Shauca: Cleanliness and Purity

Shaucha: Purity

Failure of our physical systems will rest heavily on the mind leading to disturbing thoughts and subsequent ailments. The preservation of health is vital if we expect well-being, contentment and satisfaction throughout our lives. Although death is, of course, inevitable, maintaining control over our faculties until the end will undeniably be of benefit to ourselves and others.

Shaucha applies to purifying the entirety of our being: body, minds and environment. The yamas, niyamas, asana and pranayama cleanse the body and mind of toxins. Kriyas, or shat karmas, further the purification process by balancing the three humors or doshas:  vata, pitta, and kapha. We have already integrated some of the physical kriyas into our lives through the common practices of bathing, tongue brushing, or, for some of us, flushing our sinuses with water during neti practice. Mental purity may also be maintained through the use of the trataka kriya, an eye cleansing technique that is complementary to concentration practices of dharana.

Ayurveda views disturbances within the body to be attributable to inconsistencies in vata, kapha, or pitta (wind, bile and phlegm). Diet should follow the inherent doshas, constitutions or combination of them, that are unique to each individual. A hospitable environment for physical, mental and spiritual health is also emphasized in Ayurveda’s expansion of awareness and healing process.

Shaucha and Trading

A healthy system will enable us to perform to our highest potential. Stress and anxiety disorders affect many traders triggering the flight-or-flight response, clouding our reasoning capacity and depleting our sense of well-being. Should we engage in a healthy lifestyle, we will lessen the extent and severity of unnecessary emotional and physical responses to stimuli by the removal of toxic thoughts and behaviours. Shaucha reminds us that purity must stem from the mind to be felt in the body.

Shaucha also applies to the order and efficiency of our workspace. If our desk is disorderly, if we don’t keep track of our trades, or if we don’t keep our computer system updated and serviced, then we may be prone to poor performance. Vaastu Shastra, a Hindu form of design and construction, has very specific rules on how a space should be built, organized and lived in.  Our environment has to be conditioned to produce the right atmosphere conducive for focus, determination and relaxation. If not, then our minds may become distracted with the piles of paper on our desk, or the lack of light from a basement cubicle. Clearing our minds may be as easy as clearing the junk off of the desk and out of the office.