Tapah Svadhyayesvara Pranidhanani Kriya Yogah = Austerity, study, and the dedication of the fruits of one’s work to God: these are the preliminary steps towards yoga.

According to the Yoga Sutras, there are only 3 things a yoga practitioner needs to do to walk the “yogic path.”

1. She must be self-disciplined.
2. She must study herself. And….
3. She must detach from the outcomes of her actions.

Today I’m going to focus on the first quality “discipline,” and why it’s so important to us as MOMs in particular.

In a nutshell, DISCIPLINE is the tool we use to find the “ME Time” we deserve.  Here’s why!

When yogis use the term discipline (or tapas in Sanskrit) we are not talking about torture or punishment.  We’re talking about simply making time to consistently do the things that need doing that make us better people, and better moms. Things we need to do even, and especially when we don’t feel like it.

Discipline is what gets you up at 7am to get your kids ready for school. Discipline is what makes you choose a side of carrots instead of a side of fries. And discipline is what gets you on your mat on the days you said you would, even though you have monthly cramps and you just don’t feel like it!

The trick is to practice these tapas (or disciplines) when life is running pretty smoothly. Doing this helps us to cultivate our tapas into healthy habits. And then when the “you know what” hits the fan, our tapas are there for us to fall back on, so that we can continue to find our center even when life is chaotic.

I’d love to hear about some of your tapas/disciplines that you do to make you a “better” mom! Share in the comments below!