Mindfulness. Moving with Full Attention. 

"Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it." -Sharon Salzberg

This week my yoga classes focus on the theme: Mindfulness. Moving with Full Attention. 

This theme comes from yoga philosophy. In yoga philosophy there are 5 niyamas. Niyamas are tools to cultivate happiness and self-confidence. The first niyama, Saucha, literally means "cleanliness" or "purity". This is more than just keeping our yoga mat clean. When we think about cleanliness in our practice, it isn't about having the perfect alignment in a pose, but rather that our movement is intentional. In order to move cleanly, to not move in a routine way; we have to pay attention. 

Practicing saucha throughout our week may look like trying to stay present on our morning drive. How often do we get where we're going when it's part of our everyday routine and can't remember how we got there? It also may look like thinking about what we're putting into our body and mind throughout the week. Just beginning to take notice. What are we eating and how does it make us feel? What messages are we consuming through our TV shows and social media? How are we talking to ourselves? 

I encourage you to find one area of saucha that you feel inspired to include in your life this week. Maybe it's cleaning out that closet you've been meaning to. Or possibly it's fueling your body with more greens and less processed foods. Or is it taking note of the words that you speak throughout your day and dropping gossip or snarky comments Perhaps, it's replacing our negative self-talk with positive affirmations. Remember you don't have to do it all this week. Start where you're at and pick one aspect of saucha that inspires you. 

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See the good here. Accept, don’t resist