Posts In: spring cleaning

Celebrate Earth Day by embracing Saucha (cleanliness and purity) in your thoughts, your home and the whole world.

by Laura McCorry

Spring is a time fo new beginnings and for cleaning out the old cobwebbed spaces to bring in fresh air and light. Sometimes these spaces are in the depths of closets and sometimes they can be found in the depths of our thoughts and habits.

Saucha is one of the five moral observances, or Niyamas, of yoga and it refers to cleanliness and purity of body, thoughts and deeds. At first glance, saucha seems rather straight-forward. It’s easy to remember to bathe and to cut your finger nails. Your body won’t feel comfortable or function properly if you stop doing these items of daily maintenance.

But widen the perspective just a bit and you can see how saucha applies to your home as well. If you were to allow trash, papers and other items to accumulate in your home, it would soon be uninhabitable. A clean living space is good for both your health and your mental clarity.

One of the many benefits of yoga is that over time, your awareness will expand in every direction. If you stick with the practice, you’ll find what is good for the body, is also good for the mind and soul. The lessons learned on your mat will follow you into every corner of your experience.

So my hope is that one day, as a species, we will all recognize that the earth, too, needs to be cleaned and maintained.

We learned disposable habits of living from the adults who came before us. It’s easy to fall into the habits of convenience and sticking with the status quo. But there was a time not so long ago before plastics. When things worth having cost a bit more, or took a bit longer, or we knew how to do without them.

You don’t have to revolutionize your life overnight, but I invite you to take a first step. Here are some of the changes I’ve made in my personal life and some that are on my list of what to do next:

• Consider the “end of life” of each object and avoid the use of all plastics wherever possible
• Choose reusable grocery bags and produce bags
• Shop grocery products sold in cardboard boxes or glass jars
• Refuse single use to-go cutlery
• Use cloth placemats and napkins at home
• Extensive use of kitchen towels to avoid using paper towels
• Bring my own tumbler to the coffee shop
• Replace my toothbrush with a bamboo alternative
• Use a glass water bottle for travel
• Cook my own food and eat the leftovers
• Buy less – bring fewer new items into my home
• Invest in a small space/balcony composter

What’s on your list? Share with us in the comments. Here is a great resource with tons of ideas to go even further: plastic free guide

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

Birds migrate, snows melt, green sprouts poke their courageous heads out of the earth, ready to live. It’s time to shrug off those winter blues and embrace warmer weather and a fresh start. While the San Diegan climate doesn’t allow for a lot of seasonal variation when it comes to temperature or rainfall, it’s hard to miss all the trees and flowers in bloom and the lengthening hours of daylight. With the official start of Spring right around the corner, the vernal equinox on March 20th, perhaps some yogic spring cleaning is in order. Here are five ways to re-center, re-invest and re-vitalize your commitment to your yoga practice!

1. Change it up! If you regularly go to the same class with the same instructor, try mixing up your schedule. Don’t worry about abandoning your favorite instructor, there’s a reason you love their teaching style and you’ll definitely be back. All it takes are a few words from a new teacher that strike you personally or the way your body feels doing a different type of yoga to renew your energy and passion.
2. Take the reins and actively direct your study of yoga. Re-invest in your education by signing up for a workshop, a private lesson or even making the leap to join the next Yoga One Teacher Training. Purchase or check out from the library a new book on yoga, read or re-read the Sutras. When you open the door to knowledge, you get to form new connections with yourself and the world around you.
3. Lighten up your diet. Don’t worry, this isn’t an injunction saying you must eat this and never eat that and so on. From a purely health-oriented perspective, I think we can all agree that more fruits and veggies are the way to go. Bonus points if they’re raw. When you eat healthy food, your body gets the nutrients it needs to help you feel lighter and more alert both on and off your mat.
4. Get a change of scenery, starting with your wardrobe. It’s no secret that we’re drawn to certain colors and assign them emotional meanings; so choose to wear colors that inspire you and represent the energy you’d like to have and project to others. Ditch the black and try out a fresh green, exuberant white or daring hot pink and notice the difference in your warrior two.
5. Break out of old habits by experiencing each pose as if you were brand new to yoga. We’ve said it before, begin again. When in doubt, focus on the breath. Take a few minutes each day to sit with yourself in silent meditation. By increasing your mindfulness, you welcome a heightened awareness into your everyday life which can lead to less anxiety and a clearer sense of purpose.