Choosing The Right Stone

Photo credit: Joanna Tam

Human body is made up by over 50 trillion cells. Every cell in our body is actively "listening" to our thoughts and feelings in order to respond to the change of environment. Positive thinking generates positive emotion; negative thinking generates negative emotion. When the cells "feel" the thoughts, they become the thoughts. Sometimes, if we are not aware of our negative feelings, they could manifest into physical symptoms like muscular tension, bad breath, headache, stomachache, back pain. This is the reason why physical activities can change our moods and clear our minds.

Recently, my dear friend, Carlos, has an incredible result of toning his body and empowering his mind with his new workout. Friends have noticed his arm muscles have grown bigger, stronger and his thinking is clearer. He feels motivated and positive. The ‘secret ingredient’ of his new workout is affirmation. He got this idea from an eBook called “Half Assed Health”, written by John Rodriguez. Rodriguez is an actor, author and entrepreneur living in New York City. In his eBook, Rodriguez emanates his comical sense of humor, lighthearted and unique personal experiences on how to keep in shape without going through all the diligent workout routines or restrict diets. One of the brilliant ideas he wrote in this eBook is the “counting” affirmation sentences. The idea is to combine both physical training and positive thinking in one workout.  Instead of using Arabic number to count the repetitions, he uses affirmation words.  For example: “I am healthy. I am strong. I am beautiful.” When we say these three sentences together, it would be nine counts in total. You can personalize the affirmation sentence using your own words, style and tune of speak. I love it!

One day, I applied the affirmation "counting" in a private session. I demonstrated the idea to my client. Then, I asked my client to create her own version of affirmation sentence that she was grateful for.  She followed my instruction and "counted" the affirmation sentence three times while she was exercising. My client liked it right away and found it helpful to keep her going effortlessly. When she did the second round of the same exercise, I asked her to FEEL each word of the affirmation than just saying the words.  Immediately, her face was relaxed with a peaceful smile and her breathing pattern was flow and deep even though she was holding and balancing in a challenging position.  It was amazing to see how affirmation can change one’s mind and body profoundly. After teaching few more clients, even my energy was recharged and my spirit was uplifted.

At that moment, I realized how much I have to take responsibility to my own and others well beings. Every word that we speak or every act that we take is like a stone throwing into a pond (the universe). It creates a ripple effect that affects people around us and even further. So, next time, let's choose a right ‘stone’ to speak kindly and act mindfully whether we are exercising or spending time with friends and family. 


Love and light, 
Mandy