Saucha, Dharma & Earth Day

A big part of adopting the yoga lifestyle is recognizing the interdependence of all life on Earth.  Since today is Earth Day, I thought it apropos to address the way we affect our outer space with the choices we make in our homes.  

Saucha means cleanliness in Sanskrit.  A major tenet of yogic, conscious living, saucha means keeping things organized and sanitary for the benefit of all beings. (Saucha is actually one of the niyamas or observances of yoga as detailed by Patanjali.)

     There is a lot of pressure in today’s world not to guzzle down too much gas, not to use the wrong light bulbs, not to wash chemicals down the drain, and to eat organic foods. We all want to do the right thing and help the environment and our own health, but we are American consumers who still have to get to work and school, who can’t always afford produce and eco-friendly products that are three times as expensive as what's stocked on the shelves at the local Walmart.  

     Adopting a greener lifestyle is a noble cause we can all embrace if we approach these cultural changes the same way we approach yoga: we can start where we are and do what we can when we can.  Here are a couple of painless things to get you going:

1. Bring your own bags to the store.  Quit wasting plastic bags already! I particularly like schlepping in old fancy shopping bags. They’re sturdier!

2. You consider fuel alternatives for your car, but have you thought about all the nasty petrochemicals you use around the house?  Petrochemicals are common chemicals in things like laundry detergent. When we use them, we expose ourselves to all sorts of toxicity, and then do it again when we rinse them down the drain and into the water table. Even the local grocery store down the street carries some eco-friendly brands now, so green housekeeping is more feasible now than it was even just a few years ago. 

3. We‘ve begun using dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. These are nubby rubber balls that bounce around and fluff the clothes in less time with less heat. Laundry doesn’t smell like flowery meadows and babies’ heads around here anymore, but I haven’t had a migraine in months since I stopped layering too many artificial fragrances in our home.  *Yes, you’re right, Muffy, perfumes are indeed nasty…you knew all along!

4. Put everything in your office and media center on a power strip and shut that mug down when you aren’t computing.  Unplug the coffee maker, too. Watch your utility bill go down as you stop siphoning “phantom power” throughout the house.

Jane Goodall is a tireless crusader and pioneer for environmentalism and my personal heroine.  She speaks of the affliction of “justmeism,” the excuse we all fall back on when we want to minimize and deny our own responsibility in the very real problems we face as a species.  We all think, “It’s just me; I’m just one person, so what can I do to make a difference?” Or, worse yet, “It’s just me, what’s the harm?” 

This spring, why not clean things up around the house while you bring the spirit of saucha to your practice, gently and naturally? In yoga, intention is everything and you’ll be amazed at the results yielded by even the slightest effort in the right direction.