Living the Niyamas Through Discipline & Devotion

A Mission Moment Share from Humble Haven’s Owner, Ashley Chambers

Over the next few months, we will be diving into the Niyamas—the inner observances that guide us toward clarity, integrity, and self-trust. Each month, we will explore one Niyama as a living practice, not just a philosophy, beginning with the first and most foundational: Saucha.

Saucha sets the tone for everything that follows. It is the doorway. The clearing. The return to what is essential.

There is a moment in practice when the body stops resisting and begins to listen.

The breath softens.
The nervous system settles.
And suddenly—there is clarity.

This is the moment I live for as a teacher. It’s the moment when someone realizes their body is not broken, it’s simply been protecting them.

Saucha, while it is often translated as cleanliness or purity, its deeper meaning is clarity of body, mind, and inner world. Not perfection. Not control. But conscious care.

In Ayurveda, clarity is the natural state of a balanced system. When digestion is strong and the body can properly assimilate and eliminate, ojas, our vital essence, is nourished and ama, the residue of what we cannot digest, is released. Saucha is not about becoming someone new, it is about removing what blocks our vitality so our true nature as spirit can shine.

For me, Saucha is the foundation of all real transformation. Before we can build strength, deepen flexibility, or feel at home in our bodies, we must first create space, space in the joints, space in the breath, space in the nervous system, and space in the mind.

When the body is misaligned, energy becomes stagnant.
When the mind is cluttered, motivation disappears.
When the breath is shallow, awareness fades.

Saucha invites us to begin by clearing what no longer serves.

Many people have been taught that discipline is force. That structure is oppression. That clear instruction is cruelty. But the truth I have come to understand is this: structure is not oppression, clear instruction is not cruelty, and discipline when rooted in care is deeply liberating.

True discipline is not punishment. It is devotion to clarity. It is the quiet commitment to return again and again, even when the ego is restless, even when the mind wants novelty, even when the body wants to avoid sensation. Discipline teaches us how to stay. It teaches us how to soften our need to perform, to compare, to prove, and instead listen to what is actually here.

Repetition is not boring, it is sacred. Each time you step onto your mat and move through the same shapes, you are not repeating the past; you are meeting yourself as you are today. Consistency creates trust. Trust creates safety. And safety allows the nervous system to release what it has been holding. This is how liberation is built not in grand gestures, but in small, steady acts of devotion.

Each time you practice, you are not just moving—you are clearing. Clearing tension. Clearing distraction. Clearing emotional residue stored in the body. Your body remembers everything. Stress, fear, over-effort, and protection all live in the tissues. When we move with awareness and intelligent alignment, we begin to unwind what has been held for years. We hold our issues in our tissues.

Twists gently wring out the spine.
Backbends lift what has collapsed.
Forward folds soften what has been gripping.

Misalignment is not a mistake, it is simply the body holding patterns it learned for survival. Through patient and disciplined practice those patterns begin to dissolve as we start to unwind layer by layer. 

This is Saucha in motion.

Saucha does not end when you roll up your mat. It continues in the way you live, in the rhythm of your days, in the small choices that support your nervous system and honor your energy. It is through these gentle repetitions that clarity becomes a way of life.

You do not need to change everything. You only need to begin with one conscious choice.

Let this be your cleansing fire.
Let it remind you that clarity is not something you chase,
it is something you uncover.