Pratipaksha Bhavana: Viewing the World According to the Yoga Sutras

​What is pratipaksha bhavana? 

Pratipaksha bhavana is referenced in Patajali’s Yoga Sutras, specifically 11.33, which states, “vitarkabadhane pratipakshabhavanam,” which translates to “when disturbed by negative thoughts, cultivate the opposite.” 


Before we discuss what this is, I’d like to mention what it isn’t. Pratipaksha bhavana isn’t spiritual bypassing or Pollyanna thinking. We don’t ignore or dismiss our negative thoughts to replace them with positive ones. 

We practice Svadyaya (self-study) to acknowledge the negative thoughts, observe where we feel them in the body, and then begin to cultivate the opposite thought.


Remember: To cultivate something isn’t usually immediate. Like sowing a seed and cultivating the soil to help the seed grow, Pratipaksha bhavana takes time and practice. 



How Do We Practice Pratipaksha Bhavana? 

For many, one of the biggest takeaways from a regular Yoga practice is the idea that perspective isn’t truth. What one person experiences, thinks, and feels isn’t universal truth. For each experience, there are multiple (possibly infinite) possibilities. 


The Truth: We are beings in a human experience. 

Anything beyond this is perspective & perspective is relative. Pratipaksha Bhavana works within this truth.


Let’s say you feel activated by someone’s words and suddenly find yourself in an inner monologue of feeling  “less than.” 


Example Practice:

To practice Pratipaksha Bhavana, you can pause, acknowledge the feeling, scan your body and notice where you’re holding this feeling in the body, and then explore the opposite thought.


“I feel like I’m not enough.” Pause, acknowledge and feel this feeling in the body. 

   • Opposite: “I am whole and complete.” How does it feel in my body when I feel whole and complete? What experiences help me to feel whole and complete?” 

   • Mindfully imagine or visualize an experience that makes you feel whole and complete. Feel this in the body. Where does it arise? 

  • Go back to the less than thought. “I feel like I’m not enough.” Feel it in the body. 

   • Go back to the “I am whole and complete” thought and feeling. 

   • Go back and forth between the two as many times as feels comfortable, and end with the positive. Feel this in the body. Release the practice with a deep inhalation and exhale through the mouth. Slowly reawaken the body.

••••

Example Practice:

If starting with personal feelings is intimidating, you can start with physical sensations like hot and cold, for example. 

   • Lie down or find a comfortable seat. Mindfully welcome the sensation of cold. Sit with it and feel the experience of cold in the body. 

   • Switch to mindfully welcoming the sensation of heat to the body. Sit with that experience. Oscillate between the two as long as is comfortable. 

Release with a deep inhalation and exhale through the mouth. Slowly reawaken the body. 

______


Yoga teaches that we are whole. We are beings in a human experience and therefore always connected, whole and complete. When we go back and forth with this practice of the comparison of opposites, the negative feelings release. Of course this is not a one-and-done exercise. This is a lifelong practice. 


That said, the more we practice, the easier it becomes. 


Again, this is not ignoring or dismissing the negative thoughts, it’s a way to help us observe and learn from experiences and to remember that we are more than this body and this life experience - always connected to the God of our hearts; always whole and complete; beings in a human experience. 


•••••

Let this experience show you how many of our experiences come from the mind and what we focus on grows. 

We are not our thoughts and experiences. We are always whole and complete. 


Namasté & Blessings,

Resa

🤎










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