“To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.”
– Bodidharma
Weekly Focus: Santosha (contentment) – the second niyama
Santosha is the second niyama, or personal observance, and is described as contentment, or accepting and appreciating what we already have. From this space of contentment, we may shift focus from the external and allow the abundance within us to unfold.
We live in a world that is constantly pulling our attention to the external. Everywhere we look we are told we need more, and on top of that, a mindset of scarcity is encouraged all around us. This is seen through the lives we are told to live, the needs we are told to have, the milestones we are brought up to believe we must hit. Scarcity and need is reinforced through advertising, social media, deep-seeded cultural norms and expectations. Deep within all of this, is the idea that we must get to it before someone else, or there won’t be enough to go around.
Santosha is a reminder to not look outwards for peace of mind, but to turn to yourself. This niyama challenges us to find gratitude for all that we have and contain within us and around us. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude allows you to focus less on what you want and more on what you already have. This cultivation of our attitude is a reinforcement of replacing our negative thought patterns with more positive thought patterns. Focusing on what makes us unhappy cultivates an attitude of need to fill the longing within us. By spending more time thinking on that which makes you happy in life, you can choose to find peace and contentment. Ultimately, this process will aid in bringing about an unfolding of your personal inner joy and peace.
Here is a simple practice in cultivating an attitude of gratitude:
- Start a gratitude journal — get a small journal and keep it near your bedside.
- Start your day with gratitude — upon waking up, before you even get out of bed, write down three things you are grateful for, no matter how small. Write “I am grateful for…” three times for each item. The act of writing down this positive statement will reinforce positive attitudes within you.
- End your day with gratitude — beofre laying down to sleep, open your journal and reread what you were grateful for that morning, again, reinforcing the feelings of goodness just before sleep.
Passive Pose of the Week: Constructive Rest
Constructive rest is a simple pose, a perfect place to check-in and offer gratitude for the experience of simply lying on the floor.
- Begin lying down on your back.
- Bend your knees so the feet land on the floor.
- Widen the feet towards the edges of your mat and allow the knees to knock in towards one another like a tent.
- Rest the hands anywhere that feels comfortable – belly, to the side, or overhead.
- Stay here and breathe steadily for up to 5 minutes.
There isn’t a lot to this pose from the outside, but it certainly does wonders on the inside. Constructive rest is a restorative posture for the body and mind. This pose helps us to dial into our parasympathetic nervous system and encourages feelings of calm and easy within the mind. From this position, we can receive wonderful feedback from the floor beneath us as we breathe. Can you feel the back of your body pressing and releasing from the floor as you breathe? Take pause and notice, offering silent gratitude for the breathe that is always there.
Active Pose of the Week: Ardha Purvottanasana (reverse table)
Ardha Purvottanasana opens your heart up to the abundance within you.
- Begin sitting on your seat with the feet planted in front of you, knees to the ceiling. Your feet should be about hip-width distance apart.
- Bring your hands to the floor behind you. Turn the fingers any direction that feels comfortable – facing the edges of the mat, facing away from you, or facing towards you
- Roll the shoulders up to the ears and then squeeze your shoulders together. Feel the back of the body engage.
- Press equally through your hands and feet, take an inhale and lift your hips up to the ceiling.
- Continue to press down through your hands and feet as your squeeze the back side of your body.
- Your chin can stay tucked to your chest, or if it feels comfortable, drop your head back.
- Hold for 3 – 5 breaths before slowly lowering down.
For some of us, limited range of motion in the shoulders will not allow us to lift up from the floor. Try placing blocks underneath of your hands and allowing yourself to push down into the blocks. This is also helpful if you feel too much strain on your wrists. If so, place only the heels of your hands on the block either to the back edge of the block with your palm and fingers off the edge facing away from you, or toward the near edge of the block, with your palm and fingers off the edge facing towards you. Even if you can take this pose without the blocks, we encourage you to try this variation! You may find that you have more strength and freedom of movement in the pose, or, it might just feel really good!
Join us in class this week to practice cultivating an attitude of graititude. See the full schedule HERE.
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