PURIFY: MIND, BODY, SOUL

सत्त्वशुिद्धसौमनस्यैकाग्र्येिन्द्रयजयात्मदशर्न योग्यत्वािन च

“Through cleanliness and purity of body and mind (Saucha, Shudhi)
 comes a purification of the essence (sattva),

a goodness and gladness of feeling,
 a sense of focus with intentness, the mastery and union of the senses,
 and a fitness, preparation and capability for self-realization. “— Patanjali, Yogasutras II.41

We both build our lives on the Eight limbs of Yoga, a prescription for moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline. The second limb, Niyama, has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. There are five Niyamas, and we are going to explore the first one; SAUCHA. If you have done self mastery class, dont worry, we are not asking you to do a cleanse, rather to look at how you can purify your daily life!

Saucha is the personal practice of cleanliness – of body, mind and spirit. Keeping our space and our body pure, we are able to move closer to pure consciousness. The practice of Saucha is not about adding anything to your life; it is about removing that which gets in the way of you appreciating the abundance that is already yours. Like the rest of the limbs, and the reason why Yoga is a way of life, a practice – not a “perfect”. Saucha is a never- ending quest, a constant practice like all Yoga. Cleanliness and purity of our environment, our bodies and our minds are impermanent and something we have to do and practice every single day. It lightens our being in every way. It has an instant impact, you immediately feel better after cleaning our closet or taking a bath. There is magic in the art of purification. But how do you apply this to your life, does this just mean regular detox or can you practice “SAUCHA” daily? We think so! Many of you have tried out the week long purify part in our Self Mastery class, but we want you to incorporate things that purify your life daily, that give you this lightness of being and takes away what is holding you back. These are simple but powerful steps that we recommend putting focus on every day. Go over this list and write down the areas you really need to work on.

STEPS FOR THE BODY

1. Exclude one irritant. Do you always feel bloated after gluten? Does coffee make you anxious, Do you feel sluggish after eating dairy? Do you have constant sugar cravings? Take One of the irritants OUT of your daily life. You can do this! You can indulge on occasions, but take the biggest enemy out of your daily life! You will feel SO much better.
2. Drink more water. We know this is a given. But seriously,how can you get more water into your day. Drinking a big glass when you wake up and before sleep is a good habit, but its not enough. Add two or three more of those into your day and you are golden. Less cravings, less headaches, better skin, better digestion!
3. Perform daily Dinacharya; Pick an Ayurvedic practise that fits you and that you like; tounge scraping, oil pulling, nasal cleansing, abhyanga or dry brushing and do it daily without exception! Then you are daily supporting your body to get rid of toxins.
4. Breathe!! Do your breath work. Pranayama is a sure way to cleanse and purify within. Perform regular pranayama, we recommend the breath of fire in the morning and/or Nadi Shodhana in the evening, to clear the internal energy channels and cleanse the nervous system. Just get some pranayama into your daily life.
5. Move. Find out how you like to move, and if you can’t fit it in to your day, find a time to do a brisk walk around the neighbourhood or do some jumping jacks and yoga. Just this daily connection to your body (even only for 10 min), honouring it and treating it well is the gift you give yourself so you are healthier as you grow older. If you don’t feel like doing anything, just a little stretching and legs up against the wall is something! We promise you that it will give you more energy and deeper focus.
6. Beauty products. Start looking at your shampoo, soaps and creams that you use daily with a critical eye, read the ingredient list and see if you can replace them one by one as you finish them into cleaner options for you and the environment. We recommend the app Think Dirty
7. Wear clean (preferably organic, sustainable, well made) clothes that makes you feel good in your skin. Clean your clothes with a non toxic detergent.

STEPS FOR THE MIND

1. Meditation. Obviously. The most profound ways you can experience saucha is to meditate every single day. Meditation cleanses your mind!! What better way to declutter the mind than daily meditation.Write a Journal, so that you can process, reflect, and work through your feelings and thoughts. Start a gratitude practice in there and always write WHY you are grateful for this or that.
2. Purify your time. Focus your attention on one thing at a time. By doing so, you are able to experience the fullness of whatever is right now. Work on your time management skills. Clean up your calender and give each day breathing space for the flow to kick in. We love using a planner to write in rather than just having everything digital, for 2021 we recommend the one from Rakel Tómas ( members get a 20% discount using the code rvkritual on this LINK ) Its also such a great holiday present.
3. Start saying NO to things that do not serve you. Your time is your most valuable asset and saying yes when you mean no is not good for anybody.
4. Do not engage in gossip or low-vibration discussions. It makes you feel bad at the end of the day and it keeps you away from prosperity and abundance.
5. Clarify your expectations. Get clear about what you need from people in your life, rather than expecting them to read your mind! Say how you feel and vocalise what you need!
6. Forgive. You do not need to carry shame, blame, anger, and judgment. Start the process of forgiving those who have caused you harm. Lighten your load by forgiving someone. Do it for you.
7.  

After going over all the steps, choose the ones you are going to focus on now and revisit this whenever you need to elevate. Purifying is a great tool when going through hardship, and when you feel you need to elevate your life. Where can you improve NOW. Most of us can improve in most of these steps but choose the ones your intuition guides you too.

Read this over a couple of times and revisit regularly (fall, new year, spring)! Use the practice videos to support you on this journey and the interview as inspiration!

Love,

Dagný & Eva