Redefining the Yamas & Niyamas: Saucha

The past few weeks we have been looking in depth at our energy, where it comes from, how it gets bastardized, and how we can make it work to delight us rather than to damn us. Brahmacharya, asteya, and aparigraha taught us how we can most efficiently use, balance, direct, and gift our energy. In the beginning of our yama/niyama journey, satya established that at the core of us is an unchanging divinity composed of pure goodness. Todays niyama, saucha, is a deeper look into that purity and the reminder to bathe regularly so that we get to smell ourselves as peppermint rather than poop!

We often define yoga as a yoking, but forget to include that in the efforts to unite, we must purify. We must remove all that is gunking us up, wether that’s from underneath our toenails or from the unkind words we think or speak, or from the dust bunnies underneath our beds, or from the rusty chains of resentments and grudges that burden our hearts.

As we begin to use our daily life as a strainer to draw out our impurities, it may feel difficult not to identify with what we see drawn forth. When our hateful thoughts, or judgmental commentary, or our lies and cheats bubble to the surface, it’s going to feel like these impurities are who you are. Do not be fooled. Do not pursue sabotaging behavior because of past choices. Those past choices are staring into you eyes in the name of service. They are begging you to objectively observe how those choices made you feel, or not feel.

The impurities are here to simply help us understand what we are not, so we can go right ahead and be who we really are. Without condemnation we feel what it feels like to lie, and then feel what it feels like to tell the truth. We feel what it feels like to live in a dirty house and stockpile dishes and what it feels like to live in a clean, organized house. We feel what it feels like to take versus to give, what it feels like to binge versus to balance, what it feels like to hoard versus to have, what it feels like to hate versus to love, to find fault or to find fabulous, to relax or to rush.

By consistent reflection on previous actions or inactions, we get to serve rather than sabotage. By living out our contrasts, committed to our yoga, each day we have the opportunity to determine our own divinity.

Dearest Reader,

I am delighted to share yoga philosophy with you and my intent is to inspire you to continue your spiritual study and stay curious. We don’t have to accept or reject anything, rather we can sharpen our ability to observe and reflect on information and continue to remove the filters of which we tend to receive our information through. May these words serve your soul.

All my love,

Andrea Dawn