**Affirmation: I am a work in progress, and I will keep on progressing.**

In the Eastern world, words or short phrases – whether thought or stated out loud – are considered to affect our energy and impact our perception of our circumstances. These words and phrases are known as mantras. Mantras are words or sounds that aid in focusing concentration and deepening meditation. Their associations with spirituality and Eastern religion come from the fact that mantras are also used by individuals to connect with a higher power. You know that body-shaking, mountain-moving sound of "om" at the end of your yoga practice? That's just one of thousands of Sanskrit mantras.

Positive affirmations are a lot like mantras in the sense that they both impact our perception of reality. The difference is that positive affirmations were developed by neuroscientists as a way to consciously rewire thought patterns toward more desired outcomes.

In short, the way we talk to ourselves matters. It shapes our perception of the world around us. Each time we are presented with a negative thought, we have the opportunity reshape and reform it. We have the ability to recreate our reality.

Like anything that requires us to step out of habit and routine and see things differently, the decision to begin is hard. But not nearly as hard as the decision to continue when things don't go as planned, we get distracted, or we fall short of our expectations.

Affirm: I am a work in progress, and I will keep on progressing.

It has taken me nearly five years of trying to even get a second of hang time in this pose. For a while I was discouraged, because I felt like no matter how many times I tried I would fall. While there was frustration, the space between each fall also held an opportunity to question, change, and modify some part of me in a small way. An opportunity to embrace the discomfort, and shift my perspective. Did I mention we have the ability to recreate our reality?

Affirm: I am a work in progress, and I will keep on progressing.

I previously thought handstand was a rite of passage as a yoga teacher. If I couldn’t do one, was I even really a yogi?

Affirm: I am a work in progress, and I will keep on progressing.

Let me tell you, if you have a heart that beats and lungs that breathe then you can do yoga. It is the reason yoga is offered as able to be offered as a mental and emotional intervention, in addition to being a physical intervention. It might not look the same as my yoga, or his yoga, or her yoga... but it’ll be your yoga.

Affirm: I am a work in progress, and I will keep on progressing.

Along the way you’ll probably fall and say a few (or more) bad words. You’ll likely get discouraged and question why you started in the first place. But in those moments, you can choose to come back to the practice. You can choose to recreate your reality, each time a little stronger than before. And over time, you might just surprise yourself when, one day, you catch yourself seeing things from an entirely new perspective.