Tapas
/On the 5th Day of Practice… I lit a fire
I often use the word discipline and tapas interchangeably.
Tapas is a big word with lots of layers, but discipline is a little simpler and this is what I want to focus on today.
One of the definitions of Discipline in the dictionary is ‘train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.‘
I like this much more than the definition which includes words like obey, punish and reprimand.
These words have a negative connotations and they bring up resistance in me.
Discipline does not have to be a punishment, obedience system.
We are practicing discipline by taking the smaller serve of food every meal.
We are practicing discipline by getting on the mat every single day if only to lie in savasana.
We are practicing discipline every time we rise to do something that is challenging.
Note here I use the word every in each example. Discipline is observed or practiced when it is done repeatedly not just once.
It is the repeated action that build tapas. Tapas is fire, the fire within us to do what needs to be done. Guruji says Tapas is the purifying fire of action.
“… a purifying process and one involving sustained personal effort”
BKS Iyengar pg 112 Light On Life.
Today’s practice is in TAPAS - Sustained Practice
Sustained Practice - what does that look like?
Let us not over complicate it and make it a chore, or more difficult than it needs to be.
It can be as simple as repeating a practice every day, it does not even have to be something that challenges you or is hard for you to do. The challenge is in doing it every single day.
For example every single day as soon as I wake I go to the kitchen and drink a full glass of water with lime. This is a sustained practice because I do it every day, it takes effort and discipline to do daily and in this practice I am building Tapas.
“Remember that yoga is not asking us to refrain from enjoyment”
BKS Iyengar pg 93 Light On Life.
OBSERVATION
Think about something you do that you would like to change. Something that is not really serving you. Something that is a habit rather than something you are consciously doing.
PRACTICE
What is something you would like to do every single day that would be beneficial to you?
Choose something that you can realistically do every single day. It may be an effort to do, but you know you will be rewarded by doing it.
It can be as simple as drinking a full glass of water when you rise. You know if is good for you, will hydrate you and that it is achievable but will take some effort to do it daily.
Now commit to doing this every day for the rest of the 12 Days of Practice.
Please comment below on what your new daily practice is going to be I can’t wait to hear it, and it might just inspire ideas for other too.
If you want to build some real fire and sweat it out on the mat every day. I’m offering a 30 Day Trial of my Home Yoga Practice Membership for $1. Sign up now! This offer is only available for the 12 Days of Christmas.