The Next Limb of the Tree

The next limb of Ashtanga yoga philosophy is niyama.  Niyama is comprised of five personal observances: sauca (purity or cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (disclipline or austerity), svadhyaya (self-study), and ishvarapranidhana (devotion).

Sauca is concerned with keeping ourselves pure and clean, inside and out.  Outside sauca is pretty straightforward, good grooming and keeping ourselves clean and presentable.  Keeping ourselves clean inside means caring for our mental and physical health, keeping our internal organs functioning well and our minds clear and clean.  We can attend to inner sauca by practicing pranayama and asana, as well as by meditating.  A clear and clean mind is free of disturbing emotions like greed, hatred, anger, delusion, pride, and the like.

Practicing sauca brings radiance and joy to the body and mind, and banishes mental pain, dejection, sorrow and despair.  Not too bad for just taking care of yourself, is it?

The purity and cleanliness of our food, and where we eat it, is another aspect of sauca.  We feel and perform our best when we eat well.  We don't feel our best when we eat fast food and candy.  B.K.S. Iyengar, in "Light on Yoga" says,

Character is moulded by the type of food we take and by how we eat it.  Men are the only creatures that eat when not hungry and generally live to eat rather than eat to live.  If we eat for flavours of the tongue, we over-eat and so suffer from digestive disorders which throw our systems out of gear.  The yogi believes in harmony, so he eats for the sake of sustenance only.  He does not eat too much or too little.  He looks upon his body as the rest-house of his spirit and guards himself against over-indulgence.

Note: Iyengar doesn't say you can't like your food, only to not like it so much you overeat.

This week, take good care of yourself.  Reflect on how you can take even better care of yourself.  Eat well (on a clean, presentable table), exercise well, meditate well, and start making some new habits.  Journal about your experiences.

Next week, we will talk about santosha (contentment), my favorite niyama.

Namaste,
Julie