Pratipaksha Bhavana Yoga Nidra

A special Yoga Nidra that explores the process of Pratipaksha Bhavana as described in the Yoga Sutras as "cultivating the opposite". The beginning of the recording includes the audio from an article written by the author about this practice. This recording is from a live unscripted class taught in November of 2020.

Timestamps:
- 0:00-8:03 Pratipaksha Bhavana Article
- 8:04-45:13 Yoga Nidra Meditaiton

Transcript

So this first part that I'm going to share is from an article that I'm working on.

All right,

So these days I often find my mind wandering much more than normal,

Especially when I'm doing mundane tasks like getting dressed in the morning or cooking or doing laundry,

And unfortunately sometimes even when I'm driving.

There are just so many unanswered questions right now and so much uncertainty about the future that I find it difficult to stay present no matter what I am doing.

I feel my attention drifting to unrelated memories,

To old conversations,

To plans and lists.

And often my mind will get stuck in a negative feedback loop where this unspecified anxiety about the future keeps my mind stuck there.

And I wonder,

Am I feeling anxious because of that mental loop or is the mental loop actually causing the anxiety?

And I think that both are often true.

So several months ago,

I had a really challenging conversation with someone from work and I was left feeling frustrated and misunderstood.

Even after talking about it with several people,

I was left with this nagging sense of unease and it just kept creeping up on me when I least expected it.

Typically,

It happened when I was somewhat distracted and doing something else.

And I caught myself thinking things such as,

Why can't they understand where I'm coming from?

I can't believe that I have to deal with this right now on top of everything else.

After all I have done for them,

How could they?

This is what I get for standing up for myself.

I am powerless to change this.

I'm not good enough.

Okay,

Wait a minute.

Where did that last thought come from?

My mind seemed to jump to that conclusion without any conscious input.

And personally,

I do know that it originated from my very perfectionist mother.

The feeling of not being good enough was installed in my consciousness from a very early age.

And decades of experiences and reactions and conditioned responses reinforced it until it became part of my mental operating system.

It created a repetitive groove or a feedback loop where my thoughts would get stuck when I was stressed,

Angry or disappointed.

Unfortunately,

These negative core beliefs are not uncommon and they often have to do with our self perceived worthiness and value.

You may have observed your own internal voice saying things like,

I am powerless.

I don't deserve happiness.

I don't belong.

I'm a failure.

I am defective.

I am unlovable.

Does that sound familiar?

Maybe in that dark secret part of your heart,

Do one of those statements resonate?

Perhaps you have been able to turn down the nagging internal critic over the years,

But every so often it rears its head and demands your attention.

While all too common,

These core beliefs are simply untrue.

Sure,

We all have moments of unskilled action,

But we are also all inherently worthy.

The simple act of recognizing that we are caught in one of these mental grooves is the first step to stopping it.

And finding a more compassionate way of talking to ourselves.

In yoga,

We call these negative mental grooves samskaras,

And they are a result from the lifetime of actions,

Sense impressions,

Experiences and reactions that make up our human conditioning.

Each time we get into a loop,

We reinforce it by repeating the same thoughts and behaviors.

Our mind gets stuck like a needle on a skipping record,

And the groove in the wax gets deeper and deeper every time we engage in the pattern.

Our conditioning both reinforces and is reinforced by the patterns and round and round we go.

One simple way to stop the process in its tracks is to mindfully jump the groove and reframe your thoughts.

I came across a meme recently that showed the glass half full analogy with some interesting new choices based on how the glass of water is framed in the mind of the perceiver.

As we know,

A pessimist sees the glass as half empty,

While an optimist sees it as half full.

A physicist sees a glass half full of liquid and half full of gas.

A relativist sees a glass that is both half empty and half full.

A skeptic wonders,

Is that really water in the glass?

A capitalist wonders how much money they can make off the water and the glass.

An anarchist wants to break the glass and spill the water.

A nihilist thinks that the glass does not exist.

And a realist simply sees a glass of water without making inferences or judgments about it at all.

In each instance,

The perceiver is looking at the same half full glass of water,

But each person's conditioning makes them focus on something different.

Could the pessimist focus on the water rather than the lack of water and change their perspective?

Neuroscience calls this cognitive reframing,

And there is a simple mindfulness practice that can help us to do just that.

The yoga sutras describe the practice of pratipaksha bhavana.

The verse states,

When disturbed by negative thoughts,

Cultivate the opposite.

That seems simple,

But with many things in practice,

It actually does take a bit of practice.

In any situation,

Our emotions and our self-talk are ultimately a product of how we perceive the situation.

