, and fears of the future.

Affirmations can help override negative self-talk or self-sabotaging beliefs.

• Affirmations can potentially help us “re-write” the subconscious patterning by replacing them with more empowering narratives.
• Self-affirmation theory confirms that my ability to view aspects of myself as positive allows me to adapt to different situations.
• Adaptability is an asset working in today’s culture of constant change and the sometimes dramatic upheavals we are all experiencing.
• Affirmations can help us integrate new ways of thinking, which is the premise of cognitive restructuring in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Next time you meet with your therapist, ask about co-creating a positive affirmation as a tool in addressing a thought pattern that makes you feel limited!

The Neuroscience of Affirmations

Besides the research of psychologists, neuroscientists acknowledge that positive affirmations can affect the brain itself. According to a study published by Oxford University, MRIs suggest that certain neural pathways are activated when people practice self-affirmations (Cascio et al).

Affirmations engage parts of the human brain that process positive valuation, information about our self, and rewards. People who use affirmations show increased activity in neural networks, especially when reflecting on core values and when related to the future.

The “neuroplasticity” of the brain can further amplify the results of self-affirmation by reinforcing a positive outlook on life.

Yoga Philosophy and Affirmations

People who practice yoga love it when modern psychology and science “backs up” the teachings of the ancient philosophy and teachings of yoga. Setting an intention is a common practice in yoga classes. But the practice of positive affirmations also derives from the focus on development of self-awareness, the foundation of yogic wisdom.

Yoga originally developed as a practice and way of life based on becoming aware of one’s inner self and finding equanimity amidst the ever-changing fluctuation of thoughts and emotions.

The primary purpose of yoga asana practice is to allow a person to “take a seat.” This leads to meditation and stillness. The intention behind asana and meditation within the yoga tradition of India is to cultivate inner equanimity and observation of thought patterns, while discovering the essence of self, or identity.

This inner awareness is a foundation for mental health and well-being. When a person is familiar with who they are at their core, their essential self, they can notice when they are off-track or “out of alignment” with their self and values.

Awareness is the first step for self-regulation.

Affirmations are one of the many practices, along with asana, breathwork, meditation and mindfulness, that help us come back “home” to our essential self, our values and purposes.

Psychotherapist and yoga teacher Gretchen Suarez explains it further: Yoga gives a person “the chance to explore personal and psychological patterns and … the opportunity to establish and cultivate a relationship with their inner awareness…. A yoga practice will certainly improve the look and health of your body, but the true benefit is becoming aware of who you are and know, accept, and love yourself unconditionally.”

What are Affirmations?

The definition of affirmations gives a clue as to why they are so powerful.

Simply put, an affirmation is a positive phrase or statement that is used to challenge negative or unhelpful thoughts.

The Psychology Dictionary describes affirmations, in the context of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, as “a brief phrase which is spoken again and again…to plant seeds of happy and positive notions, conceptions, and attitudes into one’s psyche.”

Psychologists note that the most effective affirmations are created by a person for themselves and reflect their particular values and identity (Sherman). Affirmations give people the opportunity to identify their core self and values–who they are, who they want to become, what is important to them, what really matters in the larger context of life.

Affirmations are not just superficial self-esteem boosters. They give a person a chance to regain perspective and confidence that they can overcome challenges.

How do Affirmations Work?

Positive affirmations put the spotlight on a person’s sense of adequacy and values. Affirmations affect motivation and can set in motion a series of events that reinforce the feeling of self-adequacy. Affirmations assist in big accomplishments and small everyday acts, which can have large effects over time.

When applied to challenging situations, affirmations can ease stress and help a person make positive choices. A person’s confidence in their ability to overcome future challenges grows and contributes to a person’s “self-reinforcing narrative” (Cohen et al).

Affirmations do not take away a challenge or stressor. But they help a person place it in a larger context so they can rise to the occasion and find more creative solutions to problems. This may make events seem less stressful, while also helping a person focus on their priorities, which can create a self-reinforcing cycle of positive change.

Affirmations also help people learn from their mistakes and reassure people that they have integrity and are “okay” despite the adversity they may be facing.

Affirmations give people confidence to approach problems instead of avoiding or giving up. Practicing them can reinforce a person’s self-concept as someone who can overcome difficulties successfully.

Affirmations help a person construct a self-narrative of adequacy.

This in turn strengthens their confidence and resolve for the next adversity, which then reinforces the narrative of adequacy and success.

In this way, affirmations can have significant and long-term effects. When affirmations reinforce psychological processes, their effects can grow over time and can even bring about a turning point that sets off a series of reciprocally reinforcing events, creating a positive feedback loop that can increase a person’s potential (Cohen et al).

As seen with students and athletes, affirmations not only help a person’s performance and self-assessment, but also affect others’ positive expectations of them. This can create an additional positive feedback and reward system, and bringing more opportunities.

Affirmations have proven to have lasting benefits in education, health, and relationships. These are areas where problems typically emerge over time and grow when unaddressed.

Affirmations can trigger a positive cycle or interrupt a negative one. The interactive processes of using positive affirmations (even if done by only one person in a relationship!) can bring about positive and lasting change in academic and career performance, health, and the quality of relationships (Wilson & Linville).

Benefits of Affirmations

Research from psychology and neuroscience suggests that the practice of positive self-affirmations offers many benefits. Positive affirmations are shown to have the following benefits.

• Decrease stress and improved health and well-being.
• Increase rates of physical exercise.
• Ability for us to face challenges with less resistance and more success.
• Make us less likely to dismiss or avoid health concerns.
• Encourage us to make positive behavioral changes. These can include, but are not limited to exercising, quitting smoking, or eating more fruit and vegetables.
• Boost achievement in education and career.
• Help us cope with illness, maintain hopefulness, and improve recovery.
• Lessen rumination and other harmful thinking, including negative self-talk.
• Empower us to make better life choices.
• Help us postpone short-term gratifications for the sake of long-term goals.
• Reduce our tendency to linger on negative experiences and instead encourage an optimistic mindset.

Putting it into Practice: How to Craft Affirmations that Work for You

We know what affirmations are. We have endorsement from psychology professors and ancient yoga philosophy, along with backing by neuroscience, and we know the benefits.

Like yoga, affirmation practice is not an out-of-the-box, one-size-fits-all practice.

The affirmations that work for one person may not work for you. Not everyone shares the same values or has the same priorities and goals.

How do we craft our own affirmations that will work?

While an affirmation might seem like magical thinking, the key factor to its efficacy is that it helps a person identify and align with their core self and values. It affirms who a person is (or strives to be) in terms of their abilities, values, relationships, and life goals.

Affirmations are more successful when they are focused on what a person wants to do, who they want to be or become, or what qualities they will embody.

