The other day I came across a quote that said, "Instead of worrying about the worst case scenario, what if you dreamed up the best case scenario?"
My first thought was OH yes, Pratipaksha bhavana!
Pratipaksha bhavana is a yogic practice outlined in the Yoga Sutras in which yogis discontinue negative ways of thinking through the discipline of “cultivating the opposite.” From Sanskrit, pratipaksha means “opposite” and bhavana means “cultivation.”
I just BEAM when I see parallels between modern well-being culture and ancient yogic teachings. It is my humble opinion that the practice of Yoga offers something with more depth and richness.
The practice of Pratipaksha Bhavana is a fundamental piece of my approach to yoga in relationship with our mental health.
For a long time I thought of cultivating the opposite thought in a very surface level way. When we are in an anxious, fearful or depressed loop simply think an opposite, more positive thought. However, it is much more nuanced than this.
What Pratipaksha truly asks of us is that we first dive into the limiting belief or thought. It asks that we fully allow these "shadow parts" to be felt and seen. We explore the images, the body sensations, and the true fears of that thought or belief - fully & completely.
Yes, this might be scary. This is where the physical and breath centered practice of yoga can smooths the edges allowing for us to go to these parts of our psyche with grace and shall I say, bravery.
Once the limiting thought is fully explored, it is then we allow the mind to move across the continuum and dream up a completely new scenario. Even if it feels far fetched and unbelievable. It is a practice that we get better at over time.
The final piece of Pratipaksha Bhavana is to then discover the neutral, or middle path. What is in the middle of the worry and the big dream? How does that feel in our body? From here we can begin to make real changes in the way our mind works, thus reducing our suffering.
Our minds are plastic and pliable and can be stretched just the way our bodies can.
I hope that this blog has invited you to contemplate this ancient practice in a very doable way. It is my wish that these emails help you right where you are, right now. No need to roll out a mat! You just need your thoughts and maybe even a journal and pen if that is your jam!
