I don’t think I have ever eaten in a Tapas restaurant, although I remember when I first heard about the Spanish-inspired snacks served on small plates, often combined to form a full meal. They seemed to be quite popular for a while.

When I studied yoga philosophy as part of my yoga teacher training, I learned about a different kind of “Tapas.” In this case it is the third Niyama, translated as “discipline,” “passion” or “burning enthusiasm.”

In yoga and in the rest of life, Tapas can lead us to try things that don’t necessarily come easily to us or to persevere when things get challenging. I find this especially relevant in endurance cycling. While every moment on the bike is not necessarily bliss, I do have a fiery passion for it, which enables me to keep going when a ride gets tough or long or hot. It drives me to get on the bike this time of year (although there is a limit to weather that I consider rideable).

The teachings about tapas refer to “burning away impurities.” I can certainly relate to this on the bike. On a long, challenging bike ride, I can feel stripped to the basics, where all that matters is staying on two wheels. I can finish some bike rides with so much taken out of me, but a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. The tougher rides give me something to pull from in other difficult circumstances. There have been so many times that I have said to myself, in reference to epic days on the bike, “This is not as hard as Satanta to Ashland 2006.” Or, “I finished Spearville to Ellinwood 2014. I can do this.” In those instances, fiery passion and determination got me there, and the result was an increased sense of self-efficacy—evidence that I can do hard things.

This may be one of the biggest benefits of practicing Tapas—learning that, with discipline and perseverance, we are capable of so much.

Yoga calls for us to live yogic principles both on and off the mat, uniting mind and body in thought, word and action. In regard to Tapas, this can refer to any activity that requires discipline and focus.

Practicing Tapas can help us to finish what we start and to keep our commitment to ourselves, whether that is having the courage to attempt some challenging or unfamiliar yoga poses; continuing to turn the pedals into a tough headwind; completing an academic goal or writing a blog post, even though I am not feeling my best.

As I stirred in the liminal space between being asleep and being awake yesterday morning, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to practice Tapas the previous night.

My husband and I took care of our grandson on Friday, so his parents could go out for Valentine’s Day. Both the baby and I have had stuffy noses and haven’t been feeling 100%. He was fussy and not eating well and just needed to be held, so I ended up rocking him and holding him while he slept for a couple of hours. I’m grateful for the opportunity to do that. By the time his parents got home and were able to take over, it was 11 p.m. I hadn’t eaten dinner previously because he awoke as I was getting ready to start. As I lay in bed on Saturday morning, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to practice Tapas and uphold my high priorities.

Given that my priorities for my personal wellness include getting enough sleep and eating dinner at a reasonable time, in my early-morning musings, it occurred to me that I would have better served my priorities if I had eaten just a small snack once I turned over my grandbaby to his parents and gone to bed sooner, rather than eating the food that my husband had brought home from Noodles & Co. while watching a show on TV with him.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, in reference to meditation, the practice is to notice when we stray from our intended path and then to return to it as quickly as we can. There is no point in beating myself up. I simply need to have the discipline when I find myself in a similar situation in the future to choose the option most aligned with my priorities.

Stephen Covey said, "It's easy to say 'no' when there's a deeper 'yes' burning inside.”

This seems to me to be the essence of Tapas.

At least part of that practice is keeping the burning “yes” front of mind so that it can put the brakes on decisions that don’t align.

What are the deeper “yeses” in your life? How can they serve as guard rails for the decisions you make?