EDDIE STERN explores the 3 basic attitudes that shape the way we form a relationship with the inner self in yoga. Eddie is the co-founder of the Urban Yogis, and is on the board of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. His latest book is One Simple Thing, a New Look at the Science of Yoga and How It Can Change Your Life. He has also created two apps: The Breathing App and Yoga 365.
Yoga is perhaps one of the earliest self-care practices presented in a systematic way. But self-care in yoga is a little different from the way we currently think of self-care, because it is care for our inner consciousness. It is the quest to discover the deepest understanding of who we are, what our purpose is, and what we are doing here during our short time on Earth.
When we care for our innermost nature, which is one of the things that meditation teaches, other aspects of our life can fall into place. We sleep better, eat better, relate better, and act better. It is a top-down approach to healing.
Take sleep, for example: we don’t try to sleep better, but we try to form a relationship with the person within who is sleeping. Better sleep is a result of that relationship. Meditation brings us into contact with the person within us – the consciousness within us – that is present while eating, sleeping, acting, and relating, so that all these activities become imbued with consciousness, and are no longer compulsive.
Ancient yoga texts discuss three basic attitudes that drive how we form a relationship with our inner self. Each is described as a bhavana. Bhavana is often translated as mood or emotion, but it is more specifically a mood or emotion that accompanies an action. For example, one day you might learn a yoga pose that brings you great joy, or a sense of freedom or lightness. When that happens, you consciously attach that feeling to the action. Each time you do that posture, you can recall the feeling associated with it, until the two become interconnected, and each time you do that pose, it brings joy. The same is true with ritual, prayer, work, creativity, and meditation. The mood we bring to any practice is highly important, and when the mood and action become indelibly connected, we will always enter into that expanded state as we perform the actions. Then all actions become devotional.
All too often, we get bored, are tired, have stuff to do, or are rushing to get things done. Sometimes we are simply goal-oriented and miss the sweetness of the practice. So, to recall the bhavana as we do a practice is one of the first tunings of consciousness that takes place as we transform.
Here are 3 key bhavanas inspired by one of my professors, Dr. Karuna Nagarajan:
1. Adopt the opposite attitude to a negative thought or emotion
This is known as pratipaksha bhavana. If you feel anger, try to replace it with tenderness. If you feel jealousy, try to replace it with sympathetic joy. Easier said than done, but nobody said yoga was easy! Pratipaksha bhavana is featured in the Yoga Sutras.
2. Observe your emotions, don’t get lost in them
This is known as saakshi bhavana. Things are going to come up, and we all know by now not to push them away. Observe them, and they gradually lose their energy and power, and we also learn something from them.
Remember, you are the observing awareness, not your thoughts. You wouldn’t know you were having a thought, or an emotion, unless something was there to observe it. So, consciously practicing witness-awareness throughout the day is a great practice, and good for our overall mental and emotional well-being.
3. Understand that nothing is permanent
This is known as anitya bhavana. The only certainty is change. So, practice with an equilibrium of mind, and also practice having equilibrium of mind. This is described in many places in the Yoga Sutras and is what happens when success in asanas occur. We become balanced and able to withstand the ups and downs of life, the dvandvas, or pairs of opposites.
The ability to withstand change is to know and expect that change will come, so we don’t need to be surprised by it. We just need to be strong enough to deal with it.
Each of these can act as an anchor. See what happens when you recall any of these at some point during the day, as well as during your practice. When we consciously implement these ideas in our spiritual practice, they can be there for us in our life practices as well. When we care for the inner Self, it is the highest type of self-care, one that reverberates through all aspects of our life.
Illustrations by ARATI SHEDDE
Eddie Stern
