Going deeper in your yoga practice - Tapas

To offer more yogic knowledge, in conjunction with Lisa at Yoga Loft Carrickfergus, we have asked our teachers to write short articles about the yamas and niyamas. 
They are the first two limbs of the eightfold path of yoga described by Patanjali in the yoga sutras. These are fundamental concepts offering ethical and moral guidelines to yogis.

tapasah, by Steven Conville

Sūtra 2:43: kaya-indriya-siddhir ashuddhi-kshayat tapasah

"Through the burning effort of discipline and austerity, impurities of the body and senses are destroyed, resulting in the perfection of the body and mind"
 

Tapas is the third of five niyamas (behaviours toward ourselves) in Patanjali’s eightfold path. Tapas can translate as “austerity” or “discipline”. The word tapas comes from the root Sanskrit verb ‘tap’ which means “to burn”. Therefore, Tapas could be described as a burning and yearning desire to be better and do better. We do this through austerity - living with less, simplifying our lifestyles - and through discipline - applying these actions to our lives over a continuous period of time. This creates the space for transformation to occur.

The first yama - Ahimsa - means non-violence in actions, words, and thoughts. When you start to apply the principles of ahimsa to your life, you may start at a surface level. For example you may start by not comparing yourself to others on the yoga mat, being more compassionate and minimising your participation in gossip or talking negatively about others. However, over time, you may extend this principle from yourself, to others, to all living beings. This may include reducing your consumption of animal products by one day per week. Over time and with continued effort and discipline you may choose to remove all animal products from your lifestyle. This is tapas in action - a burning desire to simplify our lives - it doesn’t happen in one day, but it is the continued effort and discipline over a sustained period of time that provides us this opportunity for transformation.  

Tapas is the fuel that guides us along the eightfold yoga path and adds nuance, depth, and simplicity along the way. 

Practice Tips:

Create greater simplicity in your practice and your life. Accumulate less (Aparigraha). Hold less grudges and resentment (Ahimsa). Say what you mean, and mean what you say (Satya). These aren’t necessarily easy to do, but notice if practicing these actions consistently has a positive contribution to your life. 

Become comfortable with the repetition of life. Practice one simple sequence (asana, pranayama, meditation etc) daily over a week or month and simply notice how this makes you feel. 

Extend tapas beyond the mat and notice the routines that you repeat daily, weekly, monthly. Appreciate them. This could be your daily commute to work; cooking dinner for friends or family; walking your dog; or grocery shopping.  Don’t think of these things as burdens or chores simply to be completed. Reignite your appreciation and gratefulness of living in the present moment.

Thank you Steven - I think many of us will recognise these thoughts!
We will endeavour to share more about these topics here regularly to build a mini accessible yogic knowledge online library :)

You can find Steven's profile here if you want to keep on exploring our website.