Some Basic Tips for Crafting Affirmations that Work

1. Keep it Positive

Effective affirmations are stated in a positive way of what one wants to be or experience, rather than fixated on the past, on a negative, or on what one wishes to avoid.

2. Be Specific and Clear

Be clear rather than vague. But avoid fixating on specific things or certain events (or even people). For example, instead of “I am happy to drive my new luxury electric car,” a more effective affirmation might be, “I enjoy a life of luxury and ecological awareness.”

3. Keep it Simple

Write an affirmation that is brief and easy to remember. Choose no more than 1-2 sentences. Use everyday language.

How to Begin a Daily Affirmation Practice

Identify the core values that resonate most with you.

Ask yourself some of the following question to get started on identifying your core values.

• Do you value freedom over security, or vice versa?
• Do you identify most with compassion and generosity, or persistence and power?
• How do you define your true nature?
• Are there particular strengths you wish to draw upon and activate in your daily life?
• What qualities do you equate with success?
• What is most important or worthwhile to you?

Write your affirmation in a positive statement incorporating the core values you wish to access.

• You may wish to include targeted actions you will take and positive emotions to reinforce a positive mindset.

Create a daily practice to recite your affirmations.

• At least once in the morning and once in the evening is a good goal.
• See if you can incorporate your affirmation into something you already do on a daily basis. For example, recite it as you wait for your morning brew, while you walk the dog, or after brushing your teeth.
• Try to feel your affirmations–what emotions or sensations arise? Do you feel a full-body, full-hearted YES? Feel it fully!
• Visualize yourself fully embodying the affirmation. What are you doing? What kind of person are you becoming? As you are in this process, what life events are taking place? Picture the goals you will achieve.
• Express gratitude. Give thanks ahead of time for the good you will receive as this affirmation comes to fruition (more on this topic in my article, Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice).
• Reflect and revise. If the affirmation doesn’t “light you up,” try writing it differently. If it “gets old,” freshen it up with some new wording or write a new affirmation.

Pro Tips for Affirmation Success

• Journal about your affirmation, its process and your progress.
• Incorporate your affirmation into a daily meditation or contemplation practice.
• Make it available and/or make it pretty. Write your affirmation on a sticky note and post it on your desk or mirror. Print it in an attractive font and hang it on your fridge. Write yourself a “love note” inside an eye-catching card with your affirmation. Write your affirmation on a piece of watercolor paper painted with vibrant colors. Place your affirmation on a vision board (see my article, How to Create a Vision Board that Really Works).
• Recite your affirmation in front of the mirror for additional self-reinforcement.
• Incorporate affirmations into your goal-setting and see if you achieve the action steps more effortlessly.
• Practice your affirmations regularly and consistently over a period of time if you want to make lasting changes, especially when confronting an old thought pattern.
• Keep an expectant attitude and watch for opportunities and synchronicities that bring your affirmation to life.
• Have fun and enjoy the process and your affirmations will begin to work for you.

Make your affirmation something you can believe and embody.

You want your affirmation to feel true for you, and not something completely opposite to your belief system. If you are challenging a particular limiting belief, make your affirmation a bridge statement that can help you “step up” to what you want to integrate into your mindset.
A good check for affirmation success.

Make sure that instead of having your inner voice reply, “Yeah, right!” your inner self replies “Oh, yes!” to your affirmation. You can also tune in to your body to see if your energy seems to shrink or expand with your chosen affirmation, and adjust accordingly.

A popular reinforcement to repeat after an affirmation is “And so it is!” Another option can be, “Thank you, Universe!”

Get Started with Writing Affirmations that Work

Back to psychology, Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., developed the Internal Family Systems model to help clients become aware of the core self and its values. He identified key traits such as compassion, connectedness, creativity, patience, and persistence. People who express these qualities are more likely to have a positive mindset, greater well-being, and higher levels of success in life.

Here are some affirmations based on the Internal Family Systems which I wrote as examples. Please feel free to adapt and try them out!

1. Calmness. “I am calm and serene throughout my day.”
2. Creativity. “I am a creative being and infuse my life and work with creativity.”
3. Clarity. “My inner clarity guides me to make empowering decisions.
4. Curiosity. “I can be curious and expand my perspective.”
5. Courage. “I have the courage it takes to follow through.”
6. Compassion. “Compassion brings me greater peace and understanding.”
7. Connectedness. “I enjoy meaningful connection with friends and family.”
8. Presence. “I am fully present to my loved ones when we spend time together.”
9. Patience. “I have an infinite reserve of patience within.”
10. Perspective. “My true nature provides me with greater perspective.”
11. Persistence. “I have the persistence to follow through on what is important to me.”
12. Playfulness. “I can be playful and lighthearted.”

Many people wish to start with affirmations related to self-acceptance. If you think about it, how can you be in touch with your inner self and your core values if you don’t first accept yourself, flaws and all?

Examples using cognitive behavioral therapy to reverse negative core beliefs.

1. By being myself, I bring happiness to myself and others.
2. Through courage and dedication, I meet my goals and set myself up for success.
3. My desires and goals are worth the investment of my energy and resources.
4. I admire and respect myself and I love who I am becoming.
5. I am grateful to have unlimited resources available to me at all times.
6. My body is amazing just the way it is, and I accept and honor myself by taking good care of it.
7. I contribute to positive change in the world by following my unique purpose.
8. I surround myself with loving and supportive people who bring out the best in me.

Inspire Yourself with Affirmations that Work!

I hope you are feeling as inspired and motivated to incorporate affirmations into your life as I am!

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below as you put it into practice. And I look forward to sharing affirmation practices with like-minded people like you on our next retreat in November.

Enicia Fisher

Enicia Fisher loves to hold sacred space for healing and transformative experiences by guiding people to come home to their body, breath, Nature, and Spirit. She has been curating, hosting, and offering healing retreats since 2012 in the US and Mexico. Founder of Sanadora Sanctuary Retreats and Sanadora Yoga International Teacher Training Program, Enicia has taught yoga since 2005 and has been practicing yoga personally since 2000. She loves yoga because of its mind-body approach and because of the healing power of integrating all aspects of being through the wide range of yogic practices: body, emotions, mind, soul, spirit, philosophy and mindset, and lifestyle practices.

Enicia created and leads Heart Alignment Yoga? and “heartfulness” meditation with an emphasis on Divine heart qualities and life-affirming yoga philosophy that inspires people to live with a deeper connection to their own heart, body, and spirit.
Enicia has a Master’s degree in Education, founded a small private school in Southern California, and is registered with Yoga Alliance as a highly trained and experienced teacher, E-RYT 500.

Enicia is a mother to two wonderfully creative and grounded young adults and is also an author currently preparing her first novel for publication. A Southern California native, Enicia now divides her time between her family base in Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Enicia began leading retreats in the Riviera Maya in 2015, and has offered ten retreats in the region since then. She lived in Akumal/Tulum for three years and continues to collaborate with local healers and ceremonialists on all of her retreats, in honor of the indigenous traditions and cultures being incorporated.

