“Make a Change…

Feel the heat of resistance melt away old habits and burn through ruinous conditioning.
Offer negative behaviour into the fire of Tapas
and chart your course towards freedom.”

Nicolai Bachman: The Path of the YOGA Sutra’s

Tapas derives from

Tap: “to heat”

Real and permanent change in behaviour creates heat from the friction of the new positive pattern rubbing up against the old negative one. Thus heat of discomfort is the result of tapas, and can arise during asana, breaking old habits, changing our direction in life, or doing another activity to cause positive change in our lives.

The heat generated will incinerate physical, mental and emotional impurities, and refine the body, sensory organs and heart-mind.

Tapas along with self observation/study (Svadhaya) and faith /letting go (Isvara-pranidhana) makes up the yoga of action (Kriya yoga), a powerful triad of tools for weakening our mental-emotional afflictions (Klesha’s) and moves us towards complete attention (Samadhi).

Change is an inevitable quality of nature (drsya) and stagnation goes against natures ebb and flow. In our body; muscles tighten, opinions become rigid, and habits solidify. Tapas causes heat and thus change, and therefore can prevent obstructions from forming in our body, breath and heart-mind.

One of the most common forms of tapas, is doing a sequence of postures (asana’s) with enough effort to release heat by stretching and strengthening the muscles in the body.

Habitual behaviour causes stagnation. When we consciously change a habit, discomfort (Duhkha) arises and creates heat in the body. This is the priceless heat of real change. Tapas includes consciously challenging long standing patterns of behaviour (samskara’s) and gradually burning them up, resulting in spiritual and physiological growth. Opening up to new ideas and behaviours also creates heat as the circuits in our brain are rewired.

Source: Nicolai Bachman: The Path of the Yoga Sutra’s

Exercises:

Select a mild habit, like eating the same breakfast every morning and change it for a few days. Or an activity you do habitually the same way all the time you do it and change the way you do it! Change it up.
Notice how that change feels – refreshing, uncomfortable, difficult?

The next time you exercise – it could be your asana practice, increase your output of energy and feel your muscles and fascia opening and generating heat. This is the heat of Tapas.

Think of a person who is difficult, but necessary for you to interact with. See if you can maintain a positive and kind attitude towards them, especially when the person says words that you would normally react to in a negative way. After the interaction, reflect on how you felt as it was happening. Did you heat up? Did the kindness cool down the dynamic between the two of you?

Source: Nicolai Bachman: The Path of the Yoga Sutra’s