In addition to a professional organizer, I am also a yoga practitioner. Daily I pull from my study of yoga as well as organizing when I work with my clients. The process of organizing a space clears clutter and stale energy from areas and allows fresh energy to flow throughout the space. Practicing yoga also helps to clear trapped energy, clear our minds and gives us a fresh perspective.
In yoga philosophy, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are the basis of classical yoga’s eight-limbed path. By applying these principles yogis work towards self-discovery and healing. Two of the limbs are the Yamas and Niyamas. Simply put, the Yamas are external disciplines and the Niyamas are internal disciplines. The Yamas are how we treat others and relate to the world without adding to its suffering or our own. The Niyamas are our attitudes towards self, self-restraint and ties aspects of our personal sphere to the process of realization or enlightenment.
The first Niyama is Saucha. Saucha is purity or cleanliness. This is both internal as well as external cleanliness. Keeping the body - the home for our spirit - clean and healthy helps us to prepare to function at our highest level and to do the work we are meant to do. There is a connection between the cleanliness of our space with the clarity that we experience in our minds. Burning away obstacles and distractions helps us to remember who we are at our core.
Take some time to look at your home or work environment and assess what areas are causing you frustration or where stale energy is getting stuck. Start decluttering these spaces! Decluttering areas that hold stale energy allows new energy to flow and for us to reclaim space in our life. I encourage you to create conditions in your outer environment to increase calm within yourself.
In this time when we are all making sure to disinfect and clean our physical spaces, I also think it is extremely important to be focused on the cleanliness of our internal systems as well.
By eating healthily and keeping our physical bodies clean and healthy, we are able to strengthen our immune systems. By keeping our minds clear we are able to focus on what is really important and not allow the “noise” we are currently experiencing to take over and create additional anxiety and stress.