Myth 8: Yoga means staying away from everything you like

There was a student once who really got scared when introduced to the concept of Tapa.

"But I love eating cakes. I don't want to stop eating them!" she looked as though she regretted coming to the class.

After calming her down it was explained to her that Tapa does mean restraining our desires. But we are not Yogis. We are normal people who have to live in this world. So for us, what Tapa means is to limit our indulgence in everything. Just don't overdo anything.

Enjoying a cake or shopping once in a while is great! Go ahead and enjoy life!

Oh and Yoga does not mean running away from the world, going to the silence of the Himalayas or staying away from people. In fact, Yoga talks a lot about socializing with people, while following certain basic rules called Yamas and Niyamas (in layman terms we can consider these are etiquette rules and attitudes).