“Through simplicity and continual refinement (Saucha), the body, thoughts, and emotions become clear reflections of the Self within. Saucha reveals our joyful nature, and the yearning for knowing the Self blossoms.” ~ Yoga Sutras 2.40-2.41
Last night in yoga teacher training, we learned techniques on cleansing the body. While there are many radical ways to cleanse the body, Jala Neti practice is becoming a common practice with Western yogis. This practice is great for clearing the sinuses, removing access dirt and bacteria, and can give a cooling sensation to the brain. A few of us practices this ancient tradition in class last night:
I left the practice feeling energized about learning something new and eager to implement new aspects of Saucha into my life. Saucha is the Sanskrit term for purity and cleanliness. It is one of five niyamas (restraints) practiced in the eight limbs of yoga. Saucha can represent cleanliness in all aspects of life, internally and externally.
Here are some examples of practicing Saucha:
– Keeping your surroundings clean: let’s clear the clutter, clean our mats, dust the cobwebs, whatever needs to be done so your environment feels welcoming
– Keeping our bodies clean: this includes what we put into our bodies and how we take care of ourselves.
– keeping our thoughts clean: eliminate the thoughts that don’t serve us like negativity, judgment, etc.
In the modern world, we are becoming overwhelmed with social media clutter. I am super guilty of getting caught up in the world of buzzfeed videos, instagrama celebrities, and silly “Did you know?” articles. It can be a serious distraction from my goals and I find myself being rather critical of myself when I play the comparisons game.
So, I am challenging myself and anyone else who would like to join me to take an “Insta Cleanse”! Or a Facebook cleanse, twitter cleanse, email cleanse or whatever. I am not deleting my account (which is a great options if you really feel a certain social media is distracting you from actually living), but I am cleaning it out. I follow too many celebrities I do not care about or “negative nancy” type people. I don’t have time for that and it is not doing anything to better who I am and encourage me to become a better version of me. I want to follow users who dare me to dream!
I would love to hear about the ways y’all practice Saucha, or clean living in your lives!
xoxo Taryn
Yoga Mats & Cowboy Hats 