Iffirmations

Yes, you read that right … iffirmations :).

But first, affirmations:

To affirm something is “to declare that thing as fact and/or to state something confidently.” For example, I affirm that today has been cold and rainy :). I can also affirm that I have successfully enjoyed chaga hot chocolate every day this week :).

In the realm of self-talk — how we speak to ourselves or the thoughts about ourselves that regularly flood our minds — we “affirm” things about our identities, bodies, words, actions, relationships, place in the world, etc.

And, contrary to most social media about these things, “affirmations” can be positive or negative. Think about it … if (after I make a mistake) the thought “You always mess things up” floods in, well, I am affirming that I am a person who messes things up.

On the other hand, if I make a mistake and say, “Y’know, I recognize my mistakes and learn from them” … then I am affirming that yes, I made a mistake AND I am a person who learns, grows and improves from my mistakes.

“Affirmations” have become quite popular in the past several years … and witnessing American popular culture sugarcoat and amplify affirmations as a solution for everything from not being able to find a parking space to getting out of debt to curing health issues … I have actually been dismissive of affirmations. What I often see is a bunch of folks making money off of people who were hurting, telling them, “You just have to say it like you mean it,” which reminds me of the televangelists who admonish their listeners that they just have to “pray harder” or “truly believe” (or give the televangelist more money) and their disease/debt/relationship issue will be solved.

And yet, being in the modern yoga world, one doesn’t have to look very far to find an affirmation card deck or YouTube meditation talking about affirmations. Heck, the Yoga Sutras text (upon which modern Yoga is based) could be used as affirmation material!

A few years back, an article (which I can’t find now) came up as I was online … probably going down some rabbit hole ;) … and the term “iffirmations” caught my attention.

Basically, you put “what if” in front of a positive affirmation — poof, you’ve got an iffirmation!

So, taking the statement from earlier, “I recognize my mistakes and learn from them,” — the iffirmation becomes:

“What if I recognize my mistakes and learn from them?”

Here’s more info about what “iffirmations” are and how using our natural tendency to “what if” situations to UPLIFT ourselves rather than create worry can prime our creative imaginations: Iffirmations & Havening Techniques

The iffirmation spin on affirmations appeals to me … for me, it brings a bit of curiosity and nonjudgment to the practice. Like, hey, I could do / be / think this way … let’s see what happens!

This year, I have found using daily positive affirmations with an iffirmation twist to be a supportive practice for me.

And still, I want to re-emphasize the important point that “affirmations” can be negative, too — many of us are constantly running negative affirmations in the background and have been for a. long. time. (I know I have.)

I’m not good enough.

I don’t do enough.

I’ll never get to where I want to be (physically, financially, mentally, etc.)

For me, using positive daily affirmations/iffirmations has been an exercise, first and foremost, in becoming aware of how often negative affirmations have been running in a loop in my own head (!!) for years.

I’m learning that this practice is not a one-and-done thing … it’s a process. That it’s a practice in:

• AWARENESS of what’s running in the background of my mind,

• DISCERNMENT between negative and positive affirmations playing, and

• the CHOICE to affirm / iffirm myself in positive, constructive ways.

If you’d like to play with this practice and you’re on Facebook or Instagram, I hope you’ll enjoy daily affirmations on OmBody’s pages starting November 1st. If the positive affirmations appeal to you as-is, that’s great! Keep them as-is. Alternatively, give the “what if” addition a try — see if the iffirmation version appeals to you.

Ultimately, Yoga is about becoming more familiar with yourself as you are today, and using the practices and philosophy to reveal your best self (note: not “improve,” but REVEAL what’s already within you). So, what if :) you use what works for your best self today?