Santosha On The Mat

Posted on december 8 2015 by julienelstrop.

Santosha on the mat.

We often slow down during the summer so this is a great time to begin practicing santosha. Be reminded of santosha next time your body doesn t go into a pose the way you would like it to. On the mat santosha sees us welcome a range of asana that includes those we enjoy and those that challenge us. Having looked at how we might practice santosha in our every day lives what about finding contentment when we practice yoga on our mats.

Having patience and willingness to give the practice your sincere effort. 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. Use asana mantra and mudra to help bring into focus the subtle and not so subtle ways this niyama plays out in your life. 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.

Anyone who s ever been to a yoga class knows the feeling. Santosha on the mat is a tension free body and a joyful mind both flowing in harmony with the breath. Practicing santosha on and off the mat. 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.

Santosha translates to contentment this niyama is about mastering the art of feeling at ease and at peace with yourself. We accept the feelings that arise in the body and mind during asana practice and detach from the outcome of the poses. Admit it we ve all been there at least once. 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.

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. May 23 2017 original. Santosha on the mat.