Tapas

Tapas – action – willpower.

Tapas is the fire (enthusiasm) under our ass to get things done. When combined with non-attachment (aparigraha) and self-reflection (swadhaya) we find balance in that fire of action. It is all too easy to get things done, but to do them with true purpose (dharma) and awareness without attaching ourselves to an outcome or result, well there is a challenge. The ego is once again what stands in the way of success and will only result in disappointment over the self-determined “failure.”

When tapas is controlled, positive, affirming we feel peaceful, energetic towards our action. When tapas is misdirected, self-serving, or over-fueled it will eventually lead to burn out.

My tapas is usually pretty high. I’ve got some pitta in me. However, the Covid situation at hand, has different plans. My well-devised efforts took an abrupt shift in priorities as I’m sure it has for many of you. So how do we keep fanning the fire without it burning out? How do we instead allow the flame to purify us of our negative or fearful thoughts during this time?

In pain care yoga I teach about the mental grooves in our mind, the samskaras, or frequently traveled roads of thought. I like to think of my mind as a wet and muddy, dirt road and each thought travels a path. We all know that if several of us travel down that muddy road, our tracks create deep ruts in the road that make it hard to drive out of. Our mind is the same way. When our thoughts, words, and actions portray restless patterns of frequent thought, our brains create deep grooves making that train of thought even more habitual and easy. And you can imagine if your thoughts, words, and actions are negative on the daily, it will sabotage your progress to fan your flame in the right direction. This is the reason yogis practice awareness and concentration, to become aware of when this is happening and change the mental grooves in a practice called Pratipaksha Bhavana. That is the practice of replacing negative thoughts or words with positive ones. Can you imagine if we used tapas (action) to fan the flame toward positivity, especially right now?
I don’t know about you but I’m annoyed, upset, scared, irritated, restless, curious, sad, and so many more emotions. And I have accepted that it is ok to recognize and feel these emotions. But these feelings lead to negative thought patterns quite easily in the grooves of my mind. A spiral of what if’s (hello vata). If we bring our awareness to each moment, to our thoughts and words and actions, we could easily address the negativity or the fear in those thoughts.

The next time your thoughts or words start to get the best of you can you ask yourself, “Is this true? Is this real? Is this necessary? Is this uplifting? Loving?”

Can you also check your energy (tapas) towards those thoughts, words, or actions? With full attention to the moment you can ask if what your are thinking, saying, or doing is draining your energy, overstimulating you, or balancing your energy. Can you make the needed adjustments to find balance (sattva) again?

Right now, all of us are being tested. And we are imperfect humans. We will falter, flail, and fail. We will go down those old muddy roads of thought, but each effort to practice Pratipaksha Bhavana, will start to change those frequent roads of travel in your mind. Hopefully soon, very soon, the sun will shine drying the mud and result in the blooming of new life.