Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1:10
For those continually tempered by the heat of tapas, hatha is like the hermitage giving protection from the heat. For those always united in yoga, hatha is the basis acting like a tortoise.
My husband Nathan has been reading a book for his thesis that I see laying around the house, entitled The Body in Pain. While I've not actually cracked the cover of this heavy sounding text, it did get me to thinking about the different ways in which we experience and respond to pain.
So what could this verse from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika concerning pain, or the complex concept of tapas mean? How can our yoga practice shelter us from pain like a tortoise's shell? In Swami Muktibodhananda's translation there is mention of a beautiful myth of Lord Vishnu saving the world from destruction taking on the form of a tortoise, balancing the world upon his back (p. 35). But for me, I think this verse has some very practical applications.
As yogis, we cultivate TAPAS, which is translated as both pain and heat, every day when we come to our mat. Just like in chemistry, we implement heat as a catalyst to excite the molecules in our gross and subtle beings to speed up reactions and create transformation. Anyone who's held Warrior 1 for several minutes, can attest to a very real heat, or burning sensation in lunging thigh, a heat so powerful that all other thoughts in the mind are obliterated during the pose.
Incorporating tapas into our daily practice does more than just heat and change our bodies though, it provides us an opportunity to both observe and practice the ways in which we respond to intensity, from the safe space of our mat.
Let's face it, we have a multitude of options in how we react to intense external stimuli. We can roll up our mat and leave when things get intense. We can tense up our armor and fight the intensity every step of the way. We can be conscious and present as we breath through pain. We can practice ahimsa or compassion for ourselves, backing out of poses that become too much, finding safe shelter in child's pose. Or, when our practice has become very strong, we may be able to transform the way we actually experience pain, seeing it as an opportunity to change and grow. Whatever we choose in our practice, if we are paying attention, we can gain insight into our daily patterns, and then make the choice to make changes or continue on the path we are forging.
The most painful experience I've endured was losing my father to cancer. When he died, I can recall thinking, this is just too much, I cannot handle this. But it is also the very thing that rocked my foundation, waking me out of a complacent routine that was simply not working for me. The very intensity of the situation, made me sit up and take notice of the patterns I had created in my life and created the space for change to occur. In fact, I felt I had no choice but to change. Coming home from work to drink two glasses of wine in front of the TV before bed, certainly would not sustain me through this tough time. And thus I began a daily asana practice.
In my class this week, I'm going to discuss the importance of tapas in yoga as an agent for transformation. I will invite my student to observe they ways they respond to intensity on and off the mat and invite them to use their practice as a safe sheltering space to get into awareness while cultivating new patterns in their lives.
