Tapas: Discipline

Tapas: Discipline 

by Beau Boucher

Tapas, the third Niyama, is translated literally as “to burn.” What does Patanjali mean by burn, what are we burning, and why are we burning it? When we incorporate the concept of Tapas in our Sadhana, our lifelong practice, we burn on two levels: physical and mental. The practice of yoga gives us an opportunity to manipulate and ultimately transform both of these dimensions. Gary Kraftsow refers to the process of yoga as: a process of self-awareness that leads to a deeper sense of self-understanding, and through this self-understanding we enter the process of self-transformation. What Gary describes is the process of burning, just like Nataraja dancing the destructive Tandava in order to bring forth new creation.

    

We can illustrate this metaphor of burning a little more clearly if we take a look at yoga classes. Lets divide yoga classes into two categories, Yin and Yang. Yang being the more active, sweaty classes and Yin being more relaxed, calming classes. Yang classes give us a chance to purify the physical body, remove toxins, develop good posture and healthy movement patterns, increase muscle and decrease fat, strengthen every system of the body, find focus and balance, and just generally feel good in our skin. In Yang we burn away and eliminate undesirable things on the physical plane. In Yin we have time to contemplate, to observe- and naturally we move more into the mental aspect. Yin is a practice of acceptance, patience, observance, and non-reactivity. Yin gives us an opportunity to take inventory of our mental space, a chance to become aware of those things that are no longer serving us, and to throw these negative patterns into the fire and allow them to dissolve. As J. Krishnamurti put it, “the highest form of human intelligence is to observe yourself without judgement.”

    

So we can think of Tapas, or this burning, as a process of transformation. We develop self-discipline, overcome obstacles, and make sacrifices for the greater good. We burn away our negative attributes, in order to become the highest version of ourselves, strong enough to not only take care of ourselves, but to have enough strength to help those around us. Every time you step to your mat, you can think of Tapas and know the reason you're stepping into the fire is bigger than yourself.