Sauca: Cleanliness

Today's class focuses on the first of the Niyamas, of which there are 5. The Niyamas are attitudes to cultivate towards ourself, or how we treat ourselves.

Sauca (pronounced "sow-chah") is the act of avoiding inner and outer impurities. Physical cleanliness is the first step in achieving awareness of one's self and one's exterior. A person who eats poorly, abuses one's body and does not maintain the basic acts of washing oneself is a person who can not be ready to experience the higher levels of consciousness that meditation and self-introspection offer. It all begins with something simple: basic cleanliness. In addition to bathing, washing up in the mornings, and brushing our teeth, the yogis believe that yogic cleansing kriyas (actions) are necessary to free the body of the accumulation of mucus, dirt and bile that cause dis-ease. Some of these kriyas are:

- neti (cleansing the sinus passages with a neti pot or a saline rinse)
- nauli (a breath, organ-muscle movement technique)
- trataka (gazing at an external object as a way of developing concentration and stimulating our chakras)
- kapalabhati (breath of fire, a cleansing breath involving rapid, short exhalations)
- dhauti (various internal cleansing, such as stomach cleansing, eye cleansing, etc)
- basti (more specific cleansing of the colon, such as a colonic)

After maintaining cleanliness of our bodies and our environments, sauca may be extended to internal emotional, mental and spiritual cleanliness. Are we organized, efficient beings, or do create stress by being messy? Do we harbor negative energies and toxic thoughts, or can we move through life without accumulating emotional toxic dirt? One very common method of maintaing a clean internal container is by the repetition of mantra. I am personally not a huge mantra teacher, but I'd like to share with you one of my favorites, the Gayatri mantra:

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Of the many translations, one of the more accessible ones (to me) says: "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". The mantra is also a prayer to the "giver of light and life" - the sun (savitur).

And that, my dear friends, is just the beginning of sauca.

I'll see you soon!

Yoga Love,
Aria