By Kate O’Neal Aitken
The third Niyama, or ethical observance, in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is Tapas. The Sanskrit root “tap” translates loosely as “to heat,” “to burn” or “austerity,” although defining tapas as simply a state of severe strictness misses its real purpose. Tapas relates to a particular kind of refinement that is cultivated through building disciplined heat; a consistent internal friction and the ability to stay with discomfort long enough so that it quietly transforms you. Through purposeful effort our mental impurities are dissolved.
This inner fire allows the practitioner to cultivate Siddhis, or yogi superpowers, through mastery of the body and senses. By welcoming a sustained and consistent yoga practice, we can purposefully apply the heat needed to dissolve conditioning and limitations of the mind, body, and spirit. The chitta vrittis, or fluctuations of the mind, can overwhelm the mind and tapas offers the needed friction to disrupt the loop. Just as fire refines gold, tapas burns away the barriers that weigh us down. The following Yoga Sutra, with translation by BKS Iyengar, offers insight into the practice of tapas:
YS II.43: kāyendriyasiddhir aśuddhikṣayāt tapasaḥ
“Self-discipline that burns away impurities and kindles the sparks of divinity”
In traditional yoga practices, the goal has been to achieve enlightenment or oneness with the Divine. Modern day yogis may gravitate towards the practice for a variety of reasons, but tapas can be a powerful tool to become physically and mentally attuned to ourselves and to dissolve the barriers that keep us stuck in our familiar patterning.
The Bhagavad Gita offers one of the most classical breakdowns of Tapas. In the Gita we learn three forms of tapas to practice. First, Śārīra Tapas, includes steady respect for the physical body through adopting a nourishing diet, consistent asana practice, personal hygiene, and physical discipline. In addition, Vāṅmaya Tapas can be described as truthful speech and mindfulness around the power of words. This could include avoiding gossip, chronic complaints or the reflexivity to use words as a weapon. I often ask myself, “is it kind, true, and necessary,” when deciding to speak rather than observe and listen. This also extends to our digital life. Taking care to use discernment around the types of media we consume and digital communication we engage in regularly. Lastly, Mānasa Tapas serves as arguably the most alluring of the three. This is a quiet bid to cultivate pure intentions, gentleness, stillness, and single point awareness. Each time our mind wanders in meditation and we gently bring our awareness back to the sweetness of the breath and present moment, we are practicing Manasa Tapas.
Through the challenges we face or the ones we take on willingly, we fan the flames; allowing the ego identity to burn, thus preparing the container of the body to hold prana well. In my studies and practices, I’ve been fortunate enough to come across teachers and practitioners that I consider to be advanced. Not because they can burn through three heated vinyasa classes a day or hold a handstand in the middle of the room, or spend hours a day dedicated to seated meditation, a la “monk on a hill.” But because they have cultivated enough self-discipline to arrive each day with loving awareness on the mat, meeting themselves where they are in that moment, allowing themselves to surrender fully to the practice. And over many moons, the practice itself becomes the fire that refines you.
When referring to tapas, my teacher Kelly Haas, will often say “grist for the mill,” in reference to a particular type of slow, steady refinement that is absent of performance, force, or ego. A type of presence that is useful, steadfast, and naturally creates a favorable environment. Becoming clear by committing to showing up for what matters. A choice to keep choosing growth, not out of a pursuit of perfection but out of love. A few years ago, I went through a time where my yoga practice truly saved my life. As many women do, I arrived at a crossroad in my life where it became harder to stay the same than it was to change. Waking up to the reality that it was simply time to choose myself and my children and begin again. When life threw me challenges that seemed too heavy to carry, or too painful to hold, simply arriving at the mat was the practice. Allowing the practice to work on me, not needing all the answers, and trusting the process of unfolding that the practice of tapas can offer. In this way, what was no longer needed simply cleared and what was for me strengthened and remained.
It is important to note that a rigid application of tapas can lead to self-punishment rather than nourishment. In reverence and great stewardship of the wholeness of the body and the human experience, we should take great care to apply the other four niyamas to pacify heat and friction to remain balanced. Otherwise, when left unchecked, the practice of tapas can lead to patterns in the body such as recurring injury, exhaustion, fragmented sleep, and compromised immune function. Mentally, the same principles apply. If your yoga practice consistently produces anxiety or self-judgment, then looking to pacify heat in the body should take precedence.
Knowing when to back off shows a more refined understanding of tapas than one who chooses to keep pushing, forcing, or gripping. Looking for the healthy markers of a balanced tapas practice helps us to improve our longevity as yogis. Healthy tapas over time needs less and less external validation, as the most disciplined practitioners do not judge others who approach the practice differently than they do. Life’s complications and distractions still arise but it has less ability to rock your boat. We begin to notice an ability to sit with discomfort without numbing, becoming overwhelmed, or shutting down. We notice improved pliability not only in the physical tissues of the body, but also in the mind. Refining the body through tapas allows us to dissolve the residue that clouds our ability to connect with Spirit. A healthy tapas practice gives us access to a quiet steadiness and holds the body in reverence as the container of the soul.
Now that’s a beautiful thing.
These are the following ways that I’ve learned to either build heat or pacify heat within my yoga practice.
Heat Building
1. Pranayama: Getting in touch with our diaphragm is the quickest and easiest way to stoke agni (digestive) fire and pump the lymphatic system
- Diaphragmatic breath: 3 part breath (abdomen, ribs, chest)
- Ujjayi breath: Constriction of the back of the throat on the exhale
- Kapalabhati: Skull shining breath
2. Abhyasa: Consistency without gap. Allow yourself to start with just 10 minutes a day on your mat. Protect this time fiercely and build from there.
3. Surya Namaskar A and B: Sun salutations. These are a great way to build heat in the tissues, and promote longevity and resiliency in the spine.
4. Heart Openers and backbends
5. Rigorous vinyasa as the body allows. Using great care and discernment as to finding the balance between effort and ease.
6. Challenging asana postures: Standing postures, weight bearing postures, balance poses and inversions.
Heat Pacifying
1. Sitali Pranayama: Cooling breath, performed by intentionally curling the tongue and breathing steadily or breathing through the teeth for those who find the tongue curl challenging or not accessible.
2. Restorative yoga: Longer held postures. Use propping in order to “bring the earth up”, support the body where it is and allow for nervous system regulation.
3. Cooling asana postures: Any posture that ventilates the groin or armpits is considered a cooling posture and great for pacifying heat. Think wide leg and wide arm postures such as Supta Baddha Konasana, Utthita Hasta Padasana and Urdhva Hastasana. Also any type of forward fold like Paschimottanasana, Upavista Konasana or Prasarita Padottanasana.
4. Supportive backbends: Supported bridge with block or bolster under the pelvis offers ventilation of the armpit and chest.
5. Rest, commune with nature, being in or near water, Prayer, Meditation, Surrender
“A life without tapas, is like a heart without love.” — BKS Iyengar