Recording:
https://vimeo.com/1220675669/7c435d39b3?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
During our August 20 live session, we began exploring the Niyamas with Saucha (purity/clarity) and continued our trauma-informed sequencing work with the Connection & Focus phase, including our Week 6 pilot program demonstration and sequence lab.
If you weren't able to join us live, or would like to continue reflecting after revisiting the recording, you're invited to share whatever resonated with you. If a prompt is helpful, you might consider:
- How does thinking about Saucha as clarity influence or expand your understanding of this Niyama?
- What did you notice about the ways a facilitator can invite connection and focus without deciding what attention or engagement should look like for a participant?
- Is there something from the demonstration or sequence lab that you would like to experiment with or adapt within your own facilitation?
You're also always welcome to skip the prompts and simply share a question, observation, or moment from the session that stayed with you.
I am really appreciating all the content around the niyamas so far between the Zoom discussions and modules, even though I do find them more personally challenging and at times uncomfortable. Probably because they really require you to sit with yourself and your internal environment. I really liked the reframe of Saucha as “clarity”, and I particularly resonated with the idea that it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish if something feels like a “gut instinct” or just a hyperanalysis of a trauma response. As a chronic overthinker and someone with anxiety, I think I find myself really searching for “answers” or “clarity” around certain things. This makes me quick to label or categorize thoughts and feelings as a way of intellectualizing and understanding them, rather than feeling/experiencing them. I think this can sometimes be problematic when I spend too much time and effort in the chase of trying to understand something or label it just so I can have a sense of control over it.
I greatly appreciated Alejandro adding that there is wisdom in the recognition of noticing what’s going on internally. This felt very validating, like I don’t always need to search for the proper labeling or categorization of experiences, and simply noticing myself and my thoughts can be enough at times. I think there is a lot of freedom in being able to notice something without immediately feeling like I need to determine what it means or what I should do about it. I can acknowledge that something feels uncomfortable, confusing, or worth paying attention to without immediately deciding that it is either my intuition warning me about something being wrong or simply my anxiety taking over. Sometimes I think I put so much pressure on myself to figure out which one it is that I miss the experience itself and sometimes other important external information about said experience.
This is something I am continuing to work on (literally daily) - learning to trust that I can notice something, sit with it, and allow more information to come in before I need to make an immediate decision/categorization about it. I am learning I don’t always have to achieve certainty in order to feel safe.
This feels connected to the practice of Saucha because it creates an opportunity to clear away some of the mental clutter that comes from constantly analyzing, categorizing, and trying to control my experiences. It allows me to have space to actually experience my life rather than constantly getting sucked into the thought portal overanalyzing what everything means.
And I think it’s worth noting that this is incredibly difficult and something I must continuously remind myself of because my brain and nervous system has been wired in this particular way. The unlearning of patterns and finding safety within your own brain is not for weak. *sweat emoji*
Listening/watching this recording had me feeling so bummed that I wasn't there in the live session to join in on the conversation. So many great discussion topics came up.
I really liked how Saucha was reframed as clarity rather than purity. Coming from a Catholic upbringing, the word “purity” carries a lot of different connotations for me and can sometimes feel connected to judgment or the idea of being “good” versus “bad.” Thinking about Saucha as clarity feels much more accessible and compassionate. It shifts the focus away from being perfectly “pure” and instead encourages us to notice what is clouding our mind, body, or energy and what we can do to create more clarity and trust in ourselves and in our lives.
I also found Iona’s story really upsetting. Her story was a good reminder of how difficult it can be to set and maintain boundaries, especially when we are people who naturally care for others and don’t want anyone to feel left out, rejected, or isolated. Sometimes setting a boundary can feel like we are failing someone or being unkind, when in reality, boundaries can create safety and clarity for everyone involved. It made me think about how important it is to care for others while also recognizing when we need to protect our own boundaries and well-being.