TapasI don’t need to tell you that this week has been heavy, Subscriber First Name. I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, where tragedy has been heaped upon deep grief, Black individuals continue to be killed, and we must ask ourselves: “What is mine to do about this?” I have taken a week off from social media, reading the newspaper daily as my only source of fresh information. Nothing I can say online would ever be enough, and it seems too trivial to post about anything else. My spouse and I began a DIY home renovation simply because we had it scheduled to start this week. It’s a visceral metaphor for how some things need to be torn down in order for improvements to emerge. This is a deep-seated concept in yoga as well. The term “tapas” has a few meanings, and I use it to describe this: “. . . the friction generated by going against the grain of habit, of complacency, of doing what’s easiest, of getting away with things. Tapas is the fervor of striving to be the best you can, which may mean shifting what you do and how you do it. So, if you are an intense, fiery person, the heat generated by a fiery practice like Ashtanga vinyasa may not truly be tapas for you; tapas for you might involve putting the breaks on compulsive, aggressive, ambitious behavior in all realms of your life—including what you do on the mat.” (yogashanti.com) In light of that, this week’s class video is one I did with my niece, an Enneagram 3 (aggressive stance) who desired a slow practice to balance her being. I also uploaded a brief supported headstand how-to, in case you’d like to try it. Take time to take care of yourselves, and then go out and do what’s yours to do to make the world a better place. with love, Courtney
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