The Niyamas (personal observances)...or as I like to call it the ME-yamas, give us insight into how to manage our inner world, our personal patterns and most importantly our relationship with SELF.

The first Niyama: Saucha is a BIG one (It is given 2 yoga sutras after all)

Saucha is often translated as cleanliness, purity or clarity

If you are a perfectionist (or a recovering perfectionist like me) this may conjure up images of a "perfect" yogi gliding around in white robes, executing every aspect of their day flawlessly.

BUT- before you run away with that image- let's take a deeper look at what purity and clarity REALLY show us because it is NOT perfection.

(Perfectionism is a Protective Mechanism)

Louder for those in the back: PERFECTIONISM is PROTECTION - from experiencing the real, whole, messy and beautiful YOU.

It builds walls around our true selves so we don't have to be exposed to the world...(that would be to scary...someone might see our flaws)

Saucha encourages us to cleanse away those protective barriers so the true, whole, messy, wonderful you can be seen.

I would like you to explore your relationship with Purity as an experience of being PURELY YOU...no one else.

This involves dropping the roles, labels and stories we have accumulated.

The includes releasing expectations, conditioning, pressures, and "Shoulds" from your inner world.

The process of being PURELY you require you to drop everything that is not YOU.

The experience of being PURELY you involves embracing and accepting all the messy, dark, scary corners of your being...just as much as the light, bright loving spaces.

It is an experience of WHOLENESS rather than fragmentation. We stop pushing away, ignoring or denying parts of ourselves.

Now you may be thinking, this is no easy task. And you are correct!

This alone could be our life's work.

To drop what is not ME over and over again.

Cleansing away the things that cloud my view of the True Self.

Shedding the layers of "life residue" that cling to me.

over and over

The ability to do this work also comes with a basic requirement.

The ability to be VULNERABLE

And the COURAGE to put the real you out into the world

But the result of your vulnerability and courage is a life of deep knowing, a life of deep connection and a sense of EASE that cannot be found anywhere else. It can only come from a deep understanding of who you are at your core.

That is the gift that Saucha brings :)

If you would like to explore your personal relationship with Saucha- through Knowledge, through yoga practice and through meditation,

Join ME in our 5 part workshop Series: NIYAMAS: Building a relationship with SELF

in the virtual YOGA THERAPY Studio: https://laura-goellner.heymarvelous.com/

Thanks for being here!

-Laura

Occupational Therapist

Yoga Therapist