You’re Not Stuck. Your Patterns Are.

Mine Had a Voice. It sounded like this.

“You’re not doing enough.”
“You should be further along.”
“You’re still not good enough.”

And the frustrating part?

On the outside, I was doing everything right.

Moving my body.
Eating well.
Showing up.
Chasing certifications. Learning more. Doing more.

But underneath that…

My system was wired.
My body was braced.
My nervous system didn’t feel safe.

And no amount of “doing better” changed that.

Because the pattern wasn’t in my effort.

It was in my system.

The Moment Everything Shifted

At the end of my yoga teacher training, we were each given a mantra.

Not randomly.

But based on something in yoga philosophy called a klesha—
a deep-rooted pattern shaping how you see yourself and the world.

Mine?

“I am not enough.”

And the mantra I was given:

OM So Hum

I was told to repeat it 108 times a day.

At first, I didn’t fully understand it.

But I felt something happening.

Not mentally.

Physically.

What “OM So Hum” Actually Did

This wasn’t just a phrase.

It was a pattern interrupt.

At the deepest level.

• OM → the vibration of all things

• So Hum → “I am that” / “I am”

Together:

“I am That" or "I am the Universe.”

But here’s what changed everything:

It didn’t work because I believed it.

It worked because my body started to feel safe enough for it to be true.

Eventually this turned into the affirmation “I am enough because the universe already lives inside of me.”

The realization “enoughness” isn’t an external quest.

The Missing Distinction That Changes Everything

Affirmations and mantras are not the same thing.

They work on completely different parts of your system.

Affirmations → work at the level of the brain and identity
They help reshape how you think about yourself.

Mantras → work through the body and nervous system
They use breath, rhythm, and sound to shift your internal state.

And if you’ve ever felt like affirmations “don’t work”…

This is why.

Why Affirmations Fall Flat

Affirmations are cognitive.

They ask your brain to adopt a new belief:

“I am confident.”
“I am calm.”
“I am enough.”

But if your nervous system is dysregulated…

Your body responds with:

“No, we’re not safe.”
“No, that’s not true.”

So the affirmation never lands.

Because your system rejects what it doesn’t feel.

Why Mantras Work (Differently)

Mantras don’t try to convince you.

They change your state first.

Through:

• repetition

• breath

• sound

• vibration

Research shows chanting practices can:

• stimulate the vagus nerve

• increase parasympathetic activity

• reduce stress reactivity

That vibration you feel in your chest or throat?

That’s not symbolic.

That’s your nervous system being influenced in real time.

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Language

Mantras come from Sanskrit:

• Man = mind

• Tra = tool

They were never meant to be “positive thinking.”

They were designed to:

• regulate the nervous system

• dissolve deep patterns (kleshas)

• create internal coherence

In other words—

They were doing nervous system work long before we had that language.

What Actually Changed for Me

At first, OM So Hum felt foreign.

Then familiar.

Then automatic.

And eventually…

True and embodied.

Not because I forced myself to believe it—

But because my system stopped resisting it.

My breath slowed.
My body softened.
The urgency quieted.

And that voice of “not enough”?

It got quieter too.

This Is the Step Most People Skip

Real change doesn’t start with better habits.

It starts with sequence:

Release
The body lets go of tension

Regulate
The nervous system learns safety (this is where mantra lives)

Rewire
Now new beliefs actually stick

How to Apply This (Without Overcomplicating It)

1. Identify your pattern
What thought keeps looping?

That’s your entry point.

2. Use mantra to regulate
Pick something rhythmic:

• So Hum

• OM

• “Slow. Safe. Here.”

Use it when your system is activated.

3. Feel the shift
Let your breath slow.
Let your body respond.

This is the work.

4. Then layer in affirmations
Now introduce:

“I am steady.”
“I follow through.”
“I am enough.”

Now they land.

Final Truth

You don’t change by forcing better thoughts.

You change by changing the state your thoughts live in.

Mantras shift the state.
Affirmations reshape the story.

And when you use both?

That’s when patterns actually start to break.

And maybe this is the reframe you’ve been needing:

You’re not broken.

You’re patterned.

And patterns can change—

with the right input,
repeated consistently,
in a body that finally feels safe enough to let it land.

Want to play with the mantra OM So Hum - Here is a beautiful version I listen to almost everyday on Spotify