Welcome!

Day 2 of our final week, where we practice Finding Freedom through the practice of Gratitude.

I would like to introduce another concept that lies at the heart of yoga. This is the concept of Santosha.

The concept of Santosha comes from the Yamas and Niyamas, which explain the 10 practices of ethical living, as explained by Sri Patanjali, a sage (or a group of sages) who, around the year 200-400, encapsulated 4000 years of yogic teachings into one small text called the Yoga Sutras. (Sutra = sutre, or thread). The Yoga Sutras are comprised of 196 aphorisms of how to practice yoga, and how to achieve enlightenment. 

For a timeline, Yoga - the philosophy and practice of Yoga - goes back 5000 years BCE, to the people along the Saraswati River. This river eventually dried up, and the people moved to the Indus Valley. (The British called the people of the Indus Valley “Indus” - or Hindus. It is interesting to note that originally the people did not call their practice Hinduism. That was the name given to them because of where they were located, and eventually was adopted by them.) 

Yogic philosophy is the root of not only Hinduism, but also Buddhism and Jainism. Also, because Yogic philosophy is so ancient, it likely underlies all exploration of the human consciousness as we know it. 

Back to the Yoga Sutras. The Buddha’s life happened about 200 years BC. So, we see threads of the Buddha’s teachings now in the Yoga Sutras. Mainly, the Buddhist 8-fold path, in the Yoga Sutras becomes the 8-limbed path. 

Within the 8-limbed path, and in fact the first 2 steps on the path, are the Yamas (observances in relation to others) and the Niyamas (personal restraints). There are 5 of each. And they prescribe a practice by which to live. Ethical practices, or a path for right living. These are not unlike the “Ten Commandments,” yet nothing in Yoga feels so commanding. So I like to name these as “practices.”

Santosha is the 2nd of the 5 Yamas, or how you are in relation to the world.   

Santosha is loosely understood as “contentment.” 

Contentment sounds lovely, but herein lies the practice of contentment. 

Contentment requires Acceptance of things as they are. And yet, some things lean toward the unacceptable. So the practice requires one of “accepting there are things that are unacceptable.” And then, we must not allow that acceptance to numb, or to push us towards complacency. 

Because, in each moment, both light and shadow exist. We cannot live in light until we embrace the shadow, which means while hoping for the good, also embracing the possibility of the opposite.

The practice for today is: Santosha, Contentment.

Practice this week's meditation:

https://vimeo.com/407005986/8c57d06d05

Then, how does Contentment as a practice bring a feeling of Gratitude?

Journal. And notice sensations in your body as you reflect on this practice.

Thank you for being here!

Be Well in All Ways,

Kristen

Upcoming: 

Business of Yoga Q&A Mastermind (FREE) Tuesday at 4pm EDT

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