Tapas. What a Bummer.

 My husband hates going out for tapas - the Spanish snack-style dishes - and I totally understand his logic.  

In his line of thinking Tapas as a meal choice with friends is inherently flawed. Tapas are designed to be a snack food that comes with drinks.  Sounds fine, but not quite a meal. So when it blew up to be a thing that was trendy. everyone had to pretend to enjoy the invite to a meal with friends that would ultimately end in a late-night date with yesterday's leftovers. Sharing Tapas with friends is most often results in a secret war of politeness inviting their dining-mates to, 'please, have the last one." Secretly everyone is discreetly jockeying for their fair share of too-small, too-expensive plates.  It smarts with dissatisfaction. 

What does this have to do with yoga?  Almost nothing. Except, in Yoga we also have the word Tapas, but it means something entirely different.

No. Tapas in Yoga does not refer to shared plate snacks.  But sometimes it does mean finding graciousness during moments of challenge or disappointment. 

Tapas, in the Yogic sense, translates as 'to burn' and it refers to a fiery discipline.  This stick-to-it-ness comes in handy when we approach something that is otherwise uncomfortable, like a overpriced night out that leaves you hangry.  Tapas is the willpower we cultivate to burn off limiting beliefs, bad attitudes, our desire to quit, and our urge to throw a temper tantrum when the going gets tough. Sometimes the urge to leave, to bail, is so great that sticking with a commitment feels like a standing in fire. Tapas invites us to remember that the only way out is through, and with no striving for a quick or even satisfying end, we can commit to the breath and the moment and the practice until we find a place where we begin to cool off and loosen the grip.

On the other side of the fire so often we find sweet, full-bellied satisfaction.