Purity and Sweat

#5 in a series of posts that addresses the topics listed in this article.

“Wear deodorant. Look up the Sanskrit word “saucha.” It means “cleanliness.” No one wants to smell you; it’s off-putting.”

Diving right in, the word Saucha means so much more than cleanliness and certainly does not refer solely to the body.  That’s the amazing thing about Sanskrit, there are multiple meanings for words.  Saucha includes bodily cleanliness, but also cleanliness of mind and of the way we live our lives.  Furthermore, Saucha is not merely a word, but is one of the five Niyamas, the second limb of Patañjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.  My preferred translation is Purity, which can then be further understood to mean taking care of ourselves.  But, to take care of oneself, one needs to pay attention.  Anything you do affects your stillness and living with purity is an invitation to not only pay attention to whatever you are doing, but your reaction to it, eventually leading you to ask yourself what the effect would be before you do it.

What compels you to practice yoga?  Whatever the reason – increased strength, happiness, improved health, ease, less stress, enlightenment – you need to remember up front that yoga is not about getting what you want.  Remember this post?  I wrote that yoga is about breaking our reactive patterns to any given situation, on or off the mat.  This applies to what you, or anyone else, may smell during a practice.  People can sweat during an asana practice; it’s what our bodies are designed to do.  Requesting that someone not sweat, or in this case wear deodorant, is tantamount to ordering your preferred ideal.  Wearing deodorant is your choice, but instead of dwelling on the odor of your classmates (or yourself), I encourage you to practice Saucha and pay attention to what is happening to you and how your reactions are affecting you and ultimately your stillness.  Allow me to ask this:  If deodorant is designed to cover up and mask odor, how is covering up reality ever going to be enlightening?

Jai Bhagwan