Episode 7: The Power of Mantras
What is a mantra? Why do mantras matter? How could mantras help you? A mantra is a repetitive phrase you can say to bring about a sense of assuredness about a certain subject.
What can a first responder do to immediately affect the person who is freaking out about their injury? It’s possible a first responder can say: “Breathe for me. Breathe for me. Breathe for me.” This is an example of a mantra. The mantra matters because it helps bring focus to that person’s breathing patterns. The mantra can help the injured person potentially take a step back from their current situation.
When the mantra comes directly from you, there is way more power in it because it was crafted by you. You can make a mantra as vague or as detailed as you want, tailored to a specific subject, place, or event etc. When it was MURPH day, the gym was crowded, I knew everyone would finish at different times, and everyone would be in a different round than me. Therefore, as soon as my eyes drifted onto somebody else during the MURPH workout, I said to myself “It doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing. I’m going at my own pace.” For me, saying that to myself was enough to redirect my energy back to me. Each and every time my eyes started drifting onto others, the mantra popped in almost automatically.
Mantras also work to put you into a specific mental zone. If practicing meditation is your thing, or is starting to be your thing, or you are thinking about starting a meditation practice, or you have tried once without success, I am here to say “Try it again! And again!” I know it is difficult to go into a less intense state of mind because of the way we are all conditioned, especially here in the US. Our lives can work themselves up to be chaotic and fast paced. But remember, we make our lives what we want it to be! A consistent meditation practice can help prevent burnout and keep you grounded. Say you’re about to begin meditating with a few deep breathes, okay, good… but here come the worries, and the rampant dealings you have- back in your non meditative world! How could you keep those incessant thoughts about appointments, picking up groceries, forgetting to lock the front door, or maybe your mind tells you NOW it’s important to finish that backsplash project? Of course it’s all ridiculous! *Wondering thoughts are normal. You are not doing it wrong.* With every wondering thought, respond to it gently by saying “That doesn’t matter right now.” By immediately addressing a wondering thought with unimportance, not only do you unteach reactivity to thoughts, you now place yourself in a position to actually choose what IS important. Eventually, it will be noticeable that less and less thoughts pop up, soon none. It’s possible!
A mantra can also bring ease to a fear. Maybe something traumatic happened in a staircase, and every time you come near a staircase, it’s much too overwhelming. A mantra can be very, very simple like “Stairs are calming. Stairs are relaxing.” You could say Stairs are calming on the deep inhale and Stairs are calming on the deep exhale. You could practice this kind of breathwork to enhance the effectiveness of a mantra. And with every step up the stairs, you keep saying the mantra and doing the breathwork. When done properly, you will have mentally associated the stairs with the calm, the relaxation, and the physical, real feeling of peace- due to relaxing breaths while on the stairs. Welcome to mantras. Mantras require reps. Mantras are not instant. I pray I have convinced you to consider using mantras for your own benefit.