Harnessing the Mind-Body Connection
Amp Up Your Vision Board Game
Let’s begin with how you can amp up your vision board energy. But perhaps I should back up for a minute just in case some of you are not familiar with or have never created a vision board before. These are a great tool for manifesting want you want in your life. They can take all kinds of forms, but they are cheap and easy to make. They can be as simple as starting with any size piece of cardboard. The size you choose depends on where you want to place it to view in the weeks and months to come. A small one could sit on your desk or a larger one could hang on a wall or sit somewhere where you will be able to see it regularly in your home. I actually have three large ones hanging on the wall in my office.
It was missing the bottom snap, and you may be able to see it now that I pointed it out, but you do have to look closely. I intended to add a button there, but quite frankly never got around to it, but I’ve had this coat for years now and always get compliments on it.
If you like to travel, travel magazines can also be great to cut pictures out of and glue onto your vision board. Years ago I made a vision board of all the places I wanted to travel to in my lifetime. I used this vision board for a while and then it eventually got put away out of sight. When I stumbled across it several years later, I was excited to see that I had actually already traveled to almost all the countries included on my board!
I also like to paste empowering words on my boards. Which brings me back to how you can amp up your game when using vision boards. Create a statement that encompasses and sums up what you would like to bring into your life and that you have visually displayed on your vision board. Then take a little time every day to stand in a “power stance” in front of your vision board and loudly proclaim your statement. If you are unfamiliar with a power stance, you want to place your feet about hip-distance apart. To feel firmly grounded it is also helpful to place one foot a step in front of the other. Raise your arms above your head, forming a “V” shape with fingers spread wide. You should feel strong, expansive and firmly grounded. Make sure your statement is a positive one. So for instance, if you are trying to lose weight, don’t say something like, “I don’t eat more than I need.” Rather say, “I am a strong, beautiful, sexy woman!”, or something else that sounds empowering to you. Just try to avoid using negatives like don’t, can’t, won’t, etc.
Mind-body Power for Affirmations
These same principles can also be very helpful when using affirmations. You also want to carefully craft your affirmations so that they are positive and it feels empowering just to say them. Then you can use the power stance when saying your affirmations. Whether you are using the power stance for your vision board or for your affirmations, use this “feeling large” body position to help you to feel what it would feel like if you already had these things in your life, are already doing them or already have the attributes you are seeking.
Mind-body Pillow Talk
Lastly, let’s talk about how you can infuse some positivity into the time you drift off to sleep. Your “pillow talk” in these moments before drifting off to dreamland can put your mind in a state of positivity that is good for the body and may even help you sleep a little more soundly. One way you can do this is to bring your vision board or your affirmation back into your mind’s eye while lying there in bed and feel what it would feel like to be living in this way, just as you would when using your power stance. Now begin to give thanks for having achieved this reality. Continuing whispering or saying softly to yourself how grateful you are that you now have this or now have these attributes.
Another form of pillow talk that takes a little less energy and willpower is to reflect on all the good things that happened to over the course of your day. Not only will you drift off to sleep while you are thinking about good things, but it will help your body to relax while doing so and also may help you sleep more soundly. I know that I’m much more likely to have a restful sleep when I do this, as opposed to when I allow my brain to be in “worry” or “problem solving” mode. This has been so useful to me, that I included three daily prompts in the JMB Living journal with this is mind.
“My Best Win”
“Beauty I Noticed”
“What Gave Me Joy”
Do you enjoy a similar nighttime dialog? If not and you give this a try, I’d love to know what you think. And with that, I’m off to begin my own little nighttime wind-down routine that always ends with these three questions. Sweet dreams my friends and hope your mind and body both have an amazing week! Xoxo Julie