Enicia wishes to honor the Mayan guardians of the sacred lands of Tulum (Ekab), and her teachers who have shared their wisdom and practices:  Leon Xochitl Coatl, Adrián Salas Xopan, and Devi Chandra Ma from Quintana Roo, and Ashley Fiala, Doreen Madison, and David Kutruff from Shraddhaa Yoga School.

www.eniciafisher.com/

The post Write Affirmations That Work for You appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Gratitude is a Healing Power; Gratitude is a Spiritual Practice

As I lay on the massage table under the palm leaf ceiling, the curandero walked around me saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” in between phrases spoken in Spanish and other languages I didn’t recognize. He sometimes moved part of my body in what felt like a mix between a chiropractic adjustment and an assisted stretch, sometimes sang what sounded like a child’s lullaby. Mostly he said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you” throughout my healing session.

Miraculously, the next morning I woke up pain-free for the first time in five years. I was deeply relieved and grateful to be free of the chronic low back pain that had affected my daily life for so long. I hoped the healing would last.

Later that day, after teaching a yoga session on the retreat I was leading, I slipped and fell flat on my back on hard concrete in the pouring rain. My first thought was, “Oh, great, just when I finally felt better.” I wanted to cry.

The curandero’s words came to mind and immediately countered my fear of back pain returning. I repeated, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” in my mind. I stood up and slowly walked upstairs to my hotel room to rest, and simply reflected on giving thanks. I felt sincerely grateful for all of the beautiful moments I was experiencing that week, including the moment when I woke up pain-free. My logic: If the curandero’s main prayer was “thank you,” and it seemed to work a miracle, I could continue to pray in this way and hope to stay pain-free.

When I got up to join the retreat group for dinner, my back was totally fine and the healing of low back pain seemed to be intact. Thank goodness! You can bet I was grateful for the healing power of giving thanks!

Expressing Gratitude: A Life-Enriching Spiritual Practice

I was familiar with gratitude as a psychological tool and as a spiritual practice. In fact, the psychotherapists I had worked with over the years recommended keeping a gratitude journal, which I did. Growing up in a metaphysical religion, I felt closest to the Divine when I was feeling grateful for all the blessings in my life, which I attributed to God’s benevolence and care.

I later learned a new form of affirmative prayer which included Gratitude and Thanksgiving as one of the five key steps. The teaching emphasized that it was important to not only give thanks, but to energetically and emotionally feel gratitude for the good result being visualized.

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” –Meister Eckhart

Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice

Reverence and Faith

Sages and teachers throughout the ages and across cultures have included expressing gratitude as a spiritual practice. People practicing earth-based wisdom traditions often give thanks with offerings to nature. The Four Directions or Seven Directions Prayer, an invocation made by many North American indigenous peoples from Iroquois to Mayan, typically includes giving thanks in each verse.

In this beautiful rendition attributed to Seneca Elder, Grandmother Twylah Nitsch, giving thanks is an essential step in opening sacred space.

To the East, to the new day… Thank you for the moving airs, for the awakening of life.
To the South, sacred fire of creativity… Thank you for the teachings of … those things that carry joy and communion.
To the West, to the Dark Waters of Looking Within… Thank you for those things that teach compassion and nourish understanding.
To the North, the wisdom place… Thank you for the gifts of lodge and sustenance.
I pray to live upon this gracious earth with remembrance of gratitude and with respect.

The Teachings of Gratitude

Gratitude, as an act of sincere appreciation, makes one aware of the good in life, and promises to bring more good. This is reflected in the popular saying, “Where your attention goes, energy flows.” Whether taught through the lens of Law of Attraction or Yoga philosophy, the teaching emphasizes that when we focus on the good, we will likely see more good coming into our lives. In this way, expressing gratitude can be an act of faith.

Appreciation=Increased Returns

One way to express gratitude is appreciation, seeing and voicing thanks for the good aspects of something or someone. Another definition of appreciation is an increase in value–which again suggests that expressing gratitude for something good in life effectively brings more good!

Mindfulness and Gratitude are Connected

Gratitude offers an inspired approach to mindfulness. When you cultivate mindful awareness of your present moment, you can actively appreciate your ordinary daily experience. Washing dishes can be an act of appreciation and mindfulness when you give thanks for the warm water, the food you enjoyed, the beautiful pottery, or the person by your side.

Going for a walk can become a mindfulness and gratitude practice. You can say “Thank you,” with each step and give thanks for the weather, your able body, the scenery, or community surrounding you.

Elevate Your Life through Mindfulness and Gratitude

Gratitude elevates everyday existence just as mindfulness does. You become aware of the beauty in the ordinary and the goodness of the present moment. Take time to do something like notice your cup of coffee, tea, or water. Notice the good in things both small and big. Giving thanks increases this awareness. We learn in mindfulness practice that, rather than being caught up in thoughts or worries, present-moment awareness helps us savor and appreciate the precious once-in-a-lifetime experiences that make up a lifetime.

Modern Psychology and Neuroscience Weigh in on the Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude Feels Good

Gratitude has its own intrinsic reward. It simply feels good to be grateful. Gratitude empowers you and gives a positive boost to your energy.

Expressing gratitude is not just an action. It also creates other positive emotions that benefit mental health and emotional wellness. People who practice giving thanks regularly feel more content, fulfilled, and balanced in life. Gratitude creates further expressions of kindness, compassion, and lovingness, helping us relate to others in more positive ways.

Cultivate a Positive Outlook on Life

Psychologists and neuroscientists confirm that daily gratitude contributes to feelings of general well-being and helps us sustain a positive outlook on life.

A 2015 study found that people who kept a daily journal of things for which they were grateful reported feeling more optimistic than others, and were also more physically active and healthy than those who wrote about negative experiences (Neurohealth Associates). They also confirmed the following benefits of gratitude.

Documented Benefits of Gratitude

• Gratitude and positive outlook improves sleep.
• Gratitude reduces anxiety and depression.
• The habit of giving thanks correlates to lower inflammation.
• Higher levels of gratitude reduces the risk of heart failure.

Enjoy Better Relationships through Practicing Gratitude

Giving thanks results in positive interactions and behaviors–for yourself and others. Imagine if, when the next conflict arises between you and a loved one, you were able to pause and access a feeling of appreciation or gratitude for the loved one and for the opportunity to grow. Gratitude expressed brings out the best expression of ourselves and others!

A person who appreciates others more often has more harmonious and joyful relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.

Gratitude Fosters Resilience

People who appreciate the good in life tend to cope better when inevitable challenges arise. Gratitude increases resilience when facing uncertainty or fearful situations.

Adolescents, particularly girls, have been shown to be “psychologically protected” from bullying and have lower suicide risk when they maintain a grateful mindset.

