Feeling the fire of summer

Kate Kuhn | JUL 26, 2022

Dear friends, August is almost here, and we are in the heat of summer. It is easy to get caught up in the heat—the heat index, the humidity, the sweat (if you’re like me!), the fatigue, the fear of our world’s climate changing right before our eyes and all that is at risk. In yoga the Sanskrit word tapas, means heat—the kind of heat we build up in a vinyasa class or other types of yogic practices such as breathwork that brings fire and warmth to the body. It also means self-discipline and courage. Tapas is a highly personal practice and one that I think it’s good to remind ourselves of during this fiery season. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, tapas is one of the five niyamas (personal observances). He explains tapas in connection with two other sutras—svadhyaya (self-study) and ishvaraprandhana (surrender to the Divine). In my way of thinking about these three niyamas, the wise advice to us is to look inward to see what old patterns and ways of being in the world are holding us back from our most enlightened and authentic Selves; surrender those things to make room for new ways of being that are more aligned to our heartfelt desires and purpose; and then use tapas, the heat of discipline, courage, and willpower to strive to be the best we can so that we can be of service to the world. Going against our own grain, burning off complacency, shifting away from what we do and how we do it—this is hard stuff. And tapas asks for different things from each of us. If you love hot, hard workouts or a high intensity vinyasa class because of the way it feeds your ambitious goals and desires on the mat, for you, that’s not tapas. For you, the opposite would be practicing tapas by taking yourself through a gentle yoga practice and resisting the urge to throw in a million vinyasas or challenging poses. Move slowly and notice how hard it is to go against your grain. For others, the opposite is also true. So as we feel the heat, let’s think about what tapas means to us. Do we need to slow down and rest (well, yes we all should do that each day) in order to let go of ambition and ego? Do we need to wake up and let go of sluggishness and complacency? Or do we reside in that sweet spot of sukha, Sanskrit for ease, joyful, good, balanced—that state of happiness that is lasting? I’m feeling the fire and looking within. Love, Kate
Dear friends,
August is almost here, and we are in the heat of summer. It is easy to get caught up in the heat—the heat index, the humidity, the sweat (if you’re like me!), the fatigue, the fear of our world’s climate changing right before our eyes and all that is at risk. In yoga the Sanskrit word tapas, means heat—the kind of heat we build up in a vinyasa class or other types of yogic practices such as breathwork that brings fire and warmth to the body. It also means self-discipline and courage. Tapas is a highly personal practice and one that I think it’s good to remind ourselves of during this fiery season.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, tapas is one of the five niyamas (personal observances). He explains tapas in connection with two other sutras—svadhyaya (self-study) and ishvaraprandhana (surrender to the Divine). In my way of thinking about these three niyamas, the wise advice to us is to look inward to see what old patterns and ways of being in the world are holding us back from our most enlightened and authentic Selves; surrender those things to make room for new ways of being that are more aligned to our heartfelt desires and purpose; and then use tapas, the heat of discipline, courage, and willpower to strive to be the best we can so that we can be of service to the world.
Going against our own grain, burning off complacency, shifting away from what we do and how we do it—this is hard stuff. And tapas asks for different things from each of us. If you love hot, hard workouts or a high intensity vinyasa class because of the way it feeds your ambitious goals and desires on the mat, for you, that’s not tapas. For you, the opposite would be practicing tapas by taking yourself through a gentle yoga practice and resisting the urge to throw in a million vinyasas or challenging poses. Move slowly and notice how hard it is to go against your grain. For others, the opposite is also true.
So as we feel the heat, let’s think about what tapas means to us. Do we need to slow down and rest (well, yes we all should do that each day) in order to let go of ambition and ego? Do we need to wake up and let go of sluggishness and complacency? Or do we reside in that sweet spot of sukha, Sanskrit for ease, joyful, good, balanced—that state of happiness that is lasting?
I’m feeling the fire and looking within.
Love,
Kate

Kate Kuhn | JUL 26, 2022

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