April 18, 2010: On the Board at Good Life Yoga
Tapas – Harness the Power of Transformation
Spring is a big season around here. Minnesotans smile for no reason at all while walking outside. As one of my students put it, “it doesn’t hurt to step outside.” Indeed, it doesn’t. We are met these days with sunshine and warming temperatures, and an ever changing kaleidoscope of ‘greenness.’ The world is transforming right before our eyes. There is a steady pulse; a deep vibration of Tapas burning through and creating tapestries of high energy and urgent greens. Snaps of color burst through transforming the grays and browns of our recent days. The landscape no longer resembles its old self. Behind all this transformation is the power of Tapas. The third Niyama, Tapas, is described as heat, fire and even discipline. As yogis we know that to harness this power is to invite transformation for ourselves.
Most of you equate Tapas with sweating on the mat. And you’d be right. Just as water has to heat up to become steam; so too, do you need to ‘heat up’ to transform. This week we take the grays and brown of your ‘winter’ self, add a little Tapas and presto; lively colors burst through. It’s time to shake off your winter paradigm and surprise yourself with a kaleidoscope of fresh green Spring. Are you ready to step on the mat and step out of your old self?