I once lived in a one-towel punk rock household where nobody ever took out our empty beer cans. We’d sit around the living room floor—we didn’t have much in the way of furniture—contemplating bags and bags of empties and fantasize about rigging a pulley system that would lower the cans three floors down to the street. But nobody was willing to get off their butt and carry them. I have no memories of housekeeping there, though we must have occasionally scrubbed the pot as we cooked our ramen noodles. One of my punk friends lived alone in a studio. Every Sunday, she would put on her glasses (the only time I ever saw her wear them) and thoroughly clean her apartment. This struck me as so endearingly eccentric.
This squalid trip down memory lane brings us to this month’s topic: saucha.
In the last five months, we’ve looked at the five yamas, or moral restraints – things yogis aren’t supposed to do — which compose the first limb of yoga. The second limb is made of five things yogis are supposed to do. These are called niyamas. Taken together, there are a total of ten yamas and niyamas. Yogis who come from Christian traditions sometimes liken them to the Ten Commandments of yoga.
The first niyama, saucha, means cleanliness or purity and has both external and internal manifestations. Starting with the external, how do we keep the space around us? Does our home look more suited for pigs than humans? Personally, this is still one of my weak points. While I now recycle my soda water cans and do dishes every day, I’m terrible about putting my clothes away, and the mop seems to have gone AWOL. I love to do projects and don’t love to clean up after myself. But when I take the time to bring order to my surroundings, it’s a huge relief.
Yoga teacher Aadil Palkhivala writes about yoga class as a microcosm of how we respect our space and that of others. Do we toss our props every which way? Do we take shortcuts across other people’s mats when we go to get a block? He recommends maintaining the integrity and good energy of the yoga room by practicing in neat rows and replacing props in an orderly fashion.
Then there’s cleanliness of the body. I have no problem here, as reading fiction in the bathtub is my default mode. Much easier than cleaning the bathroom.
Now, we’ll start to get internal and even more personal. What are we putting inside our bodies? As a drunk, when I was craving my next drink, I used to loudly complain about having too much blood in my alcohol stream. This is clearly the opposite of clean internal living. Same for other drugs, from heroin to nicotine. Once we clean up those substances, we can look at what we’re eating. Nutritious food or junk? Saucha encourages us to treat our bodies as temples and to eat what will nourish rather than sicken us over time. As a person in recovery, my philosophy is to first quit what’s killing you the fastest. For me, that meant quitting alcohol and other drugs first, cigarettes a year or two later. Then, getting a better handle on nutrition.
And now, even more personal. What are we thinking? Are we constantly judging or categorizing ourselves and others? Do we allow our minds to be consumed by resentments, guilt, self-pity and pettiness? Sure, we can’t help it if ugly thoughts enter our minds. But do we really need to devote our lives to gnawing on them? This is where a 12-step, yoga, meditation or other spiritual practice can help to redirect our thoughts and thus clean up our minds.
How do we do clean up our dirty thoughts? By catching ourselves in the act. Have you ever noticed that you’re not always conscious of your hurtful thoughts? Sometimes, I feel a vague crankiness or anger, and I don’t even know why. I have to slow down and try to perceive its source. Usually it’s an ugly thought just barely in my consciousness. When we can still the mind enough to root out these thoughts, we can redirect them by thinking of something more productive or directing our attention away from thought by focusing on our breathing, a mantra, or sensations in our bodies.
I will never attain perfect saucha. And worrying about it too much is inviting bad feelings about not being pure enough, which defeats our purpose here. Like everything, it’s baby steps along the progress-not-perfection road. Trying to keep a cleaner environment, body, and mind is a daily project. Now, excuse me while I go order a mop from Amazon.
Yoga is more than poses.
SOBRIETY IN FLOW: Discover a deeper aspect of yoga beyond the poses with Teresa Bergen. Explore the philosophy, ethics, and spiritual principles of yoga intertwined with sobriety. Dive into the transformative power of the yamas, enhancing character and relationships. Join Teresa monthly for insights on how yoga and meditation can guide our paths to recovery and clarity.
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