Saucha: purity, living purely, "that and nothing else"


Saucha involves making choices about what you want and don't want in your life

"When we read books that elevate our consciousness, see movies that inspire, and associate with gentle people, we are feeding the mind in a way that nourishes our own peacefulness", Donna Farhi, from Yoga Mind, Body, and Spirit
Maintaining a cleanliness in mind, body, and environment that helps us experience life in a more direct way

Healthy food
Clean living space
Associate w gentle people
Inspiring books/ movies
Simplicity
Emotional lightness
Uncluttered mind
Uncluttered schedule
Simplify your days/ weeks
Do less in order to experience what you do more directly

Notice how you feel after eating a simple, healthful meal

Notice how you feel when your living space is clean and uncluttered

Notice how you look at life differently when your mind is more clear

Open some space on your calendar to allow for spontaneity and ease

Open some space in your calendar to allow for contemplation, meditation

Aparigraha- non-grasping

This yama is related to our ability to change and accept change.  Our ability to let things go.

Aparigraha is related to our ability to age gracefully.

What does it feel like give away some of your things to a neighbor who would enjoy them?

Can we let go of fixed attitudes and opinions?  Can we let go of our ideas about right and wrong?  Life is change, life is fluid.  Nothing stays the same.

Let your yoga practice be different each time.

Think bigger.  See the bigger picture.  There is always more to everything than we can see on the surface.

Brahmacharya- balancing our vital energies

Cultivate balance in your life

Do you spend too much time in front of the computer and not enough time outside?

Do you spend so much time working that you don't have time to eat healthfully?

Do you exercise so much that you are not spending good time with your family?

Do you waste your energy on things that are ultimately not important or not healthy?

Asteya- not stealing, generosity

Giving instead of taking
Abundance rather than lacking

Asteya is related to the common feeling of lack.  I am not good enough, I have not done enough, I don't have enough.  Can we instead cultivate a feeling of abundance?  We can ask ourselves, "How is this feeling of lack getting in the way of appreciating what I do have?"

Let your low/mid back be wide and soft.  Isometrically draw your legs up into your pelvis.  Don't steal from your back body to have a bigger pose in your front body; keep your back full.

"Be content with what you have.
Rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
The whole world belongs to you."
- Tao Te Ching #44 (Stephen Mitchell translation)