Gratitude Leads to Positive Expectations and Empowering Outcomes Follow

Appreciation and gratitude create positive emotions and expectations, which lead to empowered actions and decision making. When people express gratitude, they tend to be more proactive, which leads to more empowering outcomes.

The practice of gratitude creates a positive feedback loop which sets the stage for more growth and opportunity in one’s life. (Much like the practice of positive affirmations.)

Our Brain Benefits from Giving Thanks

In addition to our emotions benefiting from gratitude, studies show that our brain also gets activated in healthy ways, even “rewiring” the neural network to promote greater levels of happiness. Our brains grow with gratitude. One study correlated increased gray matter volume with proneness to gratitude. Another study found that people who express gratitude release oxytocin, the hormone which plays a key role in social bonds.

A study at UCLA revealed that feelings of gratitude activate areas of the brain associated with moral and social cognition, empathy and value judgment. Charged with gratitude, the brain helps us have positive feelings and less stress in our interactions with others.

Who doesn’t want more pleasure in life? Give thanks! Gratitude increases dopamine, the hormone associated with pleasure and rewards.

How to Make Gratitude a Daily Spiritual Practice

Wake up Grateful

When we first wake up, our subconscious mind is receptive to positive conditioning, a perfect time to practice gratitude. Give thanks for a new day, a good night’s sleep, your comfortable bed, your home, the cup of tea or coffee that awaits you, and the day ahead.

Practice Gratitude in Advance

In addition to giving thanks for each day, give gratitude in advance for things which you desire or plan to experience.

Mindfulness and Gratitude

Let your appreciative mindset keep you in the practice of present-moment awareness, or living in the moment. An “attitude of gratitude” helps you elevate ordinary experience into something pleasurable and cultivates a sense of wonder, a beautiful spiritual quality. Admire a blooming flower, appreciate the “magic” of a butterfly or sunset, feel grateful for your free-flowing breath or strength as you exercise, and appreciate the fact that you can easily turn on a faucet and enjoy a hot shower! With mindfulness, you take nothing for granted, and feel gratitude for everything.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

In the evening or right before bed, take a few minutes to write down three or more things you are grateful for, as an overview of your day.

Express your Appreciation to Others Whenever Possible

Tell the people close to you specifically what you appreciate about them and give thanks when others enrich your life. This can take place both in small everyday acts and in the big things. Besides thanking others, share your appreciation and positivity in general. Telling others what you are grateful for in your life models this practice and makes everyone feel better.

Let Gratitude Reframe Negative Experiences

When you can, express gratitude for a challenge and look for the good in difficulties. You may need to feel and express other emotions that don’t always feel good before you can glean the positive; gratitude for your own resilience and growth may be enough.

Say Thank You

You can even do this out loud; at the beginning and/or end of your spiritual practices. Use your words to elevate your prayers, affirmations, meditation, yoga practice to conscious sincerity with feelings and the expression of gratitude.

Are you ready to increase your baseline for a more enjoyable, pleasurable, and healthy life and mindset? Find ways to add gratitude practices to your days.

Practice Gratitude on Retreat Over Thanksgiving

If you’d like to dive into the joys of gratitude as a spiritual practice, join me on my Thanksgiving-themed retreat in the beautiful Mayan Riviera, Mexico in November.

Retreat with Gratitude!

https://retreats.layoga.com/pages/come-home-to-aia-thanksgiving-retreat-with-enicia-fisher

Enicia Fisher

Enicia Fisher loves to hold sacred space for healing and transformative experiences by guiding people to come home to their body, breath, Nature, and Spirit. She has been curating, hosting, and offering healing retreats since 2012 in the US and Mexico. Founder of Sanadora Sanctuary Retreats and Sanadora Yoga International Teacher Training Program, Enicia has taught yoga since 2005 and has been practicing yoga personally since 2000. She loves yoga because of its mind-body approach and because of the healing power of integrating all aspects of being through the wide range of yogic practices: body, emotions, mind, soul, spirit, philosophy and mindset, and lifestyle practices.

Enicia created and leads Heart Alignment Yoga? and “heartfulness” meditation with an emphasis on Divine heart qualities and life-affirming yoga philosophy that inspires people to live with a deeper connection to their own heart, body, and spirit.
Enicia has a Master’s degree in Education, founded a small private school in Southern California, and is registered with Yoga Alliance as a highly trained and experienced teacher, E-RYT 500.

Enicia is a mother to two wonderfully creative and grounded young adults and is also an author currently preparing her first novel for publication. A Southern California native, Enicia now divides her time between her family base in Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Enicia began leading retreats in the Riviera Maya in 2015, and has offered ten retreats in the region since then. She lived in Akumal/Tulum for three years and continues to collaborate with local healers and ceremonialists on all of her retreats, in honor of the indigenous traditions and cultures being incorporated.

Enicia wishes to honor the Mayan guardians of the sacred lands of Tulum (Ekab), and her teachers who have shared their wisdom and practices:  Leon Xochitl Coatl, Adrián Salas Xopan, and Devi Chandra Ma from Quintana Roo, and Ashley Fiala, Doreen Madison, and David Kutruff from Shraddhaa Yoga School.

www.eniciafisher.com/

The post The Power of Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

What You Need to Know about Vision Boards

Vision boards, Affirmations and Intentions. My close friends raised eyebrows when I got into all this “woo-woo” stuff years ago. Now these practices are becoming more mainstream (and sometimes even backed by research). It’s become easier to articulate and experience why they are worthwhile and actually make an impact in daily life. You may no longer be met with raised eyebrows when you want to learn how to create a vision board that really works.

In fact, my life has transformed dramatically (in good ways) since I started making vision boards for myself. I’ve been doing this along with setting intentions and writing affirmations. These techniques have supported the process of bringing my heart’s desires to life.

I have a particularly amazing and magical vision board story to share. After this, I’ll share with you some of the reasons why vision boards “work.” Take this inspiration to heart to understand how and why you might create some fun and magic in your life by making a vision board (or two or three!) for yourself.

My Vision Board Story

Back in 2012, I was ready for some life changes but I was not sure what needed to change. I was working on a “good” but unhappy marriage, raising and educating my two children, and seeking my “true calling” all at the same time. (Some might say “midlife crisis.”)

So, I made myself a vision board that included images of a happy couple driving in a car through lush tropical vegetation, smiling kids body-boarding in Hawaii, some sacred nature sites including Mayan temples in the jungle, images of women doing yoga in nature, lush green gardens, and a stone-built dream home. (I still haven’t been to Sedona’s red rocks with women doing yoga accompanied by Tibetan singing bowls, but I’ve practiced a lot of yoga with women and bowls in other locations!)

