TAPAS
Burning Enthusiasm
Our third Niyama brings us to tapas, which can be a form of cleansing as it helps us burn away any impurities. It’s literally translated as “fire” or “heat” and it is the intentional disciplined use of our energy. Tapas coaches us to stick to our yoga practice and good habits/routine even when we just don’t feel like it. Using your awareness and practicing consistency develops us into our best Self, becoming strong and resilient souls.
“Discipline is having enough respect for yourself to make choices that truly nourish your well-being…tapas allows us to direct our energy toward a fulfilled life of meaning and one that is exciting and pleasurable.” — Donna Farhi
Working with this metaphorical fire within helps us attain bodily power. You cannot control what comes in your path, but you can control how you react or accept them. Tapas is self-discipline, not self-torture, and it looks different for everyone. When discipline is mistakenly equated with difficulty, we start to enter the wrong mindset. We might fool ourselves into thinking if we can twist and push ourselves into challenging postures, we’ll prove our physical power and be more spiritually advanced. While your practice should have some level of difficulty, yoga is all about balance and listening to what your body needs.
“A life without tapas, is like a heart without love.” — B. K. Iyengar
Benefits of practicing Tapas:
Opens the door to positive transformation
Increases willpower and motivation
Changes your response to adversity and struggle
Invites spiritual, mental and physical purification
It requires hard, intentional work to retrain the patterns of the mind. According to Nischala Joy Devi, more in depth sattvic tapas is:
Tapas of body: service, physical purity, living in virtue, moderation and reverence for all
Tapas of mind: tranquil, gentle, kind, quiet, willpower, and purity of thought
Tapas of speech: truthful, pleasant, serene, beneficial, prayer, japa (repetition of mantras)
Tapas is a practice that strengthens our mental and physical beings if we hold true to the promises we make to ourselves. It’s not always easy to practice with this fire, but if we uphold that inner passion to improve our yogic practices we can achieve anything our minds desire.
On Tapas:
“Can you show courage and stay in the fire until you find the blessing?” — C.L.
The Buddha said: “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind.”
Yoga Sutras II.43: Through discipline, the impurities of the body and senses are destroyed, revealing the inner strength.
“When we can generate an attitude of burning ardor, the strength of our convictions generates a momentum that carries us forward.” — Donna Farhi
