(originally sent 17/08/26)
Is discipline a dirty word? I guess it can be.
No child likes being disciplined.
Having discipline to learn something can be really frustrating.
But with the right conditions, discipline can also lead to freedom.
According to Patañjali, there are three ingredients required for success on the path of yoga; tapaḥ, svādhyāya and īśvara-praṇidhānāni (YS 2.1).
Tapaḥ, or tapas means discipline, or fire, or passion, or – as my teacher Sharon would say – having a burning desire.
It’s very difficult to do your yoga practice – be it meditation, or āsana, or chanting, or kriyā, if there is no motivation, if you can’t get yourself out of bed in the morning.
So how do we start to develop tapas, especially when it’s so easy to stay cosy under the covers?
As human beings we are naturally – evolutionarily – very adaptable, if we give ourselves the chance to experience it.
It takes discipline to wake up early and get to class… at least for a while. There will be mornings where we don’t make it to the mat – and that’s okay! Set the alarm again the next morning and try. And again the next day… and then eventually we adapt, and start to wake up early more naturally.
In the beginning, it’s an effort to break our habits; we have to move through that uncomfortable place where every cell in the body is telling us to quit. And then eventually you get through to the other side, where it starts to feel normal.
I’m thinking of when I was learning to practice sālamba śīrṣāsana (supported headstand). I had to force myself to try each time I was in class, and it required so much of my focus and prāṇa. But then one day, I found myself upside down, in a vertical line, feeling weightless.
There’s an effortlessness that comes about through good alignment.
And now I’m not just talking about āsana.
When we align ourselves with our values, and behave in ways congruent with who we want to be in the world, the effort slips away.
It was never difficult for me to give up meat, because I knew in my heart that I didn’t want to cause harm to animals, so becoming vegetarian (and now vegan), took very little effort.
I know this is different for all of us, and I’m not saying we can will ourselves easily into doing anything. If there is no desire, if there is no heat, no passion – no tapas – then it will probably be really hard. I’m not personally interested in running a marathon, so if I were to take up running tomorrow, I would struggle big time.
So some desire is a helpful starting point. If you want to do something, that’s half the battle.
If drive is lacking, then you just have to start and trust that movement sparks motivation. The fire with catch on.
Now go set the world aflame.
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