Stoke Your Inner Fire: Tapas is Transformation

By Andrea Jarrell

Years ago, I moved from Los Angeles to Maine. One night I woke to see my neighbor’s field ablaze — giant flames licking the sky. Frightened at first, I’d never witnessed a controlled burn before. I soon learned it was a good thing, making way for new growth.

In her book The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice, Deborah Adele uses the controlled burn as a metaphor for Tapas, one of five Niyamas in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The core meaning of Tapas relates to heat and purification through discipline and commitment. Or as Adele says, “Cooking ourselves in the fire of discipline to transform.”

There’s a reason when lying in savasana, we can feel as if we’ve been remade. A reason, consistent practice transforms not just our bodies but, as one PureFire student said, “the way I meet myself and the world—with more patience, presence, and quiet strength than I ever imagined.”

So many of us come to PureFire for the heat — not just the warmth of the studio but the way the practice stokes our inner fire. At first, that heat — in the room and in ourselves — might feel overwhelming. But like a controlled burn, we learn to manage our fire through breath, through consistency. We learn how to stay in a pose and simmer. That slow burn that tells us we are getting stronger. And like a bellows we learn how to fan our internal flame when we know we’re ready for more growth.

Tapas makes us stronger mentally, physically, emotionally. There’s no going back after that. Forged in fire, we carry our strength off the mat and into the world.

On Friday, February 6 at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 8 at 7:45 a.m. I’ll be celebrating Tapas with a Power 2.0 flow and a fire song playlist — everything from “Body on Fire” to “Ring of Fire” to “Fire for You.” All levels welcome! Stoke your fire and ignite your life, my friends.

Andrea Jarrell teaches Power 2.0 at PureFire. Off the mat, she’s an author and communications strategist for nonprofits, cultural institutions, colleges, and universities.