Our minds interpret each situation through conditioning and our mood.

So no matter what has gotten you caught up in your own negative mental loop,

Take a moment to realize that you are stuck and cultivate the opposite by negating what you are telling yourself.

In my example from earlier,

As soon as I caught myself ending up in my mental unworthiness groove,

I could negate,

Why can't they understand where I'm coming from to why can't I understand where they're coming from?

I might negate,

I am powerless to change this to I am powerful enough to change this and simply negate I'm not good enough to I am good enough.

Now,

Sometimes the negated statements don't really make sense,

And that's OK.

The point is that you catch yourself and insert the negative statement,

Negated statement mentally so that your mind jumps out of the groove,

The feedback loop is momentarily broken.

And it's comforting to know that we can change our emotional state with simple awareness and we can change our perception by changing our perspective.

We're going to come back to that in a bit.

So we'll start the actual yoga nidra now.

So you've had a few minutes to rest there.

And is there something that needs to be adjusted?

So maybe you need a blanket,

You need to bend your knees more.

What would make the experience just maybe 10 percent more comfortable?

Go ahead and take the time to get what you need.

And then when you are back to your spot.

Allow yourself to sink down into the floor.

Without judgment,

All of these things that we're trying to feel or think about internally,

We should try to do them without judgment.

Notice the flavor of your mood right now.

Are you feeling distracted and preoccupied?

Or calm and focused?

As we practice this sacred sleep practice,

We're going to try to bring ourselves into the state of awareness that's between being awake and being asleep.

It's called the alpha brain state.

In this state,

You are more easily able to witness what's happening internally without having a judgmental reaction.

If you find yourself getting caught up in some reaction,

Simply keep listening.

Similarly,

If you catch yourself falling asleep,

Just try to come back to the instructions.

And please don't worry about something that you missed.

So allowing your attention to move away from your mood and come more into your physical body.

Notice the position that you have placed yourself in.

Notice the feeling of the body resting on the ground or on the bed.

Notice any parts of your body that seem unwilling to relax into the support of the floor and the props.

The usual suspects tend to be the neck and shoulder area.

Also,

Occasionally the low back or groin area might feel like you're holding on.

Can you consciously try to release tension in those places?

By taking a few deeper breaths,

Even imagining that your breath could be directed right into those parts of your body.

And on the exhalation,

Try to release.

And then recalling your intention,

If you've been working with a sankoppa or an intention for some time,

Please bring that to mind.

If you don't have one,

Can you think of a positive quality that might help you to deal with your stressors more easily?

And then create a positive statement,

Usually beginning with I am or my.

And you're going to include that positive quality.

Say it to yourself three times in the present tense as if it's already happening and be very clear and definitive about your statement.

So take a moment to say your intention silently three times.

And as we go through these different levels of awareness,

We're going to start with the more physical levels of awareness and then move into more subtle levels of awareness.

So the first physical awareness is called a body scan.

And as I name these different parts of your body,

Move all of your awareness into that one place.

This only takes a microsecond.

It's very quick.

You'll be kind of fascinated to feel your awareness really going into those places.

And you might notice your awareness kind of flowing from place to place.

So we're going to start on the right hand and bring all of your physical awareness into your right thumb.

And you might want to repeat the name to yourself silently after you hear it.

If you feel like you're drifting off.

So right thumb,

Right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And the pinky finger.

And then feel the palm of the right hand.

Feel the back of the hand.

The right wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Right armpit.

Shoulder.

The right side of your chest.

Waist.

The right hip.

Buttock.

Groin.

Feel the front of the right thigh.

The back of the thigh.

Knee.

Chin.

Calf.

Ankle.

The right heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Then feel all the toes of the right foot.

And then notice the big toe.

The second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the fifth toe.

Then notice all of those places together.

The right hand,

Arm,

Torso,

Leg,

And foot.

The whole right side of the body.

And then move your awareness into your left hand.

And specifically into the left hand thumb.

Feel the left index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And the pinky finger.

The palm of the left hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

The upper left arm.

Armpit.

Shoulder.

Left side of the chest.

Waist.

Hip.

The left buttock.

Groin.

Front of the left thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Knee.

Chin.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the left foot.

Top of the foot.

All the toes on the left side.

And then the left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the fifth toe.

And then feel that whole left side of your body all at the same time.

Then let's move our awareness to the crown of the head and feel your scalp,

The right side of the head,

Left side of the head,

Right temple,

Left temple.

Feel the forehead.

Right eye and eyebrow.

Left eye and eyebrow.

The space between the eyebrows.

Feel your right nostril.

Left nostril.

The whole of your nose.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right side of the jaw.

