058 – What is Pratipaksha Bhavana

Pratipaksha Bhavana is the teaching of Swami Sivananda. It is described by Swami Niranjanananda as conversion of negative thoughts into positive thoughts. You cultivate a positive thought every time a negative thought enters the mind.

Pratipaksha means opposite and bhavana means emotion/sentiment. You replace an unhappy feeling with a calm feeling, bad performance with a good performance. You are now working on your Pratipaksha Bhavana. When you recall an unpleasant situation or traumatic experience, you become aware of it and instead of embroidering it, you cultivate a positive thought. You can also take from the experience, what you have learnt. You can only accomplish this if you are aware of the baggage and consciously replace it.

How to lean this conversion

It is not easy to affect change without awareness. Awareness is practiced by watching yourself practicing a neutral activity. Practice Samvritt Pranayama: inhale to the count of 5, hold your breath to the count of 5, exhale to the count of 10, hold your breath outside to the count of 10. Use your mantra or “So Ham”. Count backwards from 27, or 54. No errors or repeat from the beginning.

Outcome you will become aware of your responses. Witness the change in yourself. You will feel light and full of prana. Pratipaksha Bhavana is a gift from Swami Sivanananda.

Aim Hrim Klim

 

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