“When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite [positive] ones should be thought of. This is pratipaksa bvhavana.”
- The Yoga Sutras, 2.33
(A rough translation of the Sanskrit closing words: “Thus, the opposite side is realized.”)
When I first read this sutra in December of 2019 as part of the yoga teacher training curriculum, it intrigued me. I felt it was dishonest to negate negative thoughts. And yet, when I recognized a pattern of negative thinking in my own mind, I challenged myself to experiment and practice with this sutra.
I haven't stopped. And it's been a journey.
First, I learned I could change my mind. I didn't have to dwell in negative mental patterns. I found out I could loosen some tightness in my heart.
Next, I learned that things aren't only one way. And maybe not the way I'm currently thinking about them. When I look deeply, there's more than initially meets the eye. In fact, many complex situations co-exist all at once. I found out things are this way and that way, together at the same time.
What's fascinating about this sutra is that Patanjali wrote it thousands of years before psychologists identified the negative bias of our minds. It was thousands of years before scientists proved the neuroplasticity of our brains — that habitual (and perhaps negative) thought can be re-patterned.
Since my actions begin with mental activity, my mind influences the way I show up in the world. I believe that practicing this sutra can help adjust the negative bias of the mind and can re-program habitual thinking and reactivity that don’t serve me. So I keep practicing it — just to find out what will happen next.
Reference:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidanda, Integral Yoga Publications, first printed in 1978
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