Left jaw.

Feel the inside of your mouth.

Feel the top of the mouth and the top teeth.

The core of the mouth,

The bottom teeth,

The tongue.

Feel your chin.

Front of your throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Left side of the chest.

Feel the length of your sternum.

Notice the upper abdomen.

Navel.

Lower belly.

Right groin.

Left groin.

And the floor of your pelvis.

Notice your tailbone and the sacrum in the back of the pelvis.

Feel again the right buttock and left buttock.

And then feel your whole spine.

Follow the curve of the spine from the tailbone all the way up to the base of your skull.

Then notice the right shoulder blade and the left shoulder blade.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

And the crown again.

Then feel just your head,

The whole head and face.

Then notice your torso front and back.

Then can you feel every part of your body at the same time?

Notice your whole physical body.

So from awareness of your body,

Let's move into one more subtle layer,

Which is awareness of the breath.

As if your breath were the most interesting thing that you could possibly be thinking about right now,

Feel yourself breathe in and breathe out.

Do you observe that as soon as you look at your breath,

You wonder if it's correct or not?

Know that there is no wrong way for you to observe yourself breathing.

No need to change it right now.

Focus on your inhales.

Feel the cool air come in through your nose and move up through your sinuses,

Down through the back of your throat and into the torso.

Where does it go in the torso?

Do you feel movement in the chest?

Do you feel movement in your abdomen?

How about in the abdomen below the navel?

Do you feel movement in the back of the torso?

Stay curious.

Notice if the inhalation feels expansive,

Like a balloon being blown up.

Does the inhale come with any feeling of tension?

How easy is it for you to stay connected to the breath?

Does the mind wander?

And if it does,

Each time you have an opportunity to bring your awareness back to the breath,

It's like you are exercising that muscle of awareness.

Then switch focus to the exhales.

What does it feel like to exhale the breath?

What does the air feel like as it passes back through the nose?

Does it feel warmer,

More humid?

Is there a sense of releasing?

There's often a surrendering sensation as the breath moves out.

And then allow the breath to continue in the background and let's move into an experience of some pairs of opposites.

So first,

Can you remember the last time that you felt really distracted?

It may have been recently.

It may be right now.

Where you were preoccupied with a worry or a plan or an old conversation.

And you were almost moving through your activity on autopilot.

And your mind just kept bringing up a situation over and over.

What does it feel like to be distracted?

And then compare that feeling to being calm and focused and present.

How does it feel to be fully immersed in what is happening right now in this moment?

Those thoughts turning down to be in the background or even stopping completely.

And all of your awareness is honed in on the internal landscape of what you feel and your breath.

Focus might also come in doing something.

So an activity that holds your attention and everything else just falls away.

And then let's just try one more duality.

So when we do these mental processes during yoga nidra,

We are trying to allow our attention to kind of move between different things without pulling up the reason why.

So think about the last time where you felt upset by something that someone said to you.

And again,

We're not going to allow ourselves to fall into the situation as if you could observe it from the outside.

Maybe someone said something judgmental or you read something,

A comment that someone made online that was judgmental.

And notice how you react to that.

Do you feel like you need to protect yourself?

Is there a desire to lash out?

And again,

We're not going to let ourselves judge ourselves for our own reactions.

Just remember what that felt like.

Did it feel like something happened in your body?

Was there a tightening sensation?

Where was it?

And then compare that to being in a moment with someone in a conversation where you felt love and you felt acceptance and you felt compassion,

Mutual compassion and acceptance.

And what does that feel like in your emotional state?

And what does it feel like in your body?

Very different.

Does it feel open?

Does it feel a little bit more like you're right,

Reaching outward instead of trying to pull inward?

So just remember that sensation.

And then letting those comparisons fall into the background as well.

Take your attention into what you are seeing behind your closed eyelids.

As if you were looking at a screen and notice,

Does your screen,

Your mind screen seem like it is a two dimensional surface,

Or does it have some three dimensional depth to it?

Like you could see into infinite amount of space above,

To the sides,

Below and straight out in front of you.

Observe what color do you see?

Is it a mix of different colors?

Are there areas of darkness and areas of light?

Do you see little flashes or sparkles?

Is there swirling?

Like you were looking at a photograph that was being developed at first,

There's not really much happening.

It just seems like this undifferentiated stuff.

And then slowly things might come out of that swirling darkness.

So as I mentioned a few items,

Stay in your observation seat,

Trying to watch what happens.

Staying detached as much as you can.

So can you imagine the view from the top of a mountain?

Can you remember what the telephone sounds like when it rings?

And notice if your mind goes to an old fashioned sound or a modern sound.

