Santosha On The Mat

Santosha on the mat.

Santosha on the mat.

Anyone who s ever been to a yoga class knows the feeling. Use asana mantra and mudra to help bring into focus the subtle and not so subtle ways this niyama plays out in your life. Having looked at how we might practice santosha in our every day lives what about finding contentment when we practice yoga on our mats. On the mat santosha sees us welcome a range of asana that includes those we enjoy and those that challenge us.

Admit it we ve all been there at least once. Santosha is about putting these thoughts aside to accept and appreciate what we already are and what we already have and moving forward from there. To incorporate santosha into your own life and practice start with the pose mudra hand and finger gesture and mantra a sacred utterance repeated continuously below. Santosha translates to contentment this niyama is about mastering the art of feeling at ease and at peace with yourself.

After a few years of teaching now it has become clear to me that the no pain no gain mentality is deeply engrained in people. Do this practice on its own add more poses with the accompanying 10 minute video sequence or link. You re working your way into a posture and you just can t help but take a peek around the room to see whether you re doing better than someone else. May 23 2017 original.

We accept the feelings that arise in the body and mind during asana practice and detach from the outcome of the poses. Practicing santosha on and off the mat. Santosha on the mat is a tension free body and a joyful mind both flowing in harmony with the breath. Having patience and willingness to give the practice your sincere effort.

We often slow down during the summer so this is a great time to begin practicing santosha. Tapas penance tapas means willingly accepting adverse conditions without complaining and this extends to your asana practice on the mat being met with a sincere attitude. Posted on december 8 2015 by julienelstrop.