“Keep a little fire burning, however small, however hidden.” – Cormac McCarthy
Weekly Focus: Tapas (purification) – third niyama / Agni (fire)
Tapas is the third of Patanjali’s Niyamas or personal observances. Tapas comes from the Sanskrit root word tap “to burn” and refers to a fiery passion or discipline within our practice. Don’t let this fool you though, by discipline, we don’t have to be all sternness and seriousness. We are just looking for a commitment to our practice, both on and off the mat.
Tapas helps us to develop our inner fire (agni), a state of dedication towards purpose. Fire is transformative! With fire, we can burn away what was, and allow ourselves to rise from the ashes. As we dedicate ourselves to our yoga practice, we might experience a purification of what was, preparing us to step into what might be.
When we participate in tapas, we actively choose to dedicate ourselves towards our greatness. This becomes a purification of the Self, as with time, we become more aligned with our highest Self. On the mat, this could mean staying true to your daily intentions, and not pushing yourself beyond your edge. It may also be to recognize when you are not experiencing enough fire or vigor within your practice, both are valid.
Off the mat, tapas reminds us to be conscious of our thoughts and our actions. When we find ourselves with thoughts that are not helpful, do not serve us, or do not align, can we burn away or purify so as to let go of what is not working? We can think of tapas as this constant burning of agni or inner fire, that we may stoke when the extra passion is needed to say “hey, be nicer to yourself,” or “keep your awareness on the breath, not the look of the pose,” for examples. Be cautious though not to over-stoke the fire, we don’t need to be hard on ourselves and create pressure to overachieve, we just seek the right balance to ensure we are generally working towards our goals and purpose.
Here is a simple practice in finding tapas:
- Dedicate yourself to a purpose — take a few moments to consider a change or transformation you would like to enact in your life, however large or small. Perhaps, that change is something like “feeling better in my body.” Write it down.
- Choose ONE action — consider just one, small action that you can take, once a week, in dedication to this purpose. To follow the example above, your action may be “practice yoga once a week for 15 min.”
- Stoke your fire — give yourself 4 – 6 weeks to find a solid commitment to this one small practice. Once it feels like habit, stoke the fire, and allow it to grow a little larger. “Attend one 60-minute yoga class per week.” Grow this one focus until it satisfies, and then go back to the drawing board, what else will contribute to your purpose? Start the process again. Perhaps next time, you start with “eat three different colored vegetables per week,” and grow from there.
Passive Pose of the Week: Supported Matsyasana (supported fish pose)
Backbends are excellent in the Spring to help open up the lungs and crack away the hard shell of Winter. Imagine pulling in fresh oxygen and prana to stoke the inner fire of agni.
- Find a large, thick beach towel or blanket.
- Fold the blanket / towel until it is about a 2 x 2.5 ft rectangle.
- Starting at the long edge, roll up the towel / blanket into a tight, firm roll, creating a bolster.
- Sit in front of one end of your roll with it extending away from you body. Sit about 2 – 3 inches from the end.
- Begin to lie back over the roll, letting it support your spine all the way up to the back of the head. If it is not long enough, grab a pillow to support your head.
- Let your legs and arms spread wide as you lay back.
- Set a timer for 5 – 7 minutes and focus deeply on your inhales and exhales.
There are a number of ways to support this pose with props, depending on what is available to you. Check out the photos above for inspiration. Each version provides a slightly different result, and you may find that you appreciate one or another differently on different days. When seeking more stretch, try a version with a yoga block behind your back. When seeking something more restful, try building a little ramp for the body with your bolster and blocks.
Active Pose of the Week: Navasana (boat pose)
Navasana provides an inner fire with the engagement of the full core, front to back and side to side. Remember you don’t have to stay here forever, just long enough to stoke the fire.
Build a boat pose progression:
- Start sitting on your seat with your knees bent. Grab behind your thighs and then balance your tip toes on the ground. Start to feel the core engage.
- Next play with lifting one foot at a time off the floor, notice how it feels. Can you keep you spine lifted up still?
- If you want to add on, begin to float both legs off of the floor at the same time, keeping the knees bent. You can still keep holding behind the thighs to keep you from falling back. Stay here, or add on…
- You might release your right hand, and then your left, with your palms framing your legs. Notice up fires up in the body!
- To add on further, try straightening one leg at a time, and then perhaps both. Squeeze the legs together to help them stay lifted.
- Finally, you might reach your arms up over head, framing your ears. Imagine holding a block between your hands to help you stay upright!
- Challenge your self to take five big breaths in your most difficult and comforable version, before resting.
Navasana is an excellent pose to engage the core. What do we mean by core though? Our core is much more than the space in the front of the body, just across the belly button. When we describe the core, we mean the abductors (the belly from pelvis to ribs), the sides of the body (from top of hips to ribs), and the back of the body (from low to mid back). Feeling that entire area bolster will support any posture on your mat and create a feeling of stability and strength!
Join us in class this week to practice seeking tapas and building agni. See the full schedule HERE.
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