Eddie is a yoga instructor from NYC, an author, a researcher, and has created two apps, The Breathing App and Yoga 365. He is the co-founder of the Urban Yogis, and is on the board of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. His latest book is One Simple Thing, a New Look at the Science of Yoga and How It Can Change Your Life.

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Eddie Stern

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  id="h-eddie-stern-explores-the-3-basic-attitudes-that-shape-the-way-we-form-a-relationship-with-the-inner-self-in-yoga-eddie-is-the-co-founder-of-the-urban-yogis-and-is-on-the-board-of-the-black-yoga-teachers-alliance-his-latest-book-is-one-simple-thing-a-new-look-at-the-science-of-yoga-and-how-it-can-change-your-life-he-has-also-created-two-apps-the-breathing-app-and-yoga-365">
  <strong><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #894d9e">EDDIE STERN</mark>
    explores the 3 basic attitudes that shape the way we form a relationship
    with the inner self in yoga. Eddie is the co-founder of the Urban Yogis, and
    is on the board of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance. His latest book is
    <em>One Simple Thing, a New Look at the Science of Yoga and How It Can Change
      Your Life.</em>
    He has also created two apps:&nbsp;The Breathing App&nbsp;and&nbsp;Yoga
    365.</strong>
</h4>

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<p>
  Yoga is perhaps one of the earliest self-care practices presented in a
  systematic way. But self-care in yoga is a little different from the way we
  currently think of self-care, because it is care for our inner consciousness.
  It is the quest to discover the deepest understanding of who we are, what our
  purpose is, and what we are doing here during our short time on Earth.
</p>

<p>
  When we care for our innermost nature, which is one of the things that
  meditation teaches, other aspects of our life can fall into place. We sleep
  better, eat better, relate better, and act better. It is a top-down approach
  to healing.
</p>

<p>
  Take sleep, for example: we don’t try to sleep better, but we try to form a
  relationship with the person within who is sleeping. Better sleep is a result
  of that relationship. Meditation brings us into contact with the person within
  us – the consciousness within us – that is present while eating, sleeping,
  acting, and relating, so that all these activities become imbued with
  consciousness, and are no longer compulsive.
</p>

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  <figure>
    <img decoding="async" width="700" height="723" alt="caring-self-all2" class="has-img-center lazyload"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/caring_self_all2_03d715f663.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T10:24:15.002Z" />
  </figure>
</div>

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<p>
  Ancient yoga texts discuss three basic attitudes that drive how we form a
  relationship with our inner self. Each is described as
  a&nbsp;<em>bhavana</em>. Bhavana&nbsp;is often translated as mood or emotion,
  but it is more specifically a mood or emotion that accompanies an action. For
  example, one day you might learn a yoga pose that brings you great joy, or a
  sense of freedom or lightness. When that happens, you consciously attach that
  feeling to the action. Each time you do that posture, you can recall the
  feeling associated with it, until the two become interconnected, and each time
  you do that pose, it brings joy. The same is true with ritual, prayer, work,
  creativity, and meditation. The mood we bring to any practice is highly
  important, and when the mood and action become indelibly connected, we will
  always enter into that expanded state as we perform the actions. Then all
  actions become devotional.
</p>

<p>
  All too often, we get bored, are tired, have stuff to do, or are rushing to
  get things done. Sometimes we are simply goal-oriented and miss the sweetness
  of the practice. So, to recall the&nbsp;bhavana&nbsp;as we do a practice is
  one of the first tunings of consciousness that takes place as we
  transform.&nbsp;
</p>

<p>
  Here are 3 key&nbsp;bhavanas&nbsp;inspired by one of my professors, Dr. Karuna
  Nagarajan:&nbsp;
</p>

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  <strong><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #894d9e">1. Adopt the
      opposite attitude to a negative thought or emotion</mark></strong>
</h4>

<p>
  <strong>This is known as <em>pratipaksha bhavana</em></strong>. If you feel anger, try to replace it with tenderness.
  If you feel jealousy,
  try to replace it with sympathetic joy. Easier said than done, but nobody said
  yoga was easy!&nbsp;Pratipaksha bhavana&nbsp;is featured in the Yoga
  Sutras.&nbsp;
</p>

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  <figure>
    <img decoding="async" width="400" height="400" alt="caring-self-all3" class="has-img-center lazyload"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/caring_self_all3_86888d6fee.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T10:25:21.562Z" />
  </figure>
</div>

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  <strong><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #894d9e">2. Observe your
      emotions, don’t get lost in them</mark></strong>
</h4>

<p>
  <strong>This is known as <em>saakshi bhavana</em></strong>. Things are going to come up, and we all know by now not to
  push them away.
  Observe them, and they gradually lose their energy and power, and we also
  learn something from them.
</p>

<p>
  Remember, you are the observing awareness, not your thoughts. You wouldn’t
  know you were having a thought, or an emotion, unless something was there to
  observe it. So, consciously practicing witness-awareness throughout the day is
  a great practice, and good for our overall mental and emotional
  well-being.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</p>

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<div class="block-image">
  <figure>
    <img decoding="async" width="400" height="400" alt="caring-self-all4" class="has-img-center lazyload"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/caring_self_all4_58c05f6d98.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T10:26:08.636Z" />
  </figure>
</div>

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  <strong><mark style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #8a4d9e">3. Understand that
      nothing is permanent</mark></strong>
</h4>

<p>
  <strong>This is known as <em>anitya bhavana</em></strong>. The only certainty is change. So, practice with an
  equilibrium of mind, and
  also practice having equilibrium of mind. This is described in many places in
  the Yoga Sutras and is what happens when success in asanas occur. We become
  balanced and able to withstand the ups and downs of life,
  the&nbsp;<em>dvandvas,</em>&nbsp;or pairs of opposites.
</p>

<p>
  The ability to withstand change is to know and expect that change will come,
  so we don’t need to be surprised by it. We just need to be strong enough to
  deal with it.&nbsp;
</p>

<p>
  Each of these can act as an anchor. See what happens when you recall any of
  these at some point during the day, as well as during your practice. When we
  consciously implement&nbsp;these ideas in our spiritual practice, they can be
  there for us in our life practices as well.&nbsp;When we care for the inner
  Self, it is the highest type of self-care, one that reverberates through all
  aspects of our life.
</p>

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  <figure>
    <img decoding="async" width="400" height="400" alt="caring-self-all5" class="has-img-center lazyload"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/caring_self_all5_01dcd0eb2c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T10:26:50.943Z" />
  </figure>
</div>

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  Illustrations by ARATI SHEDDE
</h4>

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Eddie Stern

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