focus of the month: sauca
 

Thousands of years ago Patanjali laid out the practice of yoga in 196 sutras (aphorisms). Within the Yoga Sutras are the yamas and niyamas, considered to be the foundation for yoga practice and skillful living. The yamas are 5 suggested restraints and the niyamas are 5 suggested observances. Together they are practical guidelines for moving towards a state of yoga (union/Supreme Peace).

The yamas are concerned with how one interacts with others. The first yama is ahimsa, translated as nonviolence. The second is satya, truthfulness. The third asteya, nonstealing. Brahmacharya, skillful use of our life force, is the fourth. And aparigraha, noncoveting. For more on the yamas click here.

The niyamas are centered on one's own personal discipline and practice. The first niyama is sauca, cleanliness. Sauca speaks to both internal and external cleanliness encompassing our physical surroundings, the physical body and the mind. We practice sauca by maintaining a clean home, taking care of our bodies with regular cleaning, being thoughtful with what we put in our bodies and having some awareness and control of what we are thinking - guiding the mind to uplifting and positive thoughts. To test out the wisdom of this guidance from the sage Patanjali, imagine how wonderful you feel in your clean home, after having just taken a shower, eating a healthy meal you prepared, while thinking how delicious the food tastes.