The image from the center for my vision board

In the center of my vision board I glued a very specific image. This was an image of a Thai Buddha sculpture sitting on a wooden cabinet with candles on either side. Behind this was a beautiful hand-built stone wall with a circular opening behind the Buddha. To me, this represented the sacred space of a yoga studio where I’d like to lead a retreat.

I didn’t read the captions of the images I was pasting on my board. So I didn’t know where this studio was, or where in particular any of the other images were. They represented things I wanted to do and experience. Or feelings I wanted to experience, as well as ways of being in the world that I wanted for myself.

My Vision Board In Real Life

Fast forward three years. In the fall of 2015, I was thrilled to be the lead teacher on a yoga retreat in a five-star, gorgeous boutique hotel on the white sands of Tulum Beach in Mexico. The first day, with the sparkling Caribbean Sea and its delightful breezes at my back, I sat down to teach the opening yoga class on the retreat and was shocked at what I saw. Directly across from me, presiding over the treetop palapa yoga studio, sat the very same Thai Buddha on the very same wooden cabinet in front of the exact hand-built stone wall with the circular opening behind it. I was literally sitting in the exact before-unknown yoga studio that was the central image of my vision board!

The story gets better. Recently, when preparing to lead a Vision Board Workshop on a retreat I was offering in another part of Mexico, I decided to look for the image online to share my story. With a little lucky internet sleuthing, I found the magazine page that included the image, and, lo and behold, it was in LA Yoga Magazine. This is the very same magazine that is now publishing my writing!

There were so many magic moments that I experienced on that first dream retreat. This led to a series of now 11 retreats in the Riviera Maya. Since then, my life has taken many new and “magical” turns. In the past seven years I’ve explored many sacred Mayan temples in the jungle. I’ve taken my kids kayaking in the Caribbean and snorkeling in countless cenotes. And we’ve all enjoyed many scenic drives with the windows down through tropical landscapes. The major difference is that the happy couple now includes a new life partner. (You guessed it–that’s another story!)

Vision Boards Really Work!

Vision boards can change your life, and for the better. The trick is understanding that some of the changes that you visualize will “manifest” in different forms than you may expect. I’ve learned that “The Universe” responds to my intentions. The Universe has the best intentions for me. But this sometimes means something quite different than what I am able to dream up for myself from my current perceptions and expectations.

Quantum mechanics, ancient wisdom, mystics and modern psychology all suggest that we interact with and impact the world through our perception. Physicists observe that they change the behavior of electrons just by looking at them! We interact with and impact the outer world in intricate energetic ways. Our inner work becomes a “blueprint” for our external life and experiences.

Vision Boards as Tools for Visualization

When you create a vision board, you are literally focusing your attention on things that you want to experience and feel. When you look at it often, over a period of weeks or months, you engage in a regular practice of visualization.

Olympic and other world-champion athletes use visualization and mental practices to enhance their performance. They rehearse mentally with highly detailed images and engaging physical senses and emotions. Visualization means literally seeing and feeling that experience (and success) before it happens.

Muhammad Ali was known to enhance his performance in the boxing ring by practicing visualization and mental rehearsals along with affirmations. These mental practices, at the very least, can boost motivation and self-confidence. This directly impacts one’s performance and life experience.

If my experience counts as anecdotal evidence, visualization combined with intentions, affirmations, and an openness to synchronicities which might seem “magic,” can usher in a whole series of life-enriching experiences. These can have the potential to change the entire course of one’s life.

How to Create a Vision Board

Feeling inspired to make a vision board? It’s a wonderful, relaxing activity to enjoy alone, or with a loved one or a small group of friends.

Supplies for Creating A Vision Board

• Stack of magazines with a variety of subjects.
• Poster board or other large piece of cardstock paper.
• Scissors.
• Glue stick or glue.

How to Create A Vision Board

• Give yourself an hour or two free of distractions.
• Pour a cup of tea, glass of wine, or beverage of your choice.
• Put on some relaxing background music.

Set the Mood for Creating a Vision Board

You can sit and contemplate or journal about some areas in your life that you want to include in your vision. Some of these can be the following: vision, career, home, relationships, travel, finances, social life, spirituality, health, and life goals. Or, you can simply start and “randomly” choose images that stand out to you.

Take Action in Creation

• Flip through a few different magazines.
• Stop to cut or tear out images (and words or phrases) that either relate to your heart’s desires and life goals, or speak to you.
• You might be surprised by what you end up being drawn to!
• Allow yourself to choose images that seem compelling to you even if you don’t know why.
• After you’ve amassed a pile of clippings, cut them more neatly and arrange them on the table in an attractive layout.
• Then start gluing them to your poster board, either overlapping or with space between them, as you prefer.
• Most likely not all of your clippings will fit, and it’s a helpful exercise to prioritize what goes on to your vision board.

The Vision Board in Progress as a Tool for Contemplation

• As you work with the images and words you’ve selected, reflect on the feelings, including emotions and senses, that the images convey.
• This “energetic” part of the vision board is just as important as the images you include.
• Imagine yourself in the images, and allow yourself to feel the joy, excitement, freedom and gratitude you would feel in the actual experience.
  (Look for one of my next articles on the power of gratitude in advance!)

Complete Your Vision Board and Make it Your Vision

• Once your vision board is complete, hang it up in a place where you will look at it often.
• You can also take a photo of it and use it for your screensaver on your computer or phone.
• I keep mine hanging over my dresser.
• Try to take a moment each day to look at, smile about, imagine and feel the feelings the vision board elicits.

Ask yourself if there’s one action step you can take each day that relates to working towards or experiencing the heart’s desires that you’ve represented in your vision board.

Create Vision Boards for Different Goals and Moods

You can create just one vision board for your life in general, or create a couple that focus on different aspects of your life. I recently made one for myself envisioning a more rooted home and relationship life, and a separate one focused on the next chapter in my career. Another fun exercise with vision boards is to create one and then pack it away to be opened up like a time capsule 1, 3, or 5 years later to see what has unfolded.

To work with the vision board more directly and intentionally, you might journal about it, meditate after creating it, or even write some related affirmations, intentions, and/or goals and action steps. (Watch for another forthcoming article: The Art  (and Science) of Affirmations and Intentions Done Right.)

Connecting to Our Subsconsious Mind through the Vision Board

Since our subconscious mind influences our actions and bodies in significant ways, just having the images in the “background” or in the back of our minds can have a noticeable impact. What we focus on impacts the world and our experience of it, so we might as well focus our attention on experiences that make us feel good, happy, and expansive.

You may wish to share your vision board with a loved one or trusted friend who you know will “see for you” all the good you’ve included. When self-doubt or nay-sayers try to caution you that your dreams may not come true, simply return to appreciating the feelings that the images invoke for you.

Watch and wait for the surprises and magic! When the synchronicities appear, don’t hesitate to act on your visions and dreams!

