The practice
of santosha removes us from the rat race and rests us in a gentle hammock of gratitude for a little while.
It's not until we can find stillness and contentment in the midst of a storm that we truly
find santosha.
Let's clear this one up right now: In one of the most recognized philosophical writings of yoga, Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, practitioners are introduced to the concept
of santosha.
According to yoga philosophy,
santosha, which means contentment, is a form of self - discipline.
Just as important the niyamas show us how to better take care of ourselves: purity or cleanliness (saucha), contentment (
santosha), self - discipline (tapas), self - study (svadhyaya), and surrender (ishvara pranidhana).
«The process of
santosha is relaxing into where you are in your pose right now and realizing that it is perfect.»
In fact, one of the prerequisites for yoga as taught in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is
santosha, or contentment.
The niyama sublimbs are saucha,
santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvara pranidhana.
But that feeling meets with a Catch 22, as one of the guiding principles of yoga is
santosha, or contentment.
How when we are disciplined (svadyaya), content (
santosha), and kind (ahimsa) we are encompassing a more total sense of yoga.
There are a number of other Hindu concepts which figure into the discussion — both karma and the principles of ahimsa (non-violence),
santosha (contentment) and aparigraha (non-posessiveness, non-stealing), all are important — but the above highlighted principles are a good overview.