What comes to mind when you think of the words: yoga, fire and purification? Do you picture a sweltering hot yoga class jam packed with people dripping sweat all over their yoga mats, wiping their exhausted looking faces with yoga towels? Most likely.
Virtues of Fire
But what about stoking the internal fires of discipline and determination? In addition to sweating out toxins during our yoga practice, the idea of fire and purification relate directly to the yogic practice of taking a passionate and dedicated approach to our personal goals. This is tapas, the fourth niyama, derived from the sanskrit word tapasya, literally meaning ‘fire’.
Olympic Athlete
Take for example your New Year’s resolution to learn to play the guitar, or maybe your five-year dream of leaving your job to start your own business. From our smallest hobbies to our greatest life goals, we need discipline and determination in order to succeed.
Imagine living your life like an Olympic athlete. Whatever your ‘event’ may be, wherever your gold medal may await you, bringing tapas into your yoga practice means igniting your energies towards these goals, to fuel you and propel you forward.
Burning the Candle
Yoga, being a practice of balance, means that while being passionate and driven towards your goals, you can also be relaxed while being disciplined. Sometimes, high levels of determination and productivity are far more relaxing; indeed, getting things accomplished is often much more calming and satisfying than that stressed-out state where we grasp and reach for those yet un-achieved goals. Just as an athlete must rest properly to excel at her sport, we should not make the mistake of draining our energies by burning the proverbial candle at both ends.
Burning Off Negative Energies
Now let’s get back to that sweaty hot yoga room. Practising yoga stokes our inner physical fire, known also as our metabolism. This helps us burn off fat, calories and toxins. It is as important to achieving our life goals as any other practice, because it keeps us healthy.
We can also burn off important psychological toxins in yoga class. This is the key to maintaining our athletic drive in life: staying clear, happy and driven.
The Practice
Dedicate your next yoga class to burning up your negative emotions. Do this by attending a very challenging practice for you, which will be sure to bring up anger and frustration.
When you are in the middle of the class, so at the apex of your effort, notice if you are frustrated, or upset, or wanting to run away from your yoga mat. Imagine your breath like bellows and with each exhale visualize all of your anger and frustation for everything in your life, being burned to ashes.
In relaxation pose at the end of class, visualize these ashes sinking through your body, going back into the ground. Feel your body lighter and more spacious. Move back into your day with a relaxed sense of determination, ready to win the gold.