“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard.” - Lao Tzu
Yoga philosophy tells us that all things in nature reflect three universal characteristics, referred to as gunas, which means “strand”. The ancient yogic texts tell us that the attributes of all things in the universe, from material objects to various aspects of the body and mind, are a product of different combinations of the gunas, identified as sattva, rajas, and tamas. The qualities of sattva relate to light, purity, and knowledge. In the human mind, this is what we refer to as consciousness. Rajas is energy, the quality of movement, activity, passion, and restlessness. Tamas is the opposite of rajas, characterized by containment, inertia, and lethargy. The rigidity and inertia of tamas creates the structure necessary for all matter. The gunas are always in flux, continuously combining, breaking apart, and then re-combining, which contributes to the endless variety in our world. Just as the sun rises in the morning to wake us up and energize us throughout the day, it also sets, providing darkness so we can rest.
Ancient writings about the gunas do not assign equal importance to all three qualities. The most important guna is that of sattva, which creates harmony, stability, and balance. Sattva integrates, and when it dominates we experience happiness and contentment. A sattvic mind allows us to think clearly, concentrate, and see the truth of things. Rajas and tamas create disharmony. Immersed in the energy of rajas, we are externally oriented, driven by desire, and prone to anxiety, fear, and worry. We crave sensory stimulation, chasing excitement and enjoyment in experiences outside of ourselves. Tamas prevails when we identify solely with our material world, turning our attention inward to the confines of our physical body or our possessions, both of which are narrow and limited. The more strongly we associate with the physical world, the more we weaken our powers of perception. When we are stuck in tamas, what we own starts to own us.
Even though they create distortion and instability, both rajas and tamas are necessary in the quest to establish ourselves in sattva. Their conflicting energies are part of the challenge we face in finding balance: you can’t find your center until you experience your edges. There are only two routes to sattva: through the externally oriented energy of rajas or the grounding and physical containment of tamas. All of us fluctuate between the gunas and each one plays an important role in our wellbeing. The key is to reset the boundaries of rajas and tamas, bringing them within close proximity, so that the balanced middle ground of sattva is always within our reach.
Unless we are aware of how the gunas flow within us, we are vulnerable to being pushed and pulled between the swing of rajas and tamas. Understanding how their fluctuations impact our body and mind enables us to harness their positive attributes so that we can spend more time in sattva. This week we’ll start with tamas, exploring its characteristics and learn how it shows up in the body, mind, and the world around us so that we can harness its energy to bring us closer to sattva.
When we feel agitated or frenzied, tamas acts as a ballast with its qualities of density and heaviness. Tamas helps us feel grounded, directing us toward activities that promote containment and structure. It is the energy that shapes the material aspects of our lives: our food choices, financial security, housing, self-care practices. When our physical needs are met, we experience a sense of containment and solidity, both of which are essential to feeling safe. Tamas allows us to relax, restore our energy, and recharge our batteries.
Tamas can quickly start to dominate, however, and when it does, the solidity it offers makes us vulnerable to the heavy force of gravity. The pull of tamas is downward, leading to rigidity, heaviness, and decay. The feelings of safety it offers can cause us to grasp, holding tightly to our desire for stability while becoming resistant to change. We become sluggish, dull, and lose the desire to move. Tamas shows up in our emotions as negativity, expressed in anger, criticism, judgment, or sadness. We may spend time pining away about the past, replaying scenarios from long ago, or revisiting imagined slights or hurts foisted upon us by others. Physically, tamas is experienced as exhaustion, a depletion of energy, and, at its extreme, a complete crash. Tamas in the mind creates confusion and ambivalence. We spend considerable effort analyzing a problem but are unable to commit to action. Our minds may become so clouded that we are unable to face a situation, choosing to avoid issues or problems rather than tackle them head on. If you want to see this heavy and obstructing force in action, watch an episode of the reality show “Hoarders”. People wading through piles of garbage and debris, miserable and distraught but unwilling to let go of what they own are extreme examples of being stuck in the heaviness of tamas.
Even though it can have undesirable qualities, tamas is part of the ebb and flow of daily life. We feel tamas in the morning upon waking and at night when it is time for sleep. You may notice that you feel dull or sluggish in certain situations or even around some people. In the larger context of life, we all have tamasic periods, with some lasting only briefly while others linger. These are the times when you feel stagnant and confused, perhaps sleeping more often, eating heavy foods, finding it hard to engage in physical activity or exercise. Staying in this state for a day or two can provide needed rest, but extended periods can lead to a more serious condition. Tamas is sticky. Once it settles in, it clouds the mind and makes it difficult to see the world clearly. The longer we stay, the harder it is to find a way out.
To break up the heaviness of tamas, we need outward oriented activity—the energy of rajas--to break through inertia. Extreme, long term, or chronic cases of tamas may require professional interventions, but we can move out of short-term episodes by shifting our attention to the outer world. We start by tapping into the energy of rajas through stimulating our senses with activities that feature movement, action, and communication. Sometimes just completing a few simple tasks can cultivate rajas. Eating lighter foods, being outside, or listening to uplifting music are also small ways in which rajas can start to generate an upward moving spiral and break the heaviness of tamas.
Depending on how strongly tamas is dominating, it can be challenging to find the energy to shift into an active state. We may feel so heavy that any effort seems overwhelming. Yoga is a readily available tool that can break up tamas, offering a variety of poses and breathing practices that subtly stimulate the senses in ways that are accessible when our energy is low or depleted. Our practice tonight will illustrate ways in which we can break up tamas by building heat slowly and methodically while staying grounded and contained.
In the body, tamas dominates in the feet, legs, and hips. These are the areas of the body that are strongly associated with the solidity of the earth and are responsible for providing balance. Focusing on these areas in a yoga practice can provide insight as to how tamas shows up in our lives. When tamas dominates, the muscles in these areas can become rigid and constricted, making it hard to move fluidly. When rajas dominates, we may be hypermobile, lacking the stability and strength necessary to avoid overextension and injury. The goal is not to favor one state over the other, but to understand how the gunas dance within us, working with them to find balance in our bodies and minds.
The solidity of this guna is necessary to restore and renew our energy. Working with your feet, legs, and hips creates strength and resiliency. We all like to be flexible, so it is easy to judge the restrictive nature of tamas. I suggest that you soften criticism and look to tamas to identify areas of the body in which you feel strong and solid. Maintain a sattvic orientation of acceptance while working to gently release tension. Keep in mind that a healthy body is one that is both stable and mobile, especially in the hips, legs, and feet. I invite you to start where you are in your practice, accepting whatever type of energy shows up on your mat. Come and open yourself to the sturdy nature of the guna of tamas and see how a sense of containment can help you relax and rejuvenate!
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