Practicing Santosha, or Contentment, In Daily Life
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Happy February! Everyone thought January was the longest month in the history of months, but I have to be honest - I didn’t. For me, I can’t believe we’re already a month into 2020. I’m still trying to remember not to date things with 2019, but it appears I’m in the minority here. So if you are one of those people who felt that January was 275 days long, well, it’s done! And February, even with an extra day, is guaranteed to at least technically be shorter.
I took a pause on blogging the past couple of weeks, not for any intentional reason, but my jobby job (i.e. the thing I do during the day that pays the bills) got busy, I subbed a lot, and also this past week a family member had surgery, which happened to fall on the day I normally post my blogs, so I didn’t post. I had meant to start blogging on the Niyamas in January, having finished the Yamas in December, but I quite honestly just didn’t get around to it. And it just so happened that what I had planned for my February theme also is one of the Niyamas, so I decided I’ll just start with that Niyama, and go from there.
This month, I’m focusing on the Niyama of Santosha, or Contentment. I’m going to be super honest: this is not a Niyama I’m well-practiced in. I could go into a whole thing about my personality type (INFJ, in case you’re wondering), and how most of us categorized as intuitives always like to have something in the works, be planning for the future, be five steps ahead, and this can make it tricky to feel content with where we are now. And honestly, I think there is something to that. Probably more than something. I also think, in my personal case, having anxiety and depression as part of my mood cycling disorder can often hinder my contentment. Depression and anxiety, being the illnesses that they are, don’t really care if life is going exactly as you planned, they show up and try to convince you otherwise all the same. And that can make it tough to feel content, even if you think about it logically, you are.
But I also think that sometimes, it’s how we look at contentment. Often times, we look at contentment being solely a big picture feeling, and if we aren’t exactly where we want to be, we think we aren’t content. And I get that. I often feel far from content when I look at my goals and dreams as compared to where I am at the moment. But I don’t think that we have to be content with everything in life to practice santosha. If I break things down, I’m actually content with a lot of the smaller pieces and moments. For instance, I love teaching my benefit yoga class. I truly look forward to it every week, and I’m totally content with it. Being a benefit class, of course I’d love to grow it so that we can raise more money for the organization. And of course, the more people I get to bring yoga to that might not otherwise take it, the better, so if we get new people signed up, great! But I honestly love what we’re doing right now, and if our classes stay as they are and we raise the money I project we’ll raise based on that, I’ll be happy.
Or if I look at my home. Yes, it’s small for two people and a dog that thinks she’s a human. I wasn’t married when I bought it, and we’re definitely looking to up-size. But when I sit at my peninsula in the kitchen in the morning and I write and sip my coffee, especially if it’s a weekend and I can take my time doing so, I’m content. When it’s nice out and I can take my coffee out on the deck in the morning and enjoy being in the sunlight, I’m content. When I break it down, I don’t have to think my house is perfect in order to have moments of contentment, to practice santosha, in it.
The same can apply to my yoga practice. I can hope to increase the number of classes I take, to feel less tight in my joints, and to be able to get into certain poses the way I did when I was practicing a ton during teacher training, and I can still be content for that hour I’m practicing each time I step on the mat. The hope to grow in my practice and my contentment while I’m in the midst of it can coexist.
I think that the mistake we often make is thinking that if we practice santosha, if we feel content, that we’re complacent or going to become so. That if we say “I’m content where I am”, we won’t feel motivated or inspired to grow or develop or change or learn new things or go after our goals and dreams. And sure there are certain situations in which that can and does happen by choice. But I don’t think it’s the norm. For instance, think about things you enjoyed doing as a kid. At five, you might have been totally content playing a specific game or activity. And yet at some point, you still grew and developed and changed. It happened naturally. At the same time, there are probably other parts of your life as a kid that morphed and evolved and grew with you. These pieces may still be part of your life, and you may still be content with them, but they aren’t exactly the same as when you were five.
I think that at times, we can expend so much energy *not* being content, so much effort fighting ourselves and where we are, instead of meeting ourselves where we are, that we feel depleted, and it’s actually tougher to move forward. Perhaps, if we can practice santosha a little more, and let go of that grip we have on trying to change everything, we’ll find that we actually feel not complacent, but calmer and more grounded, and that can help us to move toward those goals and dreams with more clarity and intention.