Why is Bhakti yoga special? Hidden from the glamour of the modern yoga world, you won’t find it in the insta-famous posts of sexy bendy bods, and it isn’t intelligent or scientific.
Except that it is.
Because all yoga is experimental. And Bhakti lets us experiment with a phenomenon that we’re just waking up to as a species- emotional intelligence.
Bhakti means “attachment” and what is the most sticky thing we deal with as humans? Emotions!
To practice bhakti means tying these emotions to a deep and profound sense of Unconditional Belonging. The god embrace that can hold every raw part of you…it can be romantic but it expands beyond that.
Do you have a relationship with god? What does it look like?
Divine guidance
synchronicities
the heart’s intelligence
grace
the unknown
truth
reality
mystical inner knowing(?)
The tendency is to forget the above, project attachment onto other humans and call it love. It becomes a struggle of tension & release, attach & let go. Bhakti gives a path to transform that.
You still play the game but now it’s with god.
No single human is capable of holding all of another human and no single human can outrun or hide from true belonging. We have it all backwards.
We’re better off being suffocated by the divine embrace and loosening up/ breathing fresh air into the human embrace.
Bhakti lets us study our relationship w/ the divine, not just as observer but as lover, friend, student, teacher, servant, devotee, daughter, son, father, mother, sister, brother- by jumping in and feeling this relationship.
By experiencing it directly through chanting, bhava (devotional mood), contemplation of sacred objects, and sharing stories, symbolism of Indian wisdom tradition, we become scientists of our heart, practitioners of devotion, communicators with spirit, and we access Unconditional Belonging.
If you’d like to explore this heart opening path join me November 23rd for a Bhakti Workshop “Chanting from the Heart” where we’ll dive into bhakti practices & literature. Running a special for folks who register now through Nov 22- bring a friend for free!❤️ link to register: https://www.lotuscounselwellness.com/workshops