Rooted Sangha - Session 16 - Tapas

Theme: The Practice of Tapas: The Sacred Fire of Commitment

This week in our Sangha, we introduced Tapas — one of the niyamas, and a teaching that speaks to inner fire, steady devotion, and the courage to stay present with what truly matters.

Tapas is often translated as discipline or effort, but it’s not the harsh, punishing kind we might associate with pushing or forcing. As Deborah Adele writes in The Yamas and Niyamas, Tapas is the heat that refines — the steady warmth that transforms us gently from the inside out.

When I think of Tapas, I think of tending a small flame. Not a blazing inferno, but something quieter and more enduring. The kind of heat that comes from showing up - again and again - even when it would be easier to turn away. It’s the warmth of commitment, of choosing what nourishes us, even when it asks something of us.

In yoga philosophy, Tapas invites us into conscious effort. To notice where we leak our energy, and where we might gather it back. It asks us to stay awake to our habits - the ones that support us, and the ones that quietly drain us - and to meet them with honesty and compassion.

This practice isn’t about striving for perfection or forcing ourselves into rigid discipline. Tapas is not self-punishment. It’s self-respect. It’s the inner resolve that says, “This matters to me.” It’s choosing the mat, the breath, the pause, the truth — even when motivation wavers.

What I love most about Tapas is that it honours both fire and patience. Some days the flame burns bright; other days it’s barely a glow. Both are part of the practice. The invitation is simply to tend it — to keep returning, to stay close, to trust that something is quietly being transformed.

Tapas is less about doing more and more, and more about doing what is meaningful with intention. It’s about allowing the heat of awareness to burn away what no longer serves, making space for clarity, strength, and inner steadiness to emerge.

So perhaps, as you move through your own week, you might gently ask yourself:

Where am I being invited to stay present rather than pull away?

What small, steady commitment could I honour - not out of pressure, but out of care?

Can I stay in the fire long enough to receive its blessings?

Tapas reminds us that transformation doesn’t happen in one dramatic moment. It happens in the quiet devotion of returning - breath by breath, choice by choice.

Giving Back

After covering room and fuel costs, all proceeds from Rooted are being saved to support a local cause, to be chosen together later this year - as a small act of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion in action.

On 21st September, we made our first donation (£110) to Kettering Samaritans.

This week, we donated £100 to Johnny's Happy Place, a wonderful mental health support cafe in Kettering.

In January, we will decide together on our next beneficiary.

Going Forward

We are now on a 2-week break until Wednesday, 7th January.

Thank you for taking a moment to pause — to sit with the quiet warmth of this teaching.

May you begin to notice where your energy wants to gather rather than be scattered.

May you honour the small flames of commitment that already live within you.

May you tend your practices - of movement, rest, truth, and care - not with force, but with devotion.

May you trust that even gentle heat transforms.

And may you remember that your capacity for strength already exists within you.

Each time you choose to return, the fire is lit again.

With love,

Vicki x