Hi Everyone,
Happy (breezy, slow to get going) Spring! This week’s recording is a Spring Cleaning practice in honor of Kapha season and the first Niyama- cleanliness, purity.
Here’s the link; scroll down for more about Saucha.
Recorded Practice:
This recording is a 66 min. mixed practice: Vinyasa Flow & Gentle/Yin. If you want to do only the gentle portion of the practice, then fast forward to minute 35.
Saucha: 66 min. Vinyasa Flow & Yin/Gentle (suggested Spotify playlist is in the Vimeo description that you’ll see once you click the link.)
https://vimeo.com/694160406/4bdbc1d86c
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These recordings are offered for free. If you enjoy them and know someone else who would like them too, please forward this email :-)
If you’re able and would like to make a $1-$10 love offering/recording, many thanks!
Paypal = shalarain@gmail.com
Venmo = @Shala-Worsley
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Saucha, the first Niyama
Over the last six months, we’ve explored all 5 Yamas listed in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This week we broaden our focus to include the second limb, Niyama: cultivating a healthy relationship with ourselves.
The 5 ways Patanjali encourages us to create a healthy relationship with ourselves are: Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (discipline), Svadyaya (self-reflection), and Ishvara Pranidhana (remembrance of Presence, the Eternal).
Let’s take a closer look at the first Niyama, Saucha- cleanliness. Here are the two sutras Patanjali gives as a hint for how to think about and practice Saucha:
II.40 By purification arises disgust for one’s own body and contact with other bodies.
II.41 Moreover, one gains purity of sattva, cheerfulness of mind, one-pointed focus, mastery over the senses, and fitness for self-realization.
(from the translation by Sri Swami Satchitananda)
That first one is a chin scratcher, but the second one sounds encouraging.
“By purification arises disgust for one’s own body and contact with other bodies.” Disgust is a problematic word when used to describe one’s own or someone else’s body. Perhaps an alternate translation would be:
“By purification arises dissatisfaction with what it feels like to be out of balance in body/mind and the desire to avoid habits, people, and situations that contribute to that imbalance.”
It’s like this- if you’re feeling fresh and cheerful because you’ve just showered and you’re wearing bright, white, new, clean clothes (symbolic of a clear mind and body), you might be more mindful than normal about avoiding mud puddles or hugging people covered in mud. Once we take the time to cultivate a clear and clean body and mind, we gain motivation to stay away from foods, media, and situations that are harmful, negative, and unhelpful.
The second sutra describing Saucha goes on to say that by practicing cleanliness we become cheerful, harmonious, and more likely to connect with our deepest Self, Presence. Nice. So how do we practice Saucha? Here’s a list of few ways to practice this ethic:
Movement for physical cleansing: build heat, move the body in every direction it’s willing to go.
Pranayama for moving stagnant prana: breathe deeply!
Meditation for clearing dusty, old, unhelpful mental habits
Fasting from certain foods unhelpful to one’s particular constitution and from various media forms that stress or dull the mind
Refreshing the sense perceptions: Tongue scraping, Ayurvedic eye drops, Nasya for ears and nose, Exfoliation of the skin
From an Ayurvedic perspective, Spring is the perfect time to refresh our practice of Saucha. I offer individual consultations for those who would like guidance on creating a personalized Spring Cleanse. Email me, or respond to this newsletter, if you’d like to set up an appointment.
I'd love to see you in the studio at Asheville Yoga Center.
July 8-10 Restorative Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation
Please join my good friend and colleague Gota Cebrero and I for this co-led weekend workshop. All are welcome! Register at https://www.youryoga.com/300-hour-tt/
Here's my in-person schedule:
Mondays in-person at Asheville Yoga Center:
4-5:15 Warm Gentle, Restorative, & Yin
5:30-6:45 Hot Vinyasa Flow & Yin
Wednesdays In-person at Asheville Yoga Center:
12-1:15 Hot Vinyasa Flow & Yin
with love,
Shala
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