{"id":1327,"date":"2022-09-25T09:25:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T08:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/?p=1327"},"modified":"2022-09-25T09:25:44","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T08:25:44","slug":"back-to-the-basics-niyama-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/back-to-the-basics-niyama-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Back To The Basics – Niyama II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dog<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My dear Yogis and Yoginis,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second of the Niyamas is called Santosha
(Contentment)

“Be content with our dharma and karma.
A rich person as well as a beggar (and everyone in between) can find contentment by living in the moment. Avoid getting stuck in the
future desires or past memories and you will invite the Big Self to
direct and guide you trough life.”
~ Alan Finger 
(How to expand the little self to merge into the big self)

~  ~  ~ 

“Santosha means contentment. While the translation is a simple one to grasp, the practice of santosha is a challenge for many in today\u2019s world. In the yoga context, contentment refers to detaching from our desires and cultivating an inner peace and joy that is not dependent on what is happening in our lives.

In Patanjali\u2019s yoga sutras, attachment is often referred to as the basis of our unhappiness and discontent in life. It seems we are all on a search for happiness yet in our yoga study, we are reminded that happiness is not a \u2018thing\u2019 to attain. We can\u2019t buy happiness or find it through the next job or a better relationship. Happiness is about finding
contentment in the now. That is santosha. It\u2019s letting go of striving for what you don\u2019t have and accepting with joy what you do.
Santosha is a peace inside that doesn\u2019t change regardless of what is happening externally.

Mindfulness – the practice of conscious attention on the present
without judgment – is the key to santosha. When we are not
projecting into the future about what we want to happen, what we want to do or have; and when we are not dwelling in the past on what we should have done differently, we find contentment with what is right now.”

3 tips to practicing santosha in daily life:
– Get mindful<\/strong>
– Meditate<\/strong>
– Get grateful<\/strong>
~ Byron Yoga<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When your teacher starts yoga class by asking you to bring awareness to your breathing without trying to change it, have you noticed how easy it is in that moment to let go of your expectations and just enjoy being in your body? That is Santosha. 

In yoga sutra I.33, Patanjali describes this approach as keeping the mind \u201cat peace\u201d.
Here is a Sanskrit translation by Dr. Kausthub Desikachar:
If we can be happy for those who are happier than ourselves, offer compassion towards those who are not as happy as we are, show appreciation towards those whose actions are praiseworthy, and hold an attitude of equanimity <\/em>
towards those who sin, our minds will remain at peace.<\/em>
~ Brett Larkin<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s hard to see the goodness in yourself and others, let alone feel even fleeting moments of contentment, when you\u2019re expending a lot of mental energy knocking yourself down. Perhaps it\u2019s time to change your story. Humans are natural storytellers. …
Themes like \u201cI am smart,\u201d \u201cI am pretty,\u201d \u201cI am unlovable,\u201d and \u201cI fail at relationships\u201d are often the central plots to our story lines. What\u2019s more, we often make choices that reinforce these beliefs,
selecting relationships, careers, and situations that confirm our
expectations and strengthen our stories.

You may not realize it, but these stories are the lenses through which we interpret the world. If your lens is green, everything looks green. \u201cIf the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.\u201d Likewise, if your story is negative, positivity is hard to come by.
No wonder santosha can seem like a pipe dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your default \u201cThis is hard, I can\u2019t do this,\u201d or is it \u201cThis is difficult, let\u2019s see how I do with it today?\u201d

Yoga practices like asana <\/em>(postures) and dhyana <\/em>(meditation) are
excellent places to examine your stories and observe how they affect your mood and attitude. Next time you\u2019re on your meditation cushion or yoga mat (especially in the midst of a difficult pose!), take a moment to listen to your story. Is your default \u201cThis is hard, I can\u2019t do this,\u201d or is it \u201cThis is difficult, let\u2019s see how I do with it today?\u201d The way that you approach your practice is often a reflection of how you approach your life.

…With time and practice, you will distinguish between the stories you tell and the reality in front of you. Then you can begin to create
distance between your story and who you truly are.

…Once you shed your distorted lenses and self-doubting beliefs, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll discover that you\u2019re pretty awesome. And that the light burning within you is a far more accurate reflection of who you are than the stories you\u2019ve been telling yourself. That is when santosha becomes possible.”
~ B Grace Bullock<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday 26.09.
Aware & Mindful<\/strong>
Flow

Wednesday 28.09.
Breathe & Flow into Meditation<\/strong>
Slow Flow

Thursday 29.09.
Open Theme<\/strong>
Yogis Choice

Friday 30.09.
Gratitude<\/strong>
Flow
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are all truly amazing beings, I hope you feel that way about
yourself as well!

Love,

Nicole<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dear Yogis and Yoginis, The second of the Niyamas is called Santosha(Contentment) “Be content with our dharma and karma. A rich person as well as a beggar (and everyone in between) can find contentment (…) Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-body-mind-soul","category-yoga"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1327"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1354,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1327\/revisions\/1354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicoleohme.ch\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}