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- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
Found Exhortation (and Tapas)
What does it mean to excel, to do well? I think there is no excelling in yoga, at least not the way we conventionally think of excelling in school or career or sports. But to practice in a way that is more than casual, there must be ardor–tapas.
Tapas is often translated as fire, and the texts are full of stories of outrageous physical exertions done to prove the tapas of the practitioners looking for boons from the gods.
There is a fiery aspect to tapas, but I question whether it must necessarily be burning from physical exertion, though that is a path that calls out to many.
The fire of tapas could be thought of as doing what it takes to manifest the will to know something deeply enough to be able to experience the fluency and grace and delight of expertise. It could be the ardor to show up in a disciplined and committed way for hours and days and years of practice, always still wanting deeper, fuller knowing.
Found Exhortation (Double?)
If we are stuck sitting for long hours for work, I’m pretty sure we need to try and laugh more often.
I wonder, though; are we likely to laugh more often if we steadily sit long for meditation?
Today’s Sadhana
This morning before work, I joined a group of people at the International Trade Center who were speaking out against separating immigrant families at the border. It was already 80F when I left the house at 7:30. It added two miles to my morning walk to join in. I thought about how far these families have walked in desperate hope only to meet such cruelty. What was a little discomfort and arriving at the office a bit red in the face and damp?
