Saucha: Purity
Saucha's the first of the niyamas, the active observances. It involves keeping things clean, inside and out. "For me, [the concept of] saucha means both physical and mental hygiene," says Cope. "You want to keep your thoughts uncluttered so you can feel free from afflictive emotions; you keep your body and environment in order, to create a sense of calm." A mind trained by meditation has more complexity and orderliness. Physical orderliness can also affect the mind. So get rid of clutter, scrub floors, simplify your life—all these are expressions of saucha.
But don't get too hung up on the idea of literal purity. "When you work at purifying the body, you begin to understand that it will never be perfectly clean," Kraftsow says. "Patanjali says, look more deeply at what the body is: The more you clean it, the more you realize that it is an impermanent, decaying thing. Saucha helps break up excessive fixation with your body, or the bodies of others."
When you learn to disidentify with the body, the Yoga Sutra suggests, you can get in touch with your essence—the part of you that's pure and free from aging, disease, and decay. When you understand your true undying nature, it's easier to stop striving for physical perfection and instead rest in joyful awareness.
Santosha: Contentment
In nearly every translation of Yoga Sutra II.42, santosha is interpreted as the greatest happiness, the underlying joy that cannot be shaken by life's tough moments, by injustice, hardship, bad luck. "Contentment is really about accepting life as it is," says Bell. "It's not about creating perfection. Life will throw whatever it wants at you, and you ultimately have little control. Be welcoming of what you get."
You can practice this on the mat quite easily, by acknowledging your tendency to strive to do a perfect pose and accepting the one you've got. "There's no guarantee that you'll get enlightened when you do a backbend with straight arms, or touch your hands to the floor in Uttanasana," says Bell. "The process of santosha is relaxing into where you are in your pose right now and realizing that it is perfect." Lasater compares santosha to the deep relaxation possible in Savasana(Corpse Pose). "You can't run after contentment," Lasater says. "It has to find you. All you can do is try to create the space for it."
If you release your mind from constantly wanting your situation to be different, you'll find more ease. "It's not fatalism; it's not to say you can't change your reality," says Cope. "But just for the moment, can you let go of the war with reality? If you do, you'll be able to think more clearly and be more effective in making a difference."
During those times when you don't feel content, just act for one moment as if you were. You might kick-start a positive feedback loop, which can generate real contentment. It might feel absurd when your inner landscape isn't shiny and bright, but the simple physical act of turning up the corners of your mouth can have amazing effects. "Smile," suggests Devi. "It changes everything. Practicing smiling is like planting the seed of a mighty redwood. The body receives the smile, and contentment grows. Before you know it, you're smiling all the time." Whether you're practicing asana or living life, remember to find joy in the experience.
During those times when you don't feel content, just act for one moment as if you were. You might kick-start a positive feedback loop, which can generate real contentment. It might feel absurd when your inner landscape isn't shiny and bright, but the simple physical act of turning up the corners of your mouth can have amazing effects. "Smile," suggests Devi. "It changes everything. Practicing smiling is like planting the seed of a mighty redwood. The body receives the smile, and contentment grows. Before you know it, you're smiling all the time." Whether you're practicing asana or living life, remember to find joy in the experience.
Tapas: Right Effort
Tapas is translated as "self-discipline," "effort," or "internal fire," and the Yoga Sutra suggests that when tapas is in action, the heat it generates will both burn away impurities and kindle the sparks of divinity within.
"Tapas is the willingness to do the work, which means developing discipline, enthusiasm, and a burning desire to learn," says Bell. "You can apply tapas to anything you want to see happen in your life: playing an instrument, changing your diet, cultivating an attitude of loving kindness, contentment, or non-judgment. In yoga, it's often seen as a commitment to the practice. You figure out what you can do, and do it every day. If it's only 10 minutes, fine—but make that time sacrosanct."
Connect to your own determination and will. "Holding a posture is tapas," says Cope. "You are restraining yourself from moving and are watching what happens. In this way, you build the capacity to tolerate being with strong sensation, and you get to answer the question: What is my real limit? And you develop the skill of witnessing, which is one of the most important skills of classical yoga."
The effort you use when you engage tapas is directed toward cultivating healthful habits and breaking unhealthful ones. "Asana is tapas, but if you become an asana junkie, then your tapas is to stop practicing asana," says Kraftsow. "One goal of tapas is to stop anything you do mindlessly because you've become habituated." When you use your will to overcome your conditioning, you free yourself from the many unconscious actions that cause suffering. Yes, discipline is actually a path to happiness.
Svadhyaya: Self-Study
Happiness is our nature, and it is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside. To tap into the wellspring of happiness that lies within each of us, try dedicating yourself to svadhyaya, the art of self-study, of looking within and asking the eternal question: Who am I?
The Yoga Sutra suggests that the study of the Self leads you toward communion with the Divine. It's a lofty aim, but you can develop svadhyaya as you move through everyday life. "Some traditions see study as a contemplation of the ultimate. Others see it as study of how you are: your functions, habits, and the ways your karma is playing out," explains Cope. "For most of us, the most fruitful practice will be looking at the Self. Are you on time and orderly? Or are you sloppy and late? What makes you mad or happy? How do you feel about that person on the next mat who's invading your space?"
Develop the capacity to find the answers without chastising or lauding yourself in the process. Swami Kripalu, the founder of Kripalu Yoga, said the highest spiritual practice is self-observation without judgment. "Svadhyaya is a skillful and systematic investigation of how things are," says Cope. "When you practice self-observation, you begin to uncover and address the unconscious patterns governing your life." When you can notice, but not judge, what you are doing and how you are feeling in every moment, you open a window to empathy for yourself and gain the stability you need to extend it to others.
Bell recommends another aspect of svadhyaya: the study of sacred texts, such as the Yoga Sutra, the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhism's Heart Sutra, or the Bible. "That's where the wisdom side develops," she says. "If you are only looking at the Self, it is easy to lose perspective. When you read the texts in service of svadhyaya, you'll read something that really resonates, and you'll begin to understand that...all beings experience these things." Study helps you understand the universality of life experiences and thereby increases your compassion for yourself and others.
Ishvara Pranidhana: Dedication to the Highest
Few dispute that the last of the niyamas, Ishvara pranidhana, is the pinnacle of spiritual practice.Yoga Sutra II.45 says that liberation—the highest happiness—comes only from a love of, communion with, and surrender to, God.
To embrace Ishvara pranidhana, it helps to understand what "God" is. "You don't have to believe in an anthropomorphic representation of God to accept that there is a divine design, a benevolent essence in the universe," says Harrigan. "It's about offering oneself to the divine matrix. It's letting our own holy essence guide our actions and catching the sacred power of life. This higher power is there for all of us, Patanjali says. That is the promise of the Yoga Sutra."
You can capture Ishvara pranidhana in any moment, Harrigan says. "You can always pause to look for the higher essence in any situation," she explains. "You can ask yourself, 'What is the best goodness here?' You can imagine that you have your own wise inner adviser, and ask, 'If I were to set aside my own desires and aversions and concerns for comfort, what would you advise for me?'"
Ishvara pranidhana is a cornerstone of Anusara Yoga. "We emphasize devotion, and service, making an artistic offering to the greater good, and bringing more beauty and love into the world," John Friend says. "If you do that, you won't need to think about not hurting anyone or not lying or stealing. If you dedicate your heart to loving and serving God, all other things fall into place."
Hillari Dowdle, a former Yoga Journal editor, writes in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Sutra interpretations that appear throughout this story are taken from Bernard Bouanchaud's bookThe Essence of Yoga.
