12/18/2022 0 Comments Philosophy purity![]() Prana as being the life force, the life energy or the energy that animates life. The word that comes up when mentioning breathing in yoga is ‘ Pranayama‘.īut, pranayama is not ‘just’ breathing excercises. Incorporating breathing techniques into your yoga asana practise can shine a completely different light on your experience. We breath when we sleep so how difficult can it be, right? And still. One way to take good care of our bodies is to bring more attention to our breathing. But, whilst we have one, we can take incredibly good care of it. People often get confused when ancient texts use the most bizarre words to describe our body as a decaying ‘thing’ that will never be perfectly clean.Īll we need to take from this is to not have an excessive fixation with the body, or the bodies of others. If yoga means Union, it is all about the Union of Body, Mind and Spirit. We can not forget about the body, and why would we? The body is important, as is the mind and the spirit. I can assure you, you will become very aware of your body. Try to sit still in meditation for 24 minutes when you have never done so before. This is not what the old scriptures are telling us. “Hatha yoga is too body-minded, for me, it’s all about the mind.“ “I am spiritual, so I am beyond my physical body.” You hear the funniest things in so called ‘yoga communities’. Where postures and breathing techniques help us in cleansing our bodies, meditation and mindfulness can purify us from negative emotions like hatred, greed, jealousy, envy, etc. Simply noticing that you have judging or angry thoughts, and not giving them any extra attention, might already help in stopping this negative rant of thoughts. If yes, why? Because of your judging and harsh words? On an average day, how pure would you say your thoughts are? About yourself, and others? Imagine that you have a giant screen hanging above your head, which beams your every single thought out into the world…Įveryone around you, can see what you are actually thinking… On those retreats, I often zoom in on our thoughts. Especially when coming on one of my yoga retreats as there, they get a full immersion on all the aspects of yoga. Some people literally say that they have a pre and post yoga life. When you practice yoga asana, there is the potential that your physical and mental states begin to increase and unfold. Which is brilliant, as long as we keep in mind that there can be more to it. Nowadays, hatha yoga is generally practiced to reduce stress, to relax, to improve health or to make our bodies stronger. As our body and minds become clearer, the practice that follows become easier. If ahimsa (non-violence) is the foundation of all yamas, we can consider saucha as the foundation of all niyamas. Consequently, creating a pathway for more balance and union in body, mind and spirit. By cleansing the body from impurities, we allow for energy to flow freely and for energy blocks to be released. This is why you will sometimes read about hatha yoga being the science of purification. In these old texts, purity is where the hatha yoga journey starts, before proceeding with further breathing techniques and postures. There’s numerous (6 to even 46 according to some sources) techniques to clean your nose, mouth, eyes, bowels, etc. Therefor shatkarma (cleansing techniques) comes first. In the hatha yoga pradipika, one of the oldest texts about hatha yoga – written by Swatmarama, one is above all concerned with purifying the whole body – the stomach, the intestines, nervous system, … It goes too far to say that a clean house will lead to a peaceful mind but the opposite of having a messy place to live in, sure doesn’t help in terms of serenity.Īs with many concepts in yoga, it’s all about energy.Ĭan there be a free flow of energy in the space you call ‘home’ or, is there too much stuff in the way? Cleansing your body, shatkarma Starting very simply with the easy interpretation of the definition and keeping your house or living environment nice and clean. From where you live to the things you eat, to your thoughts, speech and actions. In other words, bringing in ‘pureness’ in your entire lifestyle. Saucha is Sanskrit and translated as ‘ purity’ or ‘ cleanliness’. These principles are all about making this world, an even better place to live in. Whether or not you practice yoga or not is not very important. In this series of blog posts, we explore how we can bring this fascinating ancient wisdom into our daily lives. ![]() This is part seven of a series exploring the ten principles of yoga philosophy, also known as the yamas and niyamas. ![]()
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