Niyamas

Niyamas are the second yogic guidelines for conscious self development the standards by which you should practice self-discipline:

Saucha (cleanliness): Although gurus and yoga scripture do recommend bathing regularly, eating clean, and keeping one’s space clean, this tenet also refers to having pure and positive thoughts about yourself and others. When you are clean in the mind, you become clear channels for the divine to enter you. You must practice the ability to feel completely content with the way everything is right now at this very moment. The saying is that practice makes perfect, and the reason for this is because repeated effort yields mastery of that which you are attempting to learn.

Svadhyaya (self-knowledge): The Bhagavad Gita says, “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” Yoga is meant to be a process of direct inquiry into our internal world. The more you dive inward, the more you can learn about the infinite nature of our consciousness. This yogic tenet is often forgotten in the Western view of yoga as a workout because so much of it is externalized: you wonder how we look in a posture, if you are thin enough, or feel the need to compete with others in class. The first step to recovery is to surrender to a higher power. The reason this is so medicinal is because it allows us to let go of the need to control everything.