Saucha–Get Clean!

Posted by Lorien on March 13, 2013 in Consciousness, Eight Limbs of Yoga, Niyamas, Self Improvement, Yoga | 16 comments

"When the body is cleansed, the mind purified and the senses controlled, joyful awareness, needed to realize the inner self, also comes." –Yoga Sutras

And now we begin our study of the niyamas, the second limb of the eight-limbed path of raja yoga. Before we launch into them, I wanted to take a moment to distinguish between the first and second limbs, the yamas and the niyamas.

The yamas are universal in their application, to be practiced at any age and any stage of life. If you haven't yet learned about them, here they are: ahimsa, nonviolence; satya, truthfulness; asteya, nonstealing; brahmacharya, moderation of energy; and aparigraha, nonhoarding. When we practice the yamas diligently, we create the momentum for big changes in our lives. We live with integrity. People trust us. We trust ourselves. We create balance inside and out, we become clear channels for life force to flow through us.

The niyamas are much more personal in their application. By their practice we are able to stay on the path, to sustain the changes brought about by the yamas. Here are the niyamas: saucha, cleanliness; santosha, contentment; tapas, burning zeal; svadhyaya, self-study; and ishvarapranidhana, surrender to source.

Today we are going to focus on saucha, which means "cleanliness," or "purity." As with all things, there is an inner as well as an outer aspect. The path of yoga moves us from identification with the world of form and the accompanying fears, attachments and neuroses that arise from this identification, to the realization of the formless self that resides within us. When we are able to look within for our peace and joy, we experience our freedom, we experience our essence, we find a bliss that cannot be given to us or taken from us in the world.

This journey is taken in stages; very often we arrive to the practice of yoga afraid that we won't do the postures correctly, afraid that we'll look bad, afraid that it won't work, just plain afraid. Confronted with all this fear, there is only one thing to do: start where we are with what we have and do the best we can. We begin with the body, promising to not hurt it, agreeing to meet it where it is, to give it as much space as it needs to heal and transform. Over time and with regular practice, the body becomes more strong and flexible, we master more difficult poses, we find ease in our bodies as they become pure and open. Now that we have worked with the external self, we have the resiliency, the will, the determination to deal with the inner self–the mind, the emotions, the intellect.

We see this theme mirrored over and over again throughout the whole yogic path. Start outside, and move inside. Start with the world of form, what is most easily grasped and evaluated through our senses, and little by little, move within. And so it is with saucha.

To begin the practice of saucha, we take a good, honest look at our surroundings. What kind of conditions are we living in? Do we keep our homes, our work spaces, our vehicles, neat and tidy, or is it time to set about cleaning, organizing, sorting, maybe throwing out what is no longer useful or beneficial to us? To practice saucha on a physical level requires an ongoing willingness to monitor the things we keep in our space and to let them go when it is time. Remember the final yama, brahmacharya–nonhoarding? Letting go is trusting in the universe that will always provide us with exactly what we need. The act of releasing things that no longer serve us makes the space to welcome new experiences in our lives. And once we make that space, we have less to clean up or clean around! It takes a lot of honesty and will to sift through layers of stuff that have been hanging around collecting dust. It requires positive self-regard, self-caring, to maintain a living space that upholds our best interests for health and well-being. It also takes time and physical effort to clean up the dinner dishes, take out the garbage, sweep or vacuum the floors, clear out the ick from the fridge. No wonder a lot of us (me included) can drag our feet when it comes to this kind of work. But it is so completely worth it. Each time we put some love into our physical surroundings, we are giving ourselves that