What makes yoga different from another physical activities – workout in gym, pilates, stretching, ballet? Perhaps, centuries of philosophy behind it and that unbelievable feeling of peace and unity which (I truly hope) you get after every class. In Yoga asanas are considered to be the instrument of teaching your mind concentration, relaxation, becoming more aware of yourself. It’s also a great tool to discover the areas of personal improvement – practicing forward bending asanas can give more flexibility in interpersonal communications, and Worrier poses are surely aiding to self-confidence.

The exact mechanics of solving more complicated than just obvious health issues by asanas lays in Bhavas – the attitudes, which are used during the practice. There are four of Bhavas, and their application in yoga postures comes from Samkhya philosophy – so surely the background is solid

1. Dharma Bhava – the attitude of Duty. It is said that the first duty is towards yourself – which may sound a little egoistic at first, but actually makes a lot of sense. Uniqueness of our own existence is a precious and we cannot serve anyone else when we are not functioning well ourselves. Recall the safety instructions in the aircraft – you are supposed first to take care of yourself and than help others. So, your duty is to remember to concentrate on your practice, to feel it as the big value added to your everyday life, to reallize it’s importance and difference it makes – come up with your own formula and set your mood for the class! This attitude is used while practicing meditation postures – Sukhasana, Padmasana, Sthir Prathnasana (standing prayer’s pose) and others. One minute of right attitude and you are in the right mode for whole session! Dharma Bhava helps to realize your priorities and gives your practice deeper meaning.
2. Gnyana (or Jnana) Bhava – attitude of knowledge and awareness. It means that we need to direct our attention to what exactly happens during performing asana in our body – where do you feel the stretch? are you comfortable with your legs straight or should you may be use some props? is your breathing fine? First you start to ask yourself these questions consciously one-by-one and with practice you learn to read the signals as the whole picture. Gnyana Bhava is the best to be practiced in asanas, which include a lot of work with extremities – like Trikonasana, Vakrasana, Utkatasana and many others.
3. Vairagya Bhava – detachment and humility. Also relaxation and the attitude of letting go – my personal favorite Focusing on result is great, but in yoga the process and your state of mind matter more. This Bhava is felt the most in forward bends – don’t push yourself and let the gravity do all work for you – stay at your maximum possible bend and relax, feel the pull of Earth and don’t resist it.
4. Aishwarya Bhava – the bright and sunny attitude of achievement, self-confidence and self-reliance (but it comes together with being humble anyway). It is realization of the fact that your practice is your personal achievement, and this feeling can (and should) be stretched to the every day life. Aishwarya Bhava is practiced best while performing the backward bends – since they are not common movement in one’s daily activity and can be quite stressful, you will get this “Yeeeeey, I did it!” really easy! One of my first teachers told me that she used to perform Bhujangasana before important meetings where she needed to appear strong and confident.

There are different approaches to practicing Bhavas. Since they are first of all elements of spiritual life, one can practice them even without asanas  – just keeping the right mental states. Some schools teach that Bhavas are the stages and one must go to next Bhava only after mastering previous. It’s not that strict in your asana practice – mix them and get most of the benefits!

Also, it’s not exactly correct that, for example, Vairagya Bhava is only meant for forward bending – we need to bring all four attitudes to every asana – feel importance of practice, stay aware of all its aspects, be humble and detached from result and feel happy with what you have achieved.

Have a great and valuable practice!