8 Limbs: Niyama 1: Saucha

“I will not let anybody walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” ~Mahatma Ghandi

Saucha reminds us that cleanliness (or purity) of the body, mind and spirit are essential in our quest to attain a higher vibrational state. If the ancient yogis believed that the body does not contain a soul, but is rather an embodied soul, it is therefore our job to keep our temple clean so that we can carry out our life purpose.

Saucha is also asking us to let go of things that do not serve us, to choose our words and actions wisely, to engage our mind and senses with enriching stimuli and to be truly honest with ourselves, sifting through the debris of our lives as an act of housekeeping for the mind and soul. Letting go of the inner clutter creates a less distracting life, leading us more straightforwardly into authenticity.

In our yoga practice, saucha can be applied through breathwork, inversions and practices such as candle gazing. When we fire up the breath, such as in kapalabhati breathing (skull shining breath), we stoke the internal fire and rid impurities from the body and mind. Inversions remind us to turn our mind upside down and release thoughts that we no longer need. Candle gazing (single pointed drishti) lets us imagine we are burning the dust away that shrouds our eyes and ways of seeing, therefore cleaning up the way we view the world.

Anything can be saucha if you look at the myriad of ways we can incorporate this niyama into our daily lives.