Saucha - Purity, Cleanliness

Where the yamas are designed to shape your actions, speech, and thoughts as they relate to the outside world, the niyamas shape your mind and emotions to begin detachment from the ego and the outside world.  The first niyama is saucha; purity or cleanliness.

As mentioned earlier, yoga is a means for uniting the individual soul with the Universal Soul.  Along the path of yoga, however, the soul resides within You.  The first niyama is telling you to take care of yourself! Give your soul a healthy, happy home to thrive in. 

When applying niyamas to daily life, there are three bodies to consider; the physical or gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body. Maintaining cleanliness and purity of the physical body is fairly simple. This includes standard hygiene as well as eating a healthy, sattvic diet, performing asanas to keep the bodily systems healthy, and allowing the body time to rest. Within the subtle body, purity and cleanliness is applied to the mind as well as the pranic energy channels of the body. Removing stress,  dissolving attachments, and practicing pranayama are great steps towards embracing saucha at the subtle level.  The causal body refers to the soul itself.  At its source, the soul is pure. However, under the influence of ego and the mind, the soul is distorted and veiled. To extend saucha to the soul means to eliminate these afflictions. This is where meditation (dhyana) comes in.  Meditation settles fluctuations of the consciousness allowing the purity of the soul to shine through.

For today's activity I am going to jump ahead a bit and introduce a simple pranayama technique to begin bringing saucha to the subtle body. 

Anuloma Vuloma (Alternate-nostril breathing)

Begin my placing your hand in the Vishnu Mudra.  With your right hand, fold your index and middle finger in towards your palm. Place your thumb along the right nostril and your ring and pinkie fingers along the left nostril.

Clearing the airway:

Inhale through both nostrils

Exhale through the left nostril

Anuloma Vuloma:

Inhale through the right nostril for a count of four

Closing both nostrils, hold the breath for a count of eight

Exhale through the left nostril for a count of eight

Inhale through the left nostril for a count of four

Closing both nostrils, hold the breath for a count of eight

Exhale through the left nostril for a count of eight

This is one round.  Try doing nine rounds and see how you feel.  Increase or decrease the number of rounds by sets of three as necessary.

Eventually, the length and ratio of breath inhalation/retention/exhalation will increase - if you try this and it seems easy send me a message and I will give you a different count for your practice!