What does it mean to be Dedicated?
Scroll to the end of the post for December’s Playlist!
December 2022 Focus
The Third Niyama: Tapas
Dedication/ Discipline/ Fiery resolve
“ Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure.”
The theme this month at WYAY is the third Niyama, moral observance, Tapas. ‘Tap’ is the verb, to burn and so the usual translation of Tapas dedication, discipline, austerity takes on the fiery quality from the root of the word.
Before we jump into this month’s blog I want to preface with this:
This month’s post is a pep talk and I need it as much as anyone. Stuggling with motivation is normal and there will always be an eb and flow to when we can dig into the work. We will fail, and we will fall but even so we keep moving forward. So here is a pic of me literally falling over trying to do dancer’s pose as a reminder that no one has it all figured out.
Repetition is important for mastery of anything. But unlike the adage ‘Practice makes perfect’ I prefer ‘Practice makes habit’. Muscle memory is an incredible example of that. I automatically lift my hand to buckle my seatbelt when I get in a car because over time that habit was instilled in me, even if I get on a bus with no seatbelts my hand unwittingly goes up to check. Habits can be helpful or harmful on a huge spectrum of ways. If you want to excel at something you need to do it often, over and over to build endurance, but not only that you need to do it well to make sure the habit you form is one you actually want. Habits in our thinking change our perception of reality over time. The thought “It doesn’t matter anyway” or “I’m a failure” do very different things to thoughts like “What I do matters” and “No matter what happens I can try again tomorrow”.
Dedication comes from passion. I was a professional ballet dancer for a number of years and I can not tell you the amazing things my body learned to do through repetition and gradual increase in challenge— Superhuman things that were only possible through decades of dedication; Turning multiple times on the tiny tip of my pointe shoe, leaping through the air with so much power that I felt like I was flying. These things were only possible because of dedication showing up on good days on bad days and trying again and again for more. But if discipline is based on an external or superficial goal it will fizzle out. Dedication that lasts comes from passion and that is Tapas. The fiery resolve to see something through.
You are capable of change! Someday you may be doing things you’ve never imagined you could. It starts day by day, on good days and bad showing up for yourself. I remember the happy tears of one of my students who for a year struggled with the arm balance crow pose and then one day the magic happened and her feet floated off the ground. “I did it! Did you see me? I did it!” we took a moment to celebrate because that moment when you achieve what you never thought you could is simply bliss.
I’m sure you’ve seen the paraphrased quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, but that is just paraphrasing what Mahatma Gandhi actually said—
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
YOU can change the world! Yes YOU! Yoga invites you to push your boundaries and daily practice those changes you hope to become habits withing yourself. What kind of world would we live in if we cultivated Tapas for love, truth, compassion and generosity? Our individual Fires can kindle change. Our thoughts, words and actions DO matter.
We don’t need to wait for New Years to set goals. If you can stoke the fire or resolve in the cold sleepy months how much easier will it be when the sun is shining and things are easier. We can cultivate enthusiasm and excitement from our heart even when our minds are reluctant. It only takes a spark to light a fire, be patient with your self when the fire burns down to coals. When your mind says “ I don’t wanna” lean in to Tapas and work toward the future you want.
Here’s December’s Playlist!
