9/11/25 Live Session Recording
In this session, we explored Saucha (clarity/purity) as an internal and external practice, and dove into the Integration & Relaxation phase of trauma-informed sequencing—highlighting the power of stillness, surrender, and self-connection at the end of practice.
We also honored the emotional weight of the week, holding space for the layers of grief, unrest, and trauma stacking many are navigating—both collectively and individually.
As always, you're invited to share your own thoughts, questions, or reactions to this session. If you’d find it helpful to have a few starting points, here are some optional writing prompts to guide your reflection- please choose those that resonate!:
Suggested Prompts
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In what ways does clarity (Saucha) show up—or feel challenged—in your life or practice right now?
How might you create more spaciousness or simplicity in your thoughts, routines, or physical space? -
How do you personally relate to the concept of rest as active integration?
What emotions or thoughts arise for you during long periods of stillness? -
When guiding others, how might you create safer conditions for deep relaxation?
What language, pacing, or environmental cues help support this phase? -
What did you notice in your body, breath, or emotional state during the Integration & Relaxation discussion or workshop?
Was anything surprising or affirming?
Feel free to respond in whatever way feels meaningful—whether it's a sentence, a full reflection, or simply sitting with the questions. This space is yours.
I really liked one interpretation of Saucha to mean clarity. To me Saucha or clarity would be present when I am aligned with my values, and my behaviour is clearly associated with these principles. When I act out of accordance with my values, I feel a lack of clarity and notice that my behaviour falls back into autopilot mode whereby I repeat conditioned samskaras. Once I notice I am out of alignment I look within to be guided by my inner compass (values) which helps to reorient me to what is most important and meaningful in life. I really loved the movement practice in this session. I felt invigorated and refreshed for taking the time to be mindful in each transition as well as within each posture. Taking time to rest and rejuvenate can sometimes make me feel uncomfortable because I have an inner narrative that says I “should” be doing more. I realize this is something I have internalized from our westernized culture, but rest is essential and a radial act of self-care.
love the idea of interchanging the idea of purity with clarity and clutter.
I don't like the word purity at all. I have this deeply rooted gendered disdain for it. Like it really activates me. and I think of being a little child who was "pure" and a "good girl" until I wasn't. In fact, I don't even let people say, " aww you're such a good girl." to my daughter. It just seems like when we think of purity in the western culture we only think of women being pure. I say all this to say that reframing the word to clarity and decluttering really resonates with me. I've spent a lot of my life, held up by illusions that cause me pain and attachment. I feel like if I can explore things with a curious mind and navigate my way to an authentic form of clairity it can really be a guiding force. Which leads me to the questions that were brought up in our gut instinct.
As a gemini, I have many "Tabs" open, always up in the air. thinking. But beyond that I am obsessed with consuming information. so I am always listening, reading, watching, scrolling. not a lot of being. not a lot of time for mind to declutter. My therapist often asks me, "Do you really want that do you really feel that way or were you influenced to feel this/want that. and that is often a question that I have to ask myself to get through the muck of the inner clutter.
So thank you for this perspective!
I practiced this flow with my partner after the last session, like I tried to cue it and it was not good. LOL I was so cautious of my words I feel like I was missing the mark of authenticity. Jen the one thing that really stood out to me how was comfortable you feel, all while listening to YOUR body while cuing. This will definitely take some time, but I am up and reading to climb up the mountain.
I love the question, BTW, "How is society using purity to police us?" Great, question. Again, I think that's a really gendered thing and I think this is what a lot of fear boils down to in the attacks that happen to the Queer community.
Another, thing I just want to express, is that the world feels so heavy. I often get sad for the little kids growing up and I worry about their future. I pivot to thinking that this is why am doing this work, because it feels like it is part of the resistance and liberation for all. One breath and we can break all the chains.
Again, much love.
I watch the recordings and write notes as thoughts and mostly feelings arise. I like to wind it because it feels authentic and Ego-free.
Absolutely do I 150% agree with the first quote of the session, that '...the World is f***ed'. There's always a place for profanity. Many Fortune 500 companies encourgae their sales staff to swear after a bogus call to make immediate release of feelings of frustration before they make the next call. I have read elsewhere that swearing is a sign of a high intelligence and that it supplements a good vocabulary. And, my God, it's true. The Stoics say that your view of the world is a reflection of your internal state. Rubbish. My internal state is tickety boo, and the world, Gaza, Zionist Extremism, terrorism, it's a cray place and paradoxically rich and fertile ground for transcending spiritually. Yoga doesn't care, leading me on to Saucha (purity).
I remember a Japanese Zen saying, 'Water which is too pure has no fish', implying a balance between karmic intention, and the warrior in the garden. Telling the truth, and white lies, and bending the rules. What I intend is what matters. Saucha is a Niyama, my place in the environment. I was caught by Madison sharing that sometimes, noticing your breath can be activating, especially when trying to fall asleep. Yes. I never ask a student to 'take a deep breath' before a forward fold, for example. What do you do before a trauma? Gasp.
