8 Limbs Yoga & Oils: Saucha

8 Limbs Yoga & Oils Challenge: Saucha

Have you ever considered a tiny house?

I love the premise of this idea. It's only enough as space you need. It limits what you can possess. You can take it anywhere you want to go. It forces the idea of less is more. And let's be honest, some of them are super cool!

image courtesy of www.tinyhousetown.net

Saucha, the first of Niyamas (focused on the internal internal environment of body, mind and spirit) is often translated as cleanliness, but that doesn't quite go far enough. Our minds tend to stop at the idea of keeping things clean or maybe doing a detox cleanse. It's really all about simplification and purity. Now, simplification may sound good to most of us, but it's hard to know what to cut out and where to start. It's often hard to let go, and it seems to run counter to our modern life. Lately life seems to get more and more complex, not the other way around.

Knowing our priorities and our boundaries is really helpful for practicing Saucha. It allows us to stay true to our purposeful nature and our intentions, which decision-making that much easier. The Sutras state, "By cultivating purity of heart, mastery over the senses and one-pointed thought are achieved. Then one becomes fit to behold the Soul". That's a bit heavy, hey? For us modern yogis, how about something more like this:

Consciously Choosing Less Offers More in All Ways

On the mat we can practice Saucha when we:

clean our mat! I'm bad about this. It's so easy to just roll it up and head on out. Take a moment to wipe it down well, keep it clean, make that rectangle your sacred space of practice and keep it pure. Need a good mat cleaner? Try this DIY recipe.
make pranayama a part of your practice. So many of the breathing techniques are helpful for the cleansing the body, and the mind. Add them in at the beginning or end of a class.
take time to twist. Adding in twisting postures helps the body naturally detox by reducing blood supply to the organs, and then re-introduce fresh blood when you release your twist. This re-introduction of fresh blood can help to cleanse the cells of any built up waste because with increased circulation comes increased cellular detoxification.
let go of thoughts that no longer serve you. Pause during your class or practice to check in with your head and your heart. Notice those thoughts that tend toward the negative or are self-limiting. Actively choose to replace them or reframe them to a more positive choice
choose your focus. Make it your breath, your intention, the pose you're currently in, and let go of other thoughts or stimuli.

Off the mat we can practice Saucha when we:

ask people what LOVE to do, not just what they do for a living. We can ourselves and others associate more with who they are, rather than what they have and what their profession happens to be at the moment.
cut one thing off the calendar or to-do list. Create more down time, more quality time and be consistent with respecting your energy and your boundaries (think Brahmacharya) by saying no more often and limiting your commitments.
let your kids (and yourself) be bored. Boredom is a gift. It leaves open time and space for creativity, lets you make new connections in your brain, think new thoughts, create new habits. Resist the urge to pull out your phone and tune in the the sights & sounds around you. Rather than giving your kids a tablet, just let them figure it out.
clean something, one thing. Choose one drawer, one space, one thought to clean out or clean up. And while you're at it, get rid of the clutter (physical and mental) that you've cleaned out. Donate, sell, or pass it on to someone who could use it. Write those cluttered thoughts on a piece of paper and burn them in effigy.
change up your diet for a short time with a whole foods cleanse. You can join me twice a year during the equinoxes for my Let's Get Glowing 7-Day Whole Foods Reboot. You'll find recipes, tips, a great Facebook community, and I guarantee you will feel so good after those 7 days! This is free for anyone in my oils community. You can also get lifetime access for $39 if you're not part of the A Life That Glows oils community. Email for more info!

Yoga & Oils Saucha Challenge

Today's yoga and oils challenge encourages you to embody purity and simplicity with:

Oil: Purify
Mudra: Apana Mudra
Pose: Garudasana (Eagle)
Sequence: Chair, Eagle, Standing Bent/Straight Leg Balance
Intention: I choose simplicity and invite creativity

Purify is the oil of Purification. This blend assists us in releasing toxic emotions and entering a cleansing state. It can revitalize our energy, washing away negativity. Purify helps us break free from past habits or thoughts that no longer serve us, giving us room to consciously replace them with fortifying, positive habits and thoughts. It is also a fantastic oil for cleaning your space, yoga or otherwise!

Try diffusing Purify in your yoga studio or home to cleanse the air and get rid of odors. You can make your natural mat cleaner using Purify, water and witch hazel or white vinegar. Add a few drops to dryer balls to freshen laundry, to your wash cycle to keep whites bright, or to your yoga bag to keep it clean and fresh. Place a drop on your mat or palms of hands to inhale during your practice as well.

Apana Mudra helps with body detox and digestion by stimulating the excretion system to flush out toxins off the body. It facilitates smooth and harmonious downward moving force in the digestive and reproductive organs of the body to regulate the movement of body toxins downward. Apana mudra can help to relieve constipation and make the bowel movements regular. It increases sweating and urination also. It can also help in regulating the menstrual cycles in women.

bring middle and ring fingers to touch the tip of the thumb
extend index and pinky away from the palm of the hand

Garudasana Eagle pose is fantastic for strengthening and stretching the ankles, calves, thighs, hips, shoulders, and upper back. It helps to improve concentration, focus and your sense of balance. The binding of the arms and legs also assists with natural detox, diminishing circulation for a few breaths then providing fresh, oxygenated blood to those areas.

stand with feet together, exhale into chair pose
shift your weight into the left foot, then cross the right leg over the standing leg. You can keep your toes on the ground like a kickstand, or wrap the foot around the leg
wrap the arms, right crossing under left, as you wind them together
inhale send the elbows forward and fingers tips up
exhale drop into the hips, keeping the spine long and shoulders and face relaxed. Breath and repeat on opposite side.

Saucha Sequence: this sequence is perfect the middle of a practice. You can pair it with chair pose, chair twist, and use standing forward fold to get a break for the quads.

from mountain inhale arms up, exhale as you sit into chair pose
inhale extend through the spine, exhale sweep the arms back bringing chest to thighs, 3 times
on the last exhale keep the arms back and inhale as you rise up on the toes for drinking bird pose
inhale wrap the arms and legs for eagle, finding Apana mudra in the hands
exhale sit low into eagle pose and breathe
inhale unwind and come to stand, repeat opposite side

Did you try Purify today? How about Eagle, Apana mudra or the sequence? Let us know! You can share on Instagram using the hashtag #EightLimbsChallenge and #niyamachallenge, and please tag me @alifethatglows so I can come check it out!