Enicia Fisher

Enicia Fisher loves to hold sacred space for healing and transformative experiences by guiding people to come home to their body, breath, Nature, and Spirit. She has been curating, hosting, and offering healing retreats since 2012 in the US and Mexico. Founder of Sanadora Sanctuary Retreats and Sanadora Yoga International Teacher Training Program, Enicia has taught yoga since 2005 and has been practicing yoga personally since 2000. She loves yoga because of its mind-body approach and because of the healing power of integrating all aspects of being through the wide range of yogic practices: body, emotions, mind, soul, spirit, philosophy and mindset, and lifestyle practices.

Enicia created and leads Heart Alignment Yoga? and “heartfulness” meditation with an emphasis on Divine heart qualities and life-affirming yoga philosophy that inspires people to live with a deeper connection to their own heart, body, and spirit.
Enicia has a Master’s degree in Education, founded a small private school in Southern California, and is registered with Yoga Alliance as a highly trained and experienced teacher, E-RYT 500.

Enicia is a mother to two wonderfully creative and grounded young adults and is also an author currently preparing her first novel for publication. A Southern California native, Enicia now divides her time between her family base in Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Enicia began leading retreats in the Riviera Maya in 2015, and has offered ten retreats in the region since then. She lived in Akumal/Tulum for three years and continues to collaborate with local healers and ceremonialists on all of her retreats, in honor of the indigenous traditions and cultures being incorporated.

Enicia wishes to honor the Mayan guardians of the sacred lands of Tulum (Ekab), and her teachers who have shared their wisdom and practices:  Leon Xochitl Coatl, Adrián Salas Xopan, and Devi Chandra Ma from Quintana Roo, and Ashley Fiala, Doreen Madison, and David Kutruff from Shraddhaa Yoga School.

www.eniciafisher.com/

The post How to Create A Vision Board that Really Works appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

What are some of the wellness benefits of the beach? What if I told you that you could experience better sleep, reduced stress, nervous system balance, increased endorphins, and a calmer mind? Who doesn’t want more of these health benefits that directly affect one’s quality of life?

With summer upon us, people are naturally drawn to spend a day or vacation at the beach for rest and recreation.

Once you know all of the wellness benefits of spending time at the beach, you’ll likely make your next beach day, or better yet, wellness retreat at the beach, a top priority.

Besides a fun and pleasurable escape, spending time at the beach benefits our health on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

Physical Benefits of Beach Wellness: “Vitamin Sea”

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea. — Isak Dinesen

A trip to the ocean has long been prescribed for its health benefits. Some of the obvious benefits of spending time at the beach is soaking up the fresh air and sunshine, along with swimming in the ocean or enjoying a beach walk.

While we all know to take precautions to avoid damage to our skin with prolonged sun exposure, absorbing sunshine through the skin has many health benefits.

The “sunshine vitamin,” Vitamin D, gives us many physical health benefits (including, but not limited to the following).

• Boosted immune system.
• Healthy bones.
• Regulated blood pressure.
• Regulating hormone production.
• Many people are deficient in this important vitamin which is best absorbed through the skin.

Only ten minutes in the sun at the beach can provide your daily dose of Vitamin D!

Recent studies reveal that women in particular receive physical health benefits from sun-bathing. Women who spend more time in the sun live longer and have lower risk of breast cancer.

Our bodies soak up health benefits from the ocean water.

Our skin absorbs trace minerals.

• This includes magnesium. Magnesium is important mineral for our muscles, bones, energy levels, digestion and sleep, which also contributes to lowering blood pressure and reducing inflammation.
• We take in iodine through salt water. Iodine boosts immunity and prevents infection.

The ocean’s salt water detoxifies the skin.

As teenagers growing up near the beach, my brother and I would give ourselves “facials,” splashing the ocean’s water on our faces to reduce acne. We both noticed a difference in our teenage complexions when we moved away from the beach in high school.

People breathe easier at the beach.

This happens both because people  are more relaxed and because of the air quality. Besides being more free of pollen and other pollutants, the air near the ocean is filled with negative ions, increasing oxygen intake. Fuller breaths and increased oxygen create deep relaxation, reduce anxiety, and induce a better night’s sleep.

Swimming in waves is great exercise.

Swimming in waves uses all our major muscle groups and provides a great cardio workout!

Beach walks are an enjoyable and challenging form of exercise.

The soft sand creates resistance, giving a good strengthening workout for the feet, legs and heart, and increasing the effort to balance. (Did you know that balance is also correlated with life expectancy?)

Walking or running in sand requires about twice the energy than walking or running on a sidewalk.

Walking barefoot on the sand provides a method of grounding or earthing.

Walking barefoot on the beach gives another great benefit, especially for city dwellers who live in shoes. Grounding or “earthing” keeps us connected to the earth and has proven physiological benefits such as boosting immunity, reducing inflammation and stress hormones, improving blood pressure, and balancing circadian rhythms to promote better sleep. While our lungs absorb ions and oxygen from the fresh sea air, our bare feet absorb electrons from the earth, making us feel grounded.

If you’re not lucky enough to live near the beach and reap these benefits every day, an occasional visit to the beach is worthwhile. The physical benefits can be felt for days after just one visit.

Emotional: Wellness Benefits of Beach Therapy

The sea, to be happy, like hearts, must be stirred. –Will Advise

Do you like the sound of increased serotonin, endorphins, dopamine, as much as the sound of the waves?

Then head to the beach!

Besides all the physical benefits, spending time in the sun also promotes emotional health.

Our bodies respond to sunshine by producing a flood of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters.

Sunlight triggers the release of chemicals in our endocrine system. Some of these are dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which transmit love, excitement, happiness and a general positive mood. These regulate our physical, emotional and mental states.

Time at the beach relieves stress and helps people feel carefree, uplifted, and engaged in the present moment. Besides taking time away from work, home, or other demands, the beach itself has a number of qualities that help reduce stress.

The sound of the ocean waves relaxes and soothes one’s emotions and promotes a meditative state.

We all know that the sounds of crashing waves washes away the cares of the world. The vast ocean and endless horizon helps one’s problems fade into the background.

Ocean Sounds Cultivate Relaxation

The sounds of the sea–the regular “swoosh” of the ocean waves, occasional cry of seabirds, the breeze–engage the parasympathetic nervous system, our “relaxation response,” which is the baseline for emotional (and physical) health.

The Color Blue is Calming

Along with the rhythmic sound of the waves, the color blue–the deep blue ocean and cerulean blue of the sky induces a state of calm. The fresh air of the beach alleviates symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Being around other people relaxing and having fun also lifts one’s spirits and promotes positivity.

Walking on the Sand is Uplifting

• Long beach walks or relaxing and relieve stress, playing in the sand or ocean waves uplifts the spirits.
• Time at the beach is known to alleviate stress, reduce anxiety or depression, and dissipate emotions such as anger and sadness.

