sense of getting cleaned, and being the cleaning-person at the same time

Sutra 2.32
“Niyama comprises:
1. Cleanliness, or the keeping of our bodies and our surroundings neat and clean.
2. Contentment or the ability to be happy with what we have and do not crave what we do not have.
3. The removal of impurities in our physical and mental systems through the maintenance of correct habits such as sleep, exercise, nutrition, work and relaxation.
4. Study and the necessity to review our progress.
5. Actions done more in the spirit of service than for personal gain.” (Desikachar translation)

Ok. So this is our attitude towards ourselves. Here is my "check in": 1. yes, Cleaning as an act, is very present in my life :-) two kids, 6 and 10 years – makes it very urgent to keep on cleaning – not to get It done, once and for all, but to be in the process. It is kind of a creative act (am I too weird now?) to organize and to play that I know where stuff should be, in relation to other stuff :-) creating jennis-universe through cleaning – ha. But it sometimes also brings me the position as the servant, number 5. Because I can tell that my kids loves their rooms and our place more when the surface of the table is visible and the dog is to be found. 2. contentment is a gift, and I love the thought of us – always being content, underneath :-) some five or ten years ago I was a supporter of the idea, that if I ever got mad or sad, I’ve probably always was mad or sad, but just not in touch with (suppressing) my tru depressing feelings. Well a wise person told me – it might as well be the other way around. Maybe I’m always content and happy, and sometimes I forget it in the turbulence of my ego or life’s overwhelming richness. But there is an ease and a peace of mind, in contentment that reminds me of “were the piece of the puzzle fits”. This makes it attractive to me.
3. When I sleep well and there has been a feeling of healthy food and moving of my body, I guess I feel pure – and the opposite is also true, I feel impure or like “a mess” when I slept bad or eat really only sugar and fat and didn’t move at all :-) yea that happens !
4. I love that work and study are mentioned in 4 and 5, because I feel so passionate about these aspects of my life. They melt together, but is also a true sound position for me to be in. The months after graduation before I got a job, I renamed my job-applications to “my job”. I couldn’t relate to being without job, fine lets call my new job “hired as unemployed” but the idea of: "without job"… too weird for me. My daily and weekly practice of self-inquiry or self-examination and study of yoga, is a lifeline, my beloved oxygen mask. And it reveals me to me, again and again depths of realization, patterns and brings me to bottoming out in non-functional patterns and bringing me through vague, uncertain periods into new grounds, new positions. It brings me perspective and proportion.

In my yoga practice and in the asana, it gives me: sense of getting cleaned, and being the cleaning-person at the same time. The asana gives me (most of the time) contentment. It brings me exercise and a good nights sleep. It is both my work and my study :-) and it often gives me the position to be serving a crowd of yoga-lovers <3 This little relation practice tells me that; doing the niyamas, is the same as doing my personal practice – fantastic!
Namasté
Jenni Saunte