The Body Dashboard
It’s summer! If you’re like me, sometimes “summering” eats-up most of your time and leaves less for your yoga practice. Yes, even I experience this (yoga teachers aren't superhuman ;). This is why, in my personal practice and public classes, I’ve been focusing on a kind of self-discipline, called tapas. To clarify, I'm speaking of the Sanskrit word for nurturing, mental and/or physical practice, and not the Spanish word for snacks/appetizers, though the latter form of tapas necessitates self-discipline too!
Many of us frequently associate the word "discipline” with subservience ... a forced, rigid and sometimes harsh structure that we, or others force upon ourselves. The word can also elicit memories of punishment. Merriam-Webster gives at least 5 different definitions, including:
Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
Control gained by enforcing obedience or order
Orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior
Self-control
A rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity
Though the word "discipline" can give us an idea of what tapas means, yoga has a different translation.
In yoga, we practice self-discipline in a nourishing way. Tapas is making a commitment to ourselves to nurture our vitality, to build our resiliency and to support our well-being. Tapas comes from the inside. It’s the part of us that wants to learn and grow, and, ultimately, it’s an expression of self-love. We, at our core, want to succeed in growing into the best versions of ourselves. AND (this is so so important), we must learn to accept who we are in each moment, along the path.
Tapas is considered the single most important practice in life, because without dedication to that which we’re cultivating, we won’t succeed. Whatever we’re growing, whether it be compassion and generosity, focus and concentration, a garden, a family, or a business, all necessitate commitment. If I wasn’t committed to watering my raspberries, tomatoes, and dahlias, they wouldn’t grow. It’s the same for our personal growth/evolution. The yoga doesn’t work unless we do it!
A really helpful tool to promote Tapas, which I use in my personal practice and recommend to my private clients, is called the Body Dashboard. A really helpful technique to assess if we’re meeting our basic daily needs, which I use in my personal practice a lot, is called the Body Dashboard. When we take good care of ourselves, our neurobiology and physiology all work better. And when our systems are operating properly, we have the right conditions for a calm, and peaceful nervous system and mind. This is why we must regulate our biology if we’re on a path of self-inquiry and growth.
The Body Dashboard works like this: as if you were checking your car dashboard, you check your body dashboard. The areas on the dashboard include:
Rest
Hydration
Blood sugar
Elimination (sweat, tears, laughing, digestive elimination)
Exercise
Time in nature/fresh air
Right brain activity (present moment, sense engaging activity like making/enjoying art, music, creating)
Check this throughout the day, and make a commitment to fulfilling these needs as best you can. The next time you feel off or in a funk (not the good kind), check your Body Dashboard!