Ernest Hemingway wrote how present-moment awareness fostered by the beach can help mend a broken heart:

“In the morning there was a big wind blowing and the waves were running high up on the beach and he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken.”

 

Mental: The Blue Mind Effect

Be alone with the sea, for it is there you will find answers to questions you didn’t realize exist. –Khang Kijarro Nguyen

How the Ocean Affects Our Neurochemistry

• While people’s bodies and hearts receive benefits from being at the sea, mental experience also improves.
• The same neurotransmitters that calm and elevate moods also affect brain function and cognitive performance.
• Being at the beach can have an immediate and lasting effect on mental health, promoting peace of mind, mental clarity, problem solving, insight, introspection, and creativity. Sign me up!

In fact, research scientist and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols wrote the book, “Blue Mind, How Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.” His research confirms the positive and lasting mental health benefits of spending time near water. “It’s the antidote to what we refer to as ‘red mind,’ which is the anxious, over-connected, and over-stimulated state that defines the new normal of modern life. Spending time near the water is essential to achieving elevated and sustained happiness.”

The Benefits of Mental R & R

• Just as our bodies need rest, our brains need rest from constant stimulation, and the beach provides the ideal setting for this “Mental R&R.”
• Our brains are constantly bombarded by the environment, processing everything taken in by the senses on a continual basis, along with all of the information we take in every day.
• In the digital information age, human brains are more taxed than ever before.

The brain needs time to rest and recover, and the beach is the perfect setting for this.

At the beach, there is less for us to process and soothing elements such as the broad horizon, expansive sky, and natural sounds and sensory stimuli which are easier for our brains to process. Nichols explains, “When you stand at the edge of water and look out on the horizon, it’s visually simplified relative to the room you’re sitting in right now, or a city you’re walking through, where you’re taking in millions of pieces of information every second.”

Along with a regulated nervous system, a lower heart rate and deeper breathing, our brainwaves respond to the sound of the ocean waves by slowing down, much like when we meditate, focus on our breath, or practice yoga. The calmer brainwaves and parasympathetic nervous system response–when our minds do not have to be on constant alert–helps boost concentration, focus, present-moment awareness, and mental clarity.

The Ocean Provides a Mindfulness Practice

As Zen teacher Michael Wenger points out, listening to the ocean waves is a powerful form of mindfulness practice.

“Just listening to the sound – not tying it to anything, just letting the sound wash over you – is a way of letting go of your ideas and directly experiencing things as they are.”

Meditation Practice on the Ocean: So Hum

In fact, my favorite meditation practice, one I teach on my retreats, is to link my own breath to the sound of the ocean waves along with the simple mantra, “So Hum.” Even when I am far away from the beach, I’ve “imprinted” this practice into my system so that my mind and nervous system can return to the relaxed and open state that I cultivated while meditating on retreat at the beach.

Mental Relaxation with the Sea Air

Helen Keller wrote about the mental benefit of breathing the sea air.

“I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.”

Helen Keller most likely didn’t know that the increased oxygen and negative ions present in the ocean air provided benefits to her brain, but she clearly experienced the positive effect on her mind.

Mental Relaxation = Mental Clarity

When our brains can relax, we experience greater mental clarity. While relaxing at the beach, you might find sudden clarity regarding a problem that has been consuming your mind, or just the right idea to move forward with in life. Observing the expansive horizon and vast ocean helps give your mind a break from ruminating thoughts and worries, giving greater perspective and peace of mind. A friend recently shared a humorous meme with me.

“You might not find the answer to all of life’s questions at the beach, but it’s worth a try!”

Finding Your Flow State at the Beach

Time at the beach induces creativity and “flow state,” a state of being that is treasured by humans. When we experience the “blue mind” our minds rest and wander freely, switching into what is known as the “default mode.”

Default mode includes daydreaming, imagination, memory consolidation, introspection and insight.

This mode leads to creative thought and often to those moments of sudden inspiration. These are the “Eureka” or “aha!” moments that feel like gifts that suddenly “drop out of the sky and into your head,” as Nichols says. He explains in Blue Mind.

“There are all these cognitive and emotional benefits that we derive every time we spend time by water. Once you get into it, you realize that it’s chemistry, it’s biology, it’s physiology. It’s deeply personal but it’s also strong science.”

The next time you need a break from decision fatigue or need clarity on an important aspect of your life, try a day at the beach, or better yet, a beach retreat.

One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach waiting for a gift from the sea. –Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Spiritual Wellness Benefits of the Beach: A Sense of Wonder

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. –Jacques Yves Cousteau

The simple act of sifting a handful of sand through your fingers and contemplating the countless grains of sand at the beach, or observing the seemingly infinite expanse of the ocean, induces a sense of awe and wonder. It seems impossible to avoid contemplating a spiritual essence to nature when observing the powerful ocean waves and the beauty of the sky and water.

Connecting to Awe at the Beach

The feelings of awe and wonder gives us a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves and a chance to contemplate our place in the cosmos. When we experience awe, we feel viscerally that we are “one with the universe” and connected to the world and people around us.

We gain a greater sense of self and our true essence.

In the words of poet e.e. Cummings, Whatever we lose (like a you or a me), It’s always ourself we find in the sea.”

• The beach naturally cultivates a sense of humanity while people enjoy the spectacular nature of this shared natural resource.
• We feel more compassionate and connected to others, and cultivate an increased sense of empathy, while observing people of all ages and all walks of life enjoying the simple act of experiencing pleasure, play, and peace at the beach.
• The sensory experience of the elements at the beach also conveys a sense of oneness with nature.
• We remember we are also natural beings, made up of almost the same percentage of water as our planet.

As oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle wrote, “Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.”

Our Spiritual Relationship with Nature

This visceral awareness of our direct relationship with nature provides a sense of deep reassurance during a time of anxiety about the fate of the planet. While the beach is constantly changing with shifting sands, cloud parades, breezes and weather, its basic nature remains the same. Our minds, hearts, and nervous systems are reassured by the consistent nature of the beach and ocean. While we may be concerned and disturbed by pollution of our precious beaches and oceans, the steadiness and grandeur of the environment can offer hope and reassurance.

The Power of the In-Between Spaces

The beach is a space of both continuity and transition and its shoreline represents a “liminal” or in–between space, with deep and broad spiritual implications. The liminal space represents the threshold between the known and unknown, past and present, what has been and what is to come. In Celtic and other spiritual traditions, thresholds (in space or time) represent sacred places where we have greater opportunities for connection with the divine, spiritual wisdom of mystics and ancestors.

In Mayan traditions, the Caribbean Sea is the point of new beginnings and rebirth.

My favorite time of day at the beach, especially in the Riviera Maya, is watching the sun rise over the sparkling turquoise sea or watching the sun set over the emerald green jungle. These times, on a daily basis, are opportune moments to connect to spiritual guidance, set intentions, or reflect on the day.

