Cleaning Catharsis
Cleaning has become therapeutic for me in a lot of ways. The rhythm of sweeping floors helps me organize my thoughts. The ritual of wiping my counter tops after a meal sets me up for future feasts. On days I need to scrub toilets and showers, I sing loudly to T. Swift tracks until my heart is content. Perhaps it’s that, these days, I delight in tedious work as a way to counteract the chaos in my life. Regardless, I find the mundane tasks of cleaning to be not only good for the environment in which I live, but also good for the environment of my mind.
I don’t think the act of cleaning, itself, is particularly enjoyable. Rather, it’s the space created by cleaning, and the clarity that it leaves behind, that gives the chore its sense of satisfaction. The same can be true of a regular yoga practice as well. We move, breathe, meditate, and vibrate to create space in our minds and bodies. The result is clarity after the fact - not necessarily during the practice, although it’s not uncommon for waves of emotional clarity to clobber you mid-asana or meditation.
“Saucha” is the principle of cleanliness, purity, and clarity in yoga philosophy. It is the first of five Niyamas, or internal observances, in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Saucha asks that we observe our environments - both inner and outer - to assess whether we could use some cleaning, sprucing, touchups, or revamps toward ourselves or toward the external world in which we live. .
Saucha may be practiced in many different ways and can seep into unexpected parts of your life even when started small and simply. Decluttering a closet or storage space can have a massive effect on your mental clarity, as can a regular meditation practice profoundly change the way you treat other people. In other words, saucha tends to snowball. Start in one place. It will gradually grow bigger and begin to encompass more parts of your life. Eventually, the work of saucha can provide a residue-free way of living, create fresh surfaces for new life occurrences, and free up your capacity to see clearly and respond accordingly.
In this month’s public class offerings I will be working with joint mobility in an effort to clear away sticky spots in the body and mind. I hope to see you in-studio for some cleansing sweat with your curious hearts - please check out my class calendar here for in-studio schedules and links. A Yoga Snack video will be back for you next month and, as always, you can book a private yoga or yoga therapy session with me here. Lastly here is a link to someone in Austin who can help you declutter those impenetrably cluttered or disorganized spots in your home (I used her for my closets, she’s great!).
Be well and remember that taking care of your environment is the same as taking care of yourself <3
