Saucha, as with all of the yamas and niyamas, strives for cleanliness in thought, word, and deed. We may think exclusively of external cleansing, yet even our notions about being clean can be examined.
Cleansing the body:
Externally: Dinacharya, an ayurvedic guide for daily purification.
Internally: Asana and pranayama, healthy (sattvic) food and herbs
Cleansing the mind:
We have begun the work of cleansing the mind through our practice of the yamas, particularly when we focus our intentions on our thoughts: cultivating non-harming, truthful, pure and nongrasping thoughts.
All work with saucha exists in a cycle, for cleanliness is a transient state. For this reason, we return to our mat on a regular basis, we can read inspirational works, journal, engage in reflective communities, among other things.
Asana practices, particularly heating poses such as utkatasana (chair pose), chaturanga dandasana (four limbed staff pose), and pranayama such as kapalabati (skull shining breath) and nadi shodana (alternate nostril breathing), burn our toxins and impurities. Internal cleanliness radiates beauty and joy. Impurity brings rigidity in the body, mind and energy field. By contrast, internal cleanliness and clarity allows us to come into both physical and energetic balance.
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