Practice for the Week of May 28-June 3

For the past two weeks, we have been practicing bhavana, the cultivation of positive and uplifting attitudes.

Through yoga we learn to cultivate positive feelings, even when we feel downhearted, discouraged, or frustrated.

Doug Keller writes:

"Hatha yoga poses call forth feeling: they give voice to noble feelings through movement, disposition of muscle, breath and bone. Backbends evoke exuberance; standing poses express strength and daring; forward bends counsel quietude and patience. Each pose is like a gesture of a yogic attitude; each pose reaches deeply into the heart and pulls up greatness, leaving you feeling cleansed and uplifted - not just physically but on a deeper, more emotional level than you would think physical exercise could reach. Each posture brings forth an experience of an inner yogic feeling and restores you from the wear and tear of life."

Douglas Keller, “Like Breath and Heartbeat,” Darshan Magazine 127-128 (1997): 15.

Our practice for this week is to develop awareness of the ways in which yoga asanas and breathing cultivate our feelings.

Doug Keller teaches yoga classes and trainings in the Washington, D.C. area at the Health Advantage Yoga Center in Herndon, Virginia and at Willow Street Yoga in Takoma Park, Maryland, as well as at other locations in the U.S. and Europe. Doug will be teaching a weekend workshop at the Holiday Manor studio August 10-11.

Click here for more information and how to register.

Practice for the Week of May 21-27

Last week we introduced "bhav", a Sanskrit word meaning the "state of being", and "bhavana" meaning the conscious cultivation of a positive attitude as a yoga practice. Sometimes it's difficult to cultivate a positive attitude, particularly during times in which we are stressed out, frustrated, or downhearted.  In these circumstances, it becomes even more important to practice bhavana.  Swami Anantananda, a teacher in the Siddha Yoga tradition, defined bhavana is the practice of "pretending the truth"... kind of like "faking it until you make it".  Bhavana is the cultivation of attitudes of compassion, grace, serenity, etc, even if we don't feel that way in the present moment.

One of my favorite ways of "pretending the truth" is to pretend that I am already enlightened, and that everyone else is, too! It helps me to see the world in a new way.

Many affirmations from the yoga tradition, quotes from our teachers and traditional mantras are bhavanas. 

"Practice... all is coming." Shri K. Pattabhi Jois
"The heart if the hub of all sacred places; go there and roam." Bhagavan Nityananda
"Wake up to your inner courage and live the life of your dreams." Swami Chidvilasananda
"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace."  St. Francis of Assisi
"In yoga, no effort is ever lost or wasted." Bhagavad Gita
"I Am That" Traditional mantra
"Open the window in the center of your heart and let the spirit flow in and out." Rumi

Practice for the Week of May 14-20: Bhavana

Bhav is a Sanskrit word which means (among many other meanings): coming into existence, state of being, or becoming.  In the practice of yoga, bhav is one's attitude or state.  Sometimes we informally refer to the "bhav" of a yoga teacher, student, or studio, as the "state of being" of that place or person in terms of whether the state is perceived to be peaceful, non-peaceful, devotional, worldly, etc...
Bhavana means "cultivation"... to "cultivate, assume or practice an attitude". 
Some examples from the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali:

2.33  Vitarkabhadane pratipaksabhavanam ||

Thoughts contrary to the yamas and niyamas are to be countered by taking the attitude of the opposing point of view in a debate.

1.33 Maitrikarunamuditopeksanam sukhaduhkhapunyapunya
vishayanambhavanatascittanirodhah ||

Undisturbed stillness of mind is cultivated by practicing an attitude of friendliness toward those who are happy, compassion toward those who are unhappy, delight in those who are virtuous and dispassion toward those who are wicked.

Our bhav (attitude) gives meaning to our experiences.  If we cultivate an attitude of sarcasm, dismissiveness and negativity, then our mind becomes colored by those negative feelings and our experiences become trivial and unworthy.  If we cultivate an attitude of reverence, devotion, compassion, and deep feeling, then our experiences become meaningful and uplifting. 

The practice for the week is to become aware of your bhav and practice bhavana - cultivating positive and uplifting attitudes.