bhāvana - Cultivate

I remember reading a story about a yogi who came to the West. Wanting to understand what was happening spiritually here, he attended a sermon. At some point, the preacher asked all sinners to sit down. Everyone sat down except the yogi.

I grew up with a similar idea: that acknowledging our strengths was somehow egotistical. When I began practicing yoga, I was taught not only to recognize those strengths, but to cultivate them. It was a radical shift.

Bhāvana means "to intentionally cultivate a way of being." I also like to apply it to cultivating strength. I like the word "cultivate" here because it does away with both passive spirituality and rigid self-improvement. It implies a process, a seeing the seed and acting in ways to make it grow and flourish. It is not ego inflation but stewardship. 

As we practice yoga this week, I want to invite you to be a steward of your strengths in your practice: recognize them and through all the alignment cues, let them grow.

I look forward to seeing you in class.

Breathe easy,

Blessings

Jorge Nihāl