Meditation - Saucha

Join us on our journey through the Yamas + Niyamas in Yoga practice. Here we find a comfy position to meditate on Saucha - cleanliness, and purity. Gentle reminders here of our energetic hygiene, where we're sharing, where we're not. And finding our flow, through ease and softness.

Transcript

Hello,

Hello and welcome to this space that we share together in meditation.

I'm very happy that you are here and I'm looking forward to this session.

We've been working through yama and niyamas and we have finished all of the yamas.

Those are available to you,

All five of them,

The ethical practices and principles of yoga.

Now we are on to the niyamas which is quite exciting.

I feel like we've made some progress here.

If you haven't done the other five or if you feel that you need revisiting as we do throughout all of your life,

No matter where you are,

You need to revisit those.

Those are subtle reminders.

You are welcome to to meditate and listen to those videos.

Today we're on to the first niyama which is saucha.

This is purity,

Cleanliness,

Maybe even simplicity,

Finding a bit of ease,

Reducing chatter or even clutter.

This falls at a nice time as I was hoping for and looking for some simplicity in the chaos that is life.

All of the things that you do and you get up to and all the things you got to keep track of sometimes is just a lot.

I was feeling that way and then I realized that the next meditation is saucha and that's what I needed.

I hope that's what you also need so I hope that's what you also need too because you're here.

Let's come to find something comfortable,

A seat.

You're welcome to lie down.

You could do anything you feel that you would like to today.

There's no structure,

Stiffness,

Nothing serious.

It is just feeling.

You could use props.

You could be without props.

You could go to your bed.

Maybe you want to lay outside and listen in your headphones,

Whatever works.

I'll give you a little second here to get settled if you aren't already.

And when you do get settled we begin with a nice exhale,

Just soft,

Nothing too big,

Just enough to let go.

Inhalation together here,

Please through your nose.

Exhale,

Press it out,

Let it go.

Fog up the mirror in front of you.

Exhale out of your nose.

Now you take yourself on a journey with your breath and I just want to guide you to find a little bit of release and softness.

Softness in your face,

In your forehead,

Your ears,

Your throat space.

Just finding what you find and let's have this appreciation for what is beneath you.

Maybe observe the feeling of the pushback of the floor or the ground against your body.

And then increase that awareness by allowing yourself to be a little bit more expansive and very trusting of whatever it is that is holding you in this space and in this shape.

So you don't need to do anything here.

And as you know,

Lately we've been talking about the conversation that you have with yourself internally in your head.

This constant conversation.

And I want you to just acknowledge,

See where it's taking you.

Is it taking you to a place of,

Are you feeling uncomfortable?

Or is it taking you to a place of,

How long is this going to be?

Or something that you need to do later or something that happened earlier?

And that is normal and all well and good and just let it be.

But just notice it for what it is.

And can you kind of thread in some little aspects of presence and allow those little later or previous moments or memories or thoughts to drift out?

So you keep yourself here and you keep yourself here with your breath and you keep yourself here with sensations,

Feeling what you feel and being where you are.

Let's find an exhalation here together.

Inhale,

Exhale.

Let's do a few together.

Inhalation,

Allow this to nurture,

Fill up a little bit of sustaining life here and then exhalation,

Pressing it out,

Allow it to soften your breath.

Exhalation,

Pressing it out,

Allow it to soften you just enough so that you can remain settled.

This beautiful cycle of breath.

Inhalation,

Exhalation,

Inhalation,

Exhalation.

Let's find another inhale together here,

Please.

Exhale,

Press it out,

Let it go.

So we come to saucha,

Cleanliness,

Purity,

Deep,

Maybe even energetic hygiene.

And so let's feel that out for what it is outside of cleanliness that relates to your home,

Which is also very important as we know.

But let's come into cleanliness and see where this takes you when it comes to your feelings about yourself,

Your energetic hygiene,

The cleanliness of your thoughts and what you do with them and even your actions and where you spread or share your energy.

And so there's this purity aspect to when you come into doing something for the right reason,

Doing something from your heart,

Feeling like you're taking care of yourself or others.

We all do that and it's beautiful and it is this act of purity,

Of cleanliness,

Of wanting to do right,

Wanting to make something better.

And so you hold that space and how does that land?

How does that land for you?

And where are you trying to do that?

And you can acknowledge where you are doing that already,

But there might be a space where you are not doing that and something came to your mind of something that could just be a little bit more full of ease,

Could be a little bit simpler,

Your intentions could be purer.

And I feel that through that thought pattern you already can feel and sense the benefit from that and what that may bring to your world,

Your life,

Your well-being and what it may look like for somebody else's well-being if you were acting from this place of purity and good intention,

Good judgment.

And it's almost in the way of keeping self,

Yourself,

Clean.

There's one of my teachers that says keep your heart and your hands clean.

Maybe from a place,

An area that's a little muddied and this could be a relationship,

Any type of relationship,

Not just romantic,

But you watch yourself get clouded through your perception and through previous instances.

And so if you simplified that and make it a little easier for yourself and for the other person,

What would that look like?

What are you hoping for and what are you wanting to find or gain,

Both of you,

To gain from that connection?

And even in those moments where you act from that muddied kind of perception,

That place,

Maybe a place of potential ill intent or a place that isn't fully soft.

I know that you feel that and sometimes you want to change that.

And so what is the opposite?

What is that place of kindness and softness and simplicity?

And we try not to overcomplicate things,

Try not to overcomplicate the intentions of others and what they do and what they don't do,

Try not to complicate our own minds with keeping up with too much.

And we try not to complicate our spaces by having too much or keeping them too busy and cluttered.

You know that beautiful place and feeling you find when you're in nature or laying in the field or in your home after you had just cleaned it.

What does that do?

There's a wonderful feeling there.

There's a natural ease,

The softness of even the energy and the air around you.

So we reflect on what cleanliness and purity can give us and bring to our world.

Let's find an exhalation here,

Please.

Soft inhale.

And let's cleanse this breath out in holding space for a soft shell.

Let's exhale it out.

Big exhale.

Soft chest.

And let's open up our eyes.

And let's open up our heart.

And let's open up our lungs.

And let's open up our heart.

Soft chest.

Let's remember Soucha as we go through the rest of your day.

Keeping the cleanliness of your space,

Your body,

What you consume,

Food,

Media,

Who you choose not to speak to.

And remember that taking care of yourself looks a little bit more vast,

A little different than what you may see or think of initially.

It looks like rest and it looks like being aware and it looks like this beautiful awareness of your energy and how you're sharing it and what you're taking in.

It looks like eating the way that your body feels it needs to eat.

It looks like a space free of judgment,

Especially from yourself towards yourself.

Keep it simple.

Keep it clean.

You're welcome to stay in the shape that you are in for as long as you want to.

I thank you so much for being here with me today.

Hope you have a wonderful day.