Author Joan Anderson, has written multiple best-selling books about the transformation and spiritual lessons gained by time at the beach. She writes, “The beach to me is a sacred zone between the earth and the sea, one of those in-between between places where transitions can be experienced – where endings can be mourned and beginnings birthed.”

Quiet moments at the beach provide ideal times for introspection and retrospection, whether through a contemplative practice, a relaxing beach walk, or simply staring at the vast ocean.

One of the Wellness Benefits of The Beach is that it Helps Us Integrate

In a world of constant change and impermanence, time at the beach can help us integrate the constant shifts in life and accept uncertainty. Our experience at the shore, physically between our everyday life on land and the vast expanse of limitless possibilities represented by the ocean, can help us gain comfort in life’s transitions or a season of facing the unknown.

Some of the greatest periods of spiritual transformation and personal growth come during times of transition.

Humanity as a whole has entered into a time of great uncertainty and change, with the ways of the industrial age no longer serving us, alarming and disheartening news on multiple fronts, the information age becoming overwhelming, and many visionaries stating that we are in the process of ushering in a new age of intuition and conscious awareness.

Change and uncertainty can be faced with intention and clarity when one takes the time to cultivate mindfulness, present-moment awareness, and healthy non-attachment.

The beach “teaches” both of these spiritual practices with its qualities. These qualities include the waves washing upon the shore that are continually in a state of creation and dissolution, as well as its grounding, expansive, and mystical qualities.

In Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke counsels, “Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Why a Retreat at the Beach

What could be better than a day or even a vacation at the beach? A beach retreat, of course!

A Setting for Transformation

Throughout human history, people have experienced the beach as a place for healing, transformation, and sacred ceremony, as well as a place to relax and renew. Across cultures and spiritual traditions, the ocean represents creation, the Source of Life, and water symbolizes rebirth and spiritual cleansing. People are drawn to the ocean to commemorate important life moments–engagements, weddings, and memorials often take place at the beach.

Besides the beauty and pleasure the beach setting provides, it is an ideal setting for a transformative retreat experience.

Retreats are more than vacation or R&R.

A retreat sets the stage for deep healing and life-enriching transformation with a lasting positive impact on everyday life.

A retreat by the beach is an opportunity to surround oneself with positive energy from the environment, people, and activities, and to receive all the benefits of being at the beach plus the intentions established by a retreat program.

People join retreats for perspective, peace of mind, personal renewal, spiritual transformation, heart-opening experiences, and healing of the body and spirit.

Nichols writes in Blue Mind, “Water is medicine for those who need it most…and everyone else…. being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken.”

A retreat at the beach increases the benefits of being in the environment, and the oceanside environment increases the benefits of the retreat experience.

A beach retreat is an ideal time to take a break from the demands of every-day life, gain perspective, and restore mind, body and spirit.

“In still moments by the sea life seems large and simple. It is there we can see into ourselves.” –Rolf Edberg

An oceanfront retreat is an opportunity for connection to Source, spirit, and for self-discovery, spiritual awakening and transcendence. The very definition of transcendent experience defines the retreat experience: surpassing or extending beyond the limits of ordinary experience. When people immerse themselves in a transformative retreat experience, their ordinary lives take the back seat and it becomes a sacred time for personal growth and self-discovery. Like the ocean, we learn more about the infinite depths of our own being and gain a sense of the transcendent “I am…”

As Serbian poet Dejan Stojanovic articulates so beautifully, “I am the shore and the ocean, awaiting myself on both sides.”

After her own transformative and life-changing personal retreat at the ocean, Joan Anderson decided to make it an ongoing part of her life and now offers oceanside retreats for others. She says, “I am as unfinished as the shoreline along the beach, meant to transcend myself again and again.”

My Experience on Transformative Retreats

This has also been my personal experience. During my first one-week oceanfront retreat, I experienced the healing of chronic physical pain and grief, had a very deep and transformative feeling of “coming home” to myself and experiencing safety in the world, and met people who have had a lasting impact on my life. Ever since then, I’ve been committed to sharing this transformative experience with others.

Besides deep healing and spiritual transformation, a retreat at the beach makes for a vibrant and pleasurable, even fun, adventure of a lifetime. Wouldn’t you rather learn and grow through pleasurable experience, instead of the hard work of personal growth through challenge? I made that intention for myself ten years ago, before setting off on my first oceanfront retreat, and I’m grateful for the life of adventure and empowerment that I’ve experienced ever since.

Our great seas and oceans offer a voyage of a lifetime for those willing to dive in. –Rajesh

Transformation with Enicia Fisher

Thanksgiving Retreat at the beach November, 2022, with Enicia Fisher: https://retreats.layoga.com/pages/come-home-to-aia-thanksgiving-retreat-with-enicia-fisher

More about Enicia Fisher and her forthcoming book, Sea of Bliss: https://www.eniciafisher.com
More about Enicia Fisher and her healing retreats in the Riviera Maya: https://www.sanadorasanctuary.com

Enicia Fisher

Enicia Fisher loves to hold sacred space for healing and transformative experiences by guiding people to come home to their body, breath, Nature, and Spirit. She has been curating, hosting, and offering healing retreats since 2012 in the US and Mexico. Founder of Sanadora Sanctuary Retreats and Sanadora Yoga International Teacher Training Program, Enicia has taught yoga since 2005 and has been practicing yoga personally since 2000. She loves yoga because of its mind-body approach and because of the healing power of integrating all aspects of being through the wide range of yogic practices: body, emotions, mind, soul, spirit, philosophy and mindset, and lifestyle practices.

Enicia created and leads Heart Alignment Yoga? and “heartfulness” meditation with an emphasis on Divine heart qualities and life-affirming yoga philosophy that inspires people to live with a deeper connection to their own heart, body, and spirit.
Enicia has a Master’s degree in Education, founded a small private school in Southern California, and is registered with Yoga Alliance as a highly trained and experienced teacher, E-RYT 500.

Enicia is a mother to two wonderfully creative and grounded young adults and is also an author currently preparing her first novel for publication. A Southern California native, Enicia now divides her time between her family base in Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Enicia began leading retreats in the Riviera Maya in 2015, and has offered ten retreats in the region since then. She lived in Akumal/Tulum for three years and continues to collaborate with local healers and ceremonialists on all of her retreats, in honor of the indigenous traditions and cultures being incorporated.

Enicia wishes to honor the Mayan guardians of the sacred lands of Tulum (Ekab), and her teachers who have shared their wisdom and practices:  Leon Xochitl Coatl, Adrián Salas Xopan, and Devi Chandra Ma from Quintana Roo, and Ashley Fiala, Doreen Madison, and David Kutruff from Shraddhaa Yoga School.

www.eniciafisher.com/

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