The group stretch was great. I felt the group click.
Saucha... purity... following my moral compass. Any ADHD and ASD traits I may have cover that in glitter: hyper-sensitivity to injustice, and sensitivity to rejection. Justice and injustice - real burdens sometimes, but in a social justice setting - watch out! I'm coming through!
Saucha... I miss the chat box... if there is a balance to be had with purity, I'm feeling 'pure' and 'impure' and do my best.
Is there a judgement there? Am I judging balance and purity? Does my dark side contaminate Saucha? Does clarity complement purity? Yes.
Purity helps me become centred and therefore my practice is centred. Saucha compliments my practice. Saucha informs my Karma. Ok I love this!
Saucha through a social justice lense. We must re-visit history.
During this session I drop into a great place. Jen is a magician. The passion, man. It's great. Only Jen could kick arse with such passion and genuine love. My practice, my teaching or facilitating, informed by Saucha, is person -centred.
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In what ways does clarity (Saucha) show up—or feel challenged—in your life or practice right now?
I really resonate with simplicity and how it allows for clarity - I'm naturally quite a messy person and have grown used to having clutter around me, but I do notice that my energy changes depending on the spaces that I'm in. I think setting intention around all the simple elements of life such as your space creates ritual and can be a really meaningful endeavour. I want to implement that more into my living space. -
How do you personally relate to the concept of rest as active integration?
In my personal experience rest is completely necessary for active integration and the time when things click into place within me. I see it in a similar way to how the subconscious churns things over in our sleep and how the brain uses boredom to 'solve' things and creatively integrate thoughts. -
When guiding others, how might you create safer conditions for deep relaxation?
I think that being mindful of the sounds, taking in a quiet gentle tone - as well as not bringing any narratives into the relaxation element as I have found this distracting in the past. Continuing to aim for that self led practice. -
What did you notice in your body, breath, or emotional state during the Integration & Relaxation discussion or workshop?
I did the sequence twice as the first time I was not in a good place emotionally and wasn't managing to concentrate on the cues, in the second run through, I found myself really appreciating the cues and mindful exploration. Its incredibly helpful in developing the mind/body connection by seeing how these poses feel with the different alignment. The different phases of sequencing in the PYP methodology allow for a 'complete' practice. Not limited the pressure of having a fiery dynamic practice on on the other end of the scale just slow meditative stretching. Particularly with moving into pigeon pose which I feel I haven't had broken down in the past. Jen's cue to move the knee out a little further than the hip and then shimmy the back leg back allowed me to actually get into the posture and feel the stretch properly. I was also surprised to feel how much bow pose engages the core even with my feet on the floor, again entering into the pose properly by sitting back the length on the arms with hand on the knees. I felt how good to counter stretch felt in my body. My big takeaway is that learning how to cue and arrive into the asanas is as significant as the asana itself and I want to dedicate the time to learning this as I feel it is vital to being a good facilitator. In the past I've done classes and you just get to the point where you have familiarity with the asana, but what I've been doing is going into what I think to be the right posture, without this exploration to arrive and see how that feels - I've been missing a huge part of the experience.
Clarity shows up when I take time to reset—journaling, clearing my altar, or just pausing before I react. It’s challenged when motherhood feels messy and there’s no space to breathe. Yoga Nidra gives me that reset, like wiping the fog off a mirror.
Rest feels like integration. In stillness, I notice restlessness first, then emotions rise—sometimes grief, sometimes relief. It teaches me that rest isn’t empty; it’s where my system actually processes.
When I guide others, I keep language simple and spacious, offering choices so stillness feels safe. For me, it’s about tone and pacing—creating room instead of pressure.
During the relaxation workshop, I felt my breath slow and my body soften in ways I didn’t expect. What affirmed it for me was realizing how much my whole being craves that exhale.
Thank you for the recording. Work is very hectic for me right now and I lost a good friend unexpectedly last week, so it has been hard for me to attend class in real time. I miss sharing space with all of you. Which brings me to the concept of Saucha. I appreciate the clarity framing. When I feel frazzled and my calendar is so full it feels impossible to find clarity. I need to commit to cutting back so that I can get back to some kind of balance.
Hi and Welcome Amy!
Everyone had great shares this week around rest and how important it is for each of us. And Robert, I commend you sir for being able to stay cool, calm and collected even with all the noise around you. Great share about not feeding into the narrative and staying in the present moment!
As for rest, I used to struggle with not being able to sit still and almost prided my self on it telling people that's how I was able to get so much done. Just always moving! Hustle culture! --That is until a year ago and I began to dive into meditation. When I am consistent with my practice, I notice I am much more comfortable with moments of silence and stillness, I welcome it. When I am absorbed back into the material world (social media, society, Babylon, etc), and not consistent with my practice, I find myself feeling guilty for sure if I am not actively doing something with either my mind or body. But now that I have experience touching the void, I find myself easily able to cross back over into that active stillness. The American hustle culture does not seem to comprehend momemts like this! 🙂
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In what ways does clarity (Saucha) show up—or feel challenged—in your life or practice right now?
