If you found yourself here you probably already have an idea of the meaning of Tapah as "to heat" and to self-discipline. The more I make efforts to engage with this practice I discover that it is both and more.
Literally it does mean "to heat" and it is often understood as the heating of impurities, whether these are physical, energetic, mental, in order to burn them up as it were and purify ourselves. A few more thoughts around the practicalities of this practice can be found in a previous post "Thoughts on Tapah". However beyond the practicalities, in practising Tapah what I found has been the knowledge that emerges experientially. A feeling of wholesomeness and feeling complete. And a deeper understanding of the experience of harnessing the energy that flows through me. A safe, practical tool to expand in a controlled way, a slow burn if you like, so that I can emerge in each moment consistently and willingly to keep going (as opposed to becoming overwhelmed from burning too quickly and then running away).
If you are to start this practice, perhaps start with something that needs some willpower but is not too big an ask. Perhaps start with the practical things, the rearranging of the daily routine in a small way, the tasks that primarily affect our physical body, the first layer of our being. Start from there and then observe how that reaches all the way to your core. In the way your energy levels change, the way your thinking changes, different feelings arising. A step at a time, a moment at a time, we start to shine more brightly and become more integrated within our own selves, closer to our full potential.
The summer has reached its height and its full potential. As July begins it feels that we are still negotiating that fine point of balance, right at the top of nature's full bloom and burst of life. I like walking and this time of year I particularly like walking in the woods and the meadows. I find it soothing and reassuring, there is a quality of stillness but also of fullness. As I look up in the canopy of trees I am thinking that if we clear the way of all that we no longer need, all that no longer serve us, then we can create space to grow and grow tall like these trees.
Recently it occurred to me that what might come in the way of this growth is fear and a lack of trust. Fear of the unknown and the uncomfortableness of a potential unpleasantness as we are in the middle of "cooking". Tapas in itself however provides the answer and the platform to work through the letting go and the burning up of that fear also. It provides the space to experiment with our tolerance of unpleasantness, of uncomfortableness and to grow our capacity for it. Not in a punishing way but a compassionate and patient one, where we ask ourselves to stay present with just this moment, and perhaps the next moment duly on its way. And in this process to discover that we are bigger than whatever limits our understanding had reached up until now.
It also occurred to me that just like the trees at the height of summer, as we "cook" we might also discover a growing thirst for being nurtured and watered, and in that process alone find it easier to surrender and allow to be supported.
May you cook and purify and find support in your clearing and surrender!
A moment at a time :)
Happy July!
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