Rooted Sangha - Session 13 - Saucha

Theme: The Practice of Saucha: Clearing Space for What Matters

This week in our Sangha, we introduced Saucha — the first of the niyamas, and one that speaks so beautifully to the idea of clarity and simplicity.

Saucha is often translated as purity or cleanliness, but as Deborah Adele reminds us in The Yamas and Niyamas, this isn’t about striving for perfection or rigid order. It’s about cultivating the kind of inner and outer environment that allows energy, breath, and inspiration to move freely through us.

When I think of Saucha, I think of that unmistakable feeling of lightness after a good clear-out — the sense of space that opens up when we let go of what’s heavy or stale. It can be as simple as tidying a shelf, stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, or pausing to notice the thoughts we’re carrying around without realising.

In yoga philosophy, Saucha invites us to tend to both the physical and the subtle. To nourish our bodies with clean food and fresh air, but also to keep our minds uncluttered — to notice when our inner world becomes clouded with judgment, worry, or distraction. It’s a continual process of cleansing and renewal, a rhythm of release and return.

What I love most about this teaching is that it doesn’t demand spotless purity. Saucha isn’t about being untouchable or perfectly composed; it’s about coming home to clarity, again and again. The soft awareness that says, “Ah, I’ve picked up a bit of dust here — let me gently sweep it away.”

As we shared in our Sangha, purity in this sense is less about scrubbing clean and more about creating space for what matters — for kindness, for calm, for presence.

So perhaps, as you move through your own week, you might take a quiet moment to ask yourself: Where could I bring a little more lightness into my life? What would it feel like to clear space — inside or out — so that something fresh can emerge?

Saucha reminds us that life itself is always offering us renewal. With every breath, we cleanse and begin again.

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Giving Back

After covering room and fuel costs, all proceeds from Rooted are being saved to support a local cause, to be chosen together later this year — as a small act of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion in action.

On 21st September we made our first donation (£110) to Kettering Samaritans.

This week we have added £15 to the fund - and our current total stands at £71.50. Our next beneficiary is Johnny's Happy Place.

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Going Forward

Thank you for taking a moment to pause — to breathe with the clear rhythm of this turning season.

May you begin to notice where life feels cluttered or clouded, and what longs to be gently cleared away.

May you tend to your body, mind, and space with kindness — creating room for light to move freely through you.

May you find peace in simplicity, and joy in the quiet clarity that follows release.

And may you remember that your natural state is already pure — already whole. Each breath, each act of care, is a soft returning to that radiant truth.

With love, Vicki x