I used to roll my eyes whenever someone told me that they manifested something. Then I’d become frustrated because I couldn’t do the same despite people saying that it was easy to do and all I had to do was believe.
It felt like I was being gaslit so I ditched the idea of manifestation and ignored any guru telling me I could think my way to getting rich, finding the love of my life, or losing weight.
Years later I’m back on the manifestation bandwagon, but armed with a better understanding and the missing key that I feel is too often left out. In this article, I share practical advice to help you shift your manifestation perspective, share a yoga tool that can help you manifest faster and avoid these common manifesting for beginners mistakes.
Mistake #1: Belief Isn’t the Whole Picture
It is said that manifestation is easy because all you have to do is believe that whatever you are attempting to manifest will happen. Belief is a powerful tool but it’s not enough. According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, manifestation is defined as “an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, especially a theory or an abstract idea.”
Notice that the word action is included in this definition. This makes it abundantly clear that manifestation isn’t just believing and letting go, but taking action towards your belief or idea.
The action step is what gets lost in most modern teachings of manifestation.
Not including that it’s not only helpful but necessary to take action is partly due to selling manifestation as easy and sexy. I mean, how powerful would you feel if you could just think your way to being rich, being able to do a headstand, or meeting the love of your life? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually!
Mistake #2: The How Isn’t Important
Once you realize that taking action on your idea or belief is key, it’s natural to want to know how. There are an abundance of online courses, books, and teachers demonstrating the how of getting what you want. Whether it’s how to build your yoga or wellness business, how to get rich quick, or how to lose weight, there’s no shortage of how-to content to consume.
But knowing how isn’t your job. Your job is trial and error. I explain to my private coaching clients that it’s like having multiple paths laid out in front of you. You step down one path by taking action of any kind. It might work so you continue walking along the path, taking more steps and actions as they are unveiled to you over time. Sometimes a roadblock or door will stop you from moving down that path and you’ll take a fork in the road or go back to your starting point altogether.
You can not think your way to the “right” action. You will only know if it’s the right or wrong step by taking it in the first place.
Mistake #3: You Aren’t Utilizing this Yoga Tool
Manifestation can be an easy concept to understand, but the process in itself is a different story! When I did my 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training, I learned about these energy currents associated with the chakra system that completely changed how I viewed manifestation.
Anodea Judith, a leading chakra expert explains these energy currents as the current of liberation and the current of manifestation. In yoga, more oftentimes than not, energy is drawn up, which is associated with the current of liberation. It’s a great, very high feeling where creativity is often found.
But the current of manifestation is too often ignored. You can find this downward current of energy through grounding exercises such as yin yoga.
Both currents need to be treated equally as the current of liberation helps you with ideas and inspiration, while the current of manifestation helps you with taking action and bringing your ideas into fruition aka manifestation.
The key takeaway here is that the current of manifestation includes action. If you’re an overthinker doing any sort of action will help you combat this and utilize the current of manifestation.
Mistake #4: Your Timeline is (Probably) Wrong
If you’re anything like me then you’re a lover of timeline. You like knowing what’s happening this week, what time you’re meeting friends for dinner, and knowing when your yoga biz will take off so you can stop teaching 20 hours a week and avoid burnout.
Unfortunately, as a human, timelines are most likely not your forte. That’s due to no fault of your own. You’re guided by your emotions, wants, and needs, and these affect the timeline you set out drastically. The Universe has its own plans and it usually doesn’t line-up with the timeline you most desire.
Giving your idea a specific time to manifest does nothing but stifle it. Your ideas and beliefs need time to breathe, space to expand, and to test the waters to see if you’re committed to what you want!
I’d say it’s safe to want a manifestation to come to fruition within a certain timeline but don’t let it be a full stop. If it happens before, wonderful. If it happens later, great, maybe something else needs to happen first!
Mistake #5: You’re too realistic
You want to know exactly how things are going to play out. And you don’t leave room to believe that it could happen another way. What you want to avoid when manifesting is being too realistic as this can hinder how your manifestations come out. If you only believe it will happen one way you will continue to ignore any signs that it may already be happening!
I’ll share an example. Back when I was a budget backpacker I was tight on money and was always worrying about how I could make more money. I was only concerned with making money through working, I saw it as the only possibility. Yet one day when I was wandering through a church in Madrid I looked down and found €90. Never did it occur to me that money could appear or be gifted when I needed it. I ended up having a moral dilemma of if I should keep money I found in a church to myself and a family walked by and grabbed the money without hesitation. I won’t make the same mistake again!
The lesson learned is that manifestation can work in mysterious ways, but your mind can also be the limiting factor in making manifestation happen.
What’s next?
Manifestation is easy to read about, but harder to do when you’re first making shifts. These resources will help you manifest faster and with more ease.
- Join Sacred Exploration, a 1-on-1 yoga & coaching program to help you uncover your confidence and courage (exactly what’s needed to manifest!)
- Tap into the current of manifestation with yin yoga classes on my YouTube channel