How might you create more spaciousness or simplicity in your thoughts, routines, or physical space?Saucha shows up in the ways I treat my living space, what I consume, how I treat my body, how I interact with nature around me and so on. It also reflects to all the things are around us from how we treat others to our expectations from others. I think of purity as the state of being we were when we were born.
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How do you personally relate to the concept of rest as active integration?
What emotions or thoughts arise for you during long periods of stillness?Rest is recovery. At least when it comes to the physical body. When it comes to American hustle culture, rest can be seen as a sign of weekness or laziness. I think rest is very important. I think further than just resting the body, we should learn to rest the mind as well. Rest the organs and rest our thinking. Give all of it a rest and simply exist as a tree does within the wind. Moving freely with no effort, just allowing the breeze to move around the branches and leaves.
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When guiding others, how might you create safer conditions for deep relaxation?
What language, pacing, or environmental cues help support this phase?"Taking a moment to notice how the body while resting". "Maybe taking in a few full breaths settling into the relaxation." "Pausing here for some more breath before we move." "Taking another full round of breath". "Settle into...". I think language is really key to inviting the student to sink deeper into the relaxation without directly saying that to them. Guiding breath as well during moments of stillness during the practice. Encouraging the first breath but allowing the students to then find their own flow. So giving time to pause instruction.
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What did you notice in your body, breath, or emotional state during the Integration & Relaxation discussion or workshop?
Was anything surprising or affirming?It was very grounding and relaxing. I'm usually a little energetic while doing a practice but I was able to sink into the poses and just be with them. I had no expectations nor felt I was being pushed to anything other than what my body gravitated towards. Thank you!
TW: physical and sexual abuse
I really appreciated this week’s lecture on Saucha. I wondered how we were going to think through the niyama of “purity” given how heavy-laden a word like that is, given that people who have experienced all kinds of trauma often come to see themselves as fundamentally “impure.” That word feels like it would be very activating, regardless of how a facilitator might try to soften or contextualize it. Or at least, it feels delicate. Jen’s reinterpretation of “clarity” and being organic and following our moral compass was deeply valuable and non-activating.
I thought of two radically different books while I was reviewing the materials for this week that connect to both of these points.
In the wake of a recent scandal involving (another) inappropriate yoga teacher in the Ashtanga tradition, I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Matthew Remski’s Surviving Modern Yoga: Cult Dynamics, Charismatic Leaders, and What Survivors Can Teach Us. The book is an exposé and deep dive into the physical and sexual abuse that Pattabhi Jois exacted upon his students, and it is so fascinating because it goes into how Jois and his allies used what are ostensibly yoga principles to groom students into accepting this abuse. I’m still only a few chapters into the book, and Saucha has not specifically come up, but what has come up are these ideas of sexual purity and how they were manipulated to justify what he did. For example, his apologists have claimed that he only started engaging in sexual touch during “adjustments” when Western women came to Mysore and were so scantily clad (and thus, they were the type of “impure” women who he couldn’t be held responsible for abusing.)
Anyway, what I loved about the teaching this week is that the vibe was sort of—we will take the good stuff from this yoga philosophy, but if there is something in it or some way that it is traditionally used that’s bad, it has to go. This seems like an important value of the post-lineage approach: Instead of deferring to some external set of gurus and texts, we ultimately should be our own gurus and listen to our own bodies and our own moral compasses. The yoga is in sharpening our capacity to be in tune with our bodies and morals. That, it seems, is why clarity is a better way of thinking about this niyama.
The other book I thought of was Brittney Cooper’s Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower. In one chapter, she describes how white supremacy and religion can converge to demand a sort of stifling sexual purity from Black women that alienates some of us from our bodies and our desires:
“What I learned from watching white kids who were set up to succeed while Black kids were set up to fail, even in matters of intimacy, was that sexual self-regulation was critical to my success. It took me being a grown woman to recognize all the ways that systems of white supremacy regulate our intimate lives, too. Black girls and Black women, particularly those who have had any sustained encounter with Christianity, are often immobilized by the hyperregulation of their sexuality from both the church and the state. … Black women are often robbed of our agency to build healthy intimate lives.” (pp. 131-32)
Thinking about the scourge of purity culture made me think of this passage and how true, and deeply consequential, the dynamics that Cooper describes are. And they feel very real; they have shown up in my own life and in my research and collaboration with other Black women. “Purity” means “chastity” means that if a woman has been denied chastity she will never be able to become clean.
Yoga, as an embodied practice that puts the practitioner in touch with their bodies, can offer a pathway out of the morass Cooper describes. I would like to work with Black women as a facilitator, so these reimagining of purity into clarity is likely to be extraordinarily helpful. Thank you!