Imagine walking through a shady wooded forest.

Can you imagine hearing a heated argument?

A dog wagging its tail.

A sunrise over the ocean.

Freshly washed sheets.

The sound of rain on the roof.

Finding forgiveness.

The sound of a skipping record.

The feel of holding a loved one's hands.

The sound of soothing music.

A family portrait.

And the feeling of your body resting in meditation.

So allowing those mental images and memories to fall into the background again and bringing your mind back to those core belief patterns that were mentioned earlier.

One of them may have resonated with you.

Statements of powerlessness,

Of not belonging,

Of being defective or unworthy.

Now,

We know that these are not actually true,

But that doesn't mean that they don't often come up.

Or maybe it's rarely that they come up.

But which one do you tend to embody in those moments of stress and anger and disappointment?

So pick one.

And let's practice this pratipaksha bhavana.

So as you allow that negative belief to arise without judging yourself for it.

Consider objectively,

How does it color the different parts of your life?

Does it show up in your work or in your relationships?

Or in your future plans?

Staying detached from any self blame as you allow your mind to consider.

Then imagine that someone that you love was saying this negative belief about themselves.

Notice your compassionate reaction and the need to want to comfort the other person to tell them all the ways that that isn't true.

Is it possible to cultivate the same amount of compassion for yourself in the situation?

You are just as deserving of compassion as anyone else.

Now that you have identified one of these problematic core beliefs,

Take a moment to consciously negate the statement.

Allow it to be transformed into a positive I statement,

A statement of worthiness and self care,

Power and belonging.

It might be similar to your intention,

But it doesn't have to be.

It could be completely unrelated.

So begin to repeat this negated statement to yourself over and over mentally,

Like a mantra.

Imagine that it is creating a new groove in the record of your mind.

It creates a deep and abiding mental habit that you can rely on again and again,

As often as needed to keep your mind focused on your true worth and inherent goodness.

Then slowly allow that mantra to quiet in your mind as if it were playing in the background.

But know that you can turn it up whenever the negative thoughts begin to intrude.

So from those mental wanderings,

Let's bring our awareness gradually back into a present moment of mindfulness.

By observing what our sense organs are telling us.

So what can you hear besides me talking?

Are there noises coming from outside of your space?

Sounds of traffic or other indistinct sounds that seem far away?

Are sounds coming from other rooms or from other people or pets?

Do you hear the hum of electronics or appliances?

Can you hear your breath?

Then turn your attention toward what you can smell.

Do you smell food,

Laundry,

Other cleaning products?

Can you smell something that you put on your body today?

Explore your sense of smell.

Then notice what you can taste.

Is there a lingering flavor of what you last ate or drink?

The mint of toothpaste or mouthwash?

Or an unspecified sour,

Salty,

Bitter,

Sweet or neutral taste?

Then move awareness into what you can feel physically.

Observing the position of your body.

Do you feel the pull of gravity?

Do you feel your clothing touching your skin?

Can you feel glasses,

Watch or jewelry?

Feel the touch of breath being pulled into the torso and its gentle release.

One more time,

Go into your mind screen and notice what you see behind your closed eyelids.

Observing your sense of sight.

And then without opening your eyes,

Remember where you are.

What room are you in?

Imagine your position in the space and what other furniture or objects are around you.

Is there another person or an animal?

Can you remember what is to your right side?

What is to your left side?

Where are the windows?

Is there a door or a hallway?

Can you remember what you were wearing?

And do you remember the time of day?

And as you start to allow your attention to move into your external space,

Let this begin to bring you back out of all of this internal focus.

And you can start to move the fingers and the toes,

Keeping the eyes closed for just a few more minutes here.

The head might like to rock from side to side.

And then allow the eyes to open and just notice what is the first thing that you observe,

Something perhaps on the ceiling or on the wall.

And then let your knees bend.

And rock them a little bit from side to side.

Before rolling over to your side,

Support your head and stay there for just a bit.

So remind yourself one more time of your intention.

And you can again observe,

Was your intention the same as your negated statement?

Was it similar?

Was it very different?

It doesn't matter either way,

But just notice.

And as you're ready to push yourself back up to a seated position,

And you might like to roll your shoulders as you sit up or after you sit up.

And just orient yourself in your space.

And notice how you feel compared to how you felt when you first started.

Reviews

Wonderful!!!! Thank you 🕊

Thank you so very, very much Cheryl. Not just a beautiful nidra practice, but your essay at the start really is profound and gives a lot to reflect upon.

Much appreciation and gratitude.

I did not know what to expect. I so enjoyed this Nidra.