Today we are moving on to the second limb of Patañali’s Yoga Sutras.
Just as a little refresher, the first limb is universal in its application and offers ethical guidelines on how we interact with others.
The second limb, the Niyamas, are more personal, support us on our path and our practice and provide us with a set of guidelines on how we treat ourselves.
If you are a new subscriber to my blog (Welcome!) or would like to refresh your memory about the “8 Limbs of Yoga” you can refer to my previous blogs. For the general introduction to this topic please click HERE.
The first of the five Niyamas is “Saucha” शौच:
Yoga Sutra 2.40: saucat svanga jugupsa parairh asamsargah
“Saucha means ‘cleanliness and purity’ but it does not simply imply that one must bathe each day and keep one’s fingernails clean. Rather, it pertains to a deeper level or purity – purity on the inside, purity of thought and action. We must purify our thoughts through japa*, meditation, and the practice of positive thinking. We must purify our lives by ensuring that our actions are models of integrity, dharma and righteousness…. True saucha means refraining from putting anything impure into our being – this includes everything ranging from drugs and cigarettes to negative gossip to violent rock-music lyrics to pornography.”
~ H. H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji
*Japa (Sanskrit: जप) is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. ” Source: Wikipedia
Saucha is a practice that starts with the external, encouraging us to keep our physical surroundings clean, uncluttered, and inspiring.
Living in a comfortable space where energies can flow makes a difference for our well being and happiness. In Asia whole cities have been constructed by using the ancient knowledge ‘Feng Shui’ and before moving into a new house, a feng shui master is being consulted to evaluate the energies first. ‘Feng Shui’ is a “Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment” Source: Wikipedia. In India people have been referring to the ancient system of Vastu. We may or may not choose to implement those ancient systems to create a balanced, peaceful and harmonized living environment. The intent is to make our living environment pleasing; a sanctuary to come home to.
When we take good care of our physical bodies, how we dress, cleanse and groom ourselves, we affirm our worthiness. We are creating a loving environment for ourselves where our energies can flow and creativity bloom.
Another external aspect are relationships. Ask yourself, who in your life supports you to grow, loves and celebrate who you are and who are the ones that drain you. Be honest with yourself, even if that means to let go of friendships that no longer serve you.
Now we move on to the internal side of saucha. Starting with nourishment. Are you drinking enough water and how clean is your water and the food you eat? If you are not growing your own food it may not always be easy to judge how safe or clean it really is. However, we can take steps to be ensure that we buy local, organic and seasonal fruit and veggies. The Farmers Market would be a good choice to meet all criteria. Just bringing awareness to your food choices, without judgment is saucha. I suggest to not deprive you from any of your favorite foods but to add additional healthy choices to your menu.
And we keep moving deeper… How can we bring saucha to the mind?
The practice of yoga and pranayama not only cleanses and strengthens our physical bodies but also our minds. When we bring mindfulness to our breath and allow the rhythm of our in- and exhales to guide us through our yoga practice, we develop an awareness for when thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and needs come up for us.
Then when we find ourselves in a pose where we hold our breath or are actively thinking, we gently come back to our breaths, letting any thoughts drift away. Once we come to understand our minds better, we can acknowledge thought patterns and choose to create new and positive ways to think, feel and be. Are you ready to let your inner light shine?
Where can you start to apply saucha in your life?
For some of us it is harder to keep our physical surrounding clean and neat, for others it is more difficult to keep mind, diet, body, or mind clean and pure. Please don’t judge yourself if any of those present challenges for you. You may consider to just pick one area and start today, right NOW… come and take a yoga class, or just sit and take a few deep and slow breaths, maybe empty your dishwasher, do the laundry, get a new haircut or your nails done, take a bubble bath, or read an inspiring book…
Where ever you are and whatever you choose to do – I am cheering you on!
Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs where we’ll explore the next Niyamas.
