5 spring affirmations to get you ready for summer

Viviers has suggested choosing one small thing each day because it feels good, without attaching productivity or guilt to it. Spring and then summer mean renewal. Dreary grey and broken yellows of winter give way to greens, washes of colour and new life. The birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees, to borrow from a golden oldie. But it’s true, and there’s no better way to productively use some self-care time than to affirm your happy season. Anne-Mari Viviers of Heavenly Healing in Benoni said the season is an opportunity to change the conversation we have with ourselves about our bodies, pleasure, boundaries and intimacy. And unlike the frantic dash towards the mythical summer body, affirmations are not supposed to expire when the Christmas decorations go up. They are for spring, summer and, with a bit of practice, the rest of your life. I arrive as I am, not as I intend to be by December “So many people postpone pleasure and intimacy until they have lost weight, exercised more, changed their appearance or somehow ‘fixed’ themselves. The problem is that the goalpost keeps moving,” Viviers said. “You don’t have to wait until December or until your body changes to inhabit your body fully today,” Viviers said. She suggested looking in the mirror and asking how you can be present in your body today, rather than what needs to change. I say what I want out loud, even when my voice shakes Partners are not mind readers. Viviers said expecting someone to simply know what you want can undermine communication. “This is really about emotional courage,” she said. Start small, Viviers suggested. Saying “I’d rather have this”, “I don’t feel like doing that” or “I’d love you to…” can make bigger conversations easier later. A ‘no’ is not a rejection of me, and mine is not a rejection of them A “no” can quickly acquire a meaning it was never intended to communicate. Viviers said people sometimes interpret a boundary as evidence that they are unattractive, unloved or have done something wrong. “When we interpret a boundary as personal rejection, intimacy becomes unsafe,” she said. “A genuine yes becomes much more meaningful when someone knows they are completely free to say no,” Viviers said. The warmer season can have more meaning than just a great summer body. Picture supplied I make room for slowness Phones, deadlines and busy schedules leave little room for doing nothing, and Viviers said even relaxation has become another task. “We live in a culture that turns everything into a task – even relaxation,” she said. Viviers suggested taking a longer bath, eating without a phone, sitting outside, walking without rushing or allowing a conversation to wander. “You’re teaching your nervous system that not everything has to be productive to be valuable,” she said. Pleasure is not a reward I have to earn Pleasure often comes with conditions: finish the work, help everybody else, reach the goal and then relax. “But pleasure isn’t a prize for good behaviour. It’s part of being human,” Viviers said. And pleasure is not only sexual. It can be sunlight, music, laughter, food, massage, dancing, creativity, nature, connection or simply lying in bed enjoying the moment. Viviers suggested choosing one small thing each day because it feels good, without attaching productivity or guilt to it. “The affirmation becomes the thought. The thought influences the behaviour. The behaviour creates a new experience. And repeated new experiences can gradually create a new belief about yourself,” Viviers said. Viviers said the value of affirmations lies in using the words as a cue for action rather than repeating them without changing anything. They are intended to challenge beliefs about appearance, communication, boundaries, pace and pleasure. Spring may provide a starting point, she said, but the practice is intended to continue beyond summer.