Once upon a time there was a Buddhist teacher who said that all spiritual practices aim at making us happier, but there is only one practice brings lasting happiness. That is the practice of Contentment.
Patanjali seems to agree. In book 2, Sutra 42, he says: “By contentment, supreme joy is gained.” (Satchitananda, 2.42) He lists Santosha, Contentment, as the second of five niyamas, which are yogic ethics related to creating a good relationship with oneself.
Supreme joy, the highest joy, unshakable joy. Where do we find that? Certainly not in the outer world of constantly changing circumstances. One week life seems to be progressing in a gentle and easy way and the next day there are squirrels in the attic, a flat tire, or much worse…
And isn’t it morally wrong to practice contentment in the face of climate disaster, war, injustice, inequity, and all the suffering in the world?
The Buddha and Patanjali were not suggesting that we practice contentment and take no action to curtail suffering in the world. This ethic is about gaining insight and some measure of control over the human tendency to yo-yo back and forth between a state of attachment and aversion, craving and avoidance, raga and dvesha (in Sanskrit). That’s something we can do while we are simultaneously taking right action to end suffering for ourselves and others.
Yoga philosophy suggests that avidya is at the root of discontentment. Avidya is the human proclivity to be born into this world and immediately become distracted by our sense perceptions. We taste something, and we either like it or don’t. Same with what we see, hear, smell, and touch. Distracted by these many likes and dislikes, life becomes mostly about getting what we want and avoiding what we don’t want. We easily forget where we came from, who and what we truly are.
Echkart Tolle talks often about turning our attention to a deep, abiding presence at the core of our Being. He describes a connection to Being as the “cream”, and everything else in the world of form (our external life) is like “skimmed milk” in comparison.
The practice of contentment is not something we can do or create, but we can orient our attention to what is already and always there. When we take our attention deeper than our surface desires and repulsions and into the open, spacious, fullness of our Being contentment is present effortlessly.
So simple, so hard. The other day dealing with a traffic slow down on the I-240 bridge, oooph... so much dvesha! So much wanting the situation to be different than it was. I had to remind myself every few minutes to just cheeeellll. Car yoga: sense the tension (physical, mental, emotinal), relax, repeat.
That’s the basic, underlying theme of each one of these home practice recordings. So here’s another! This one has a few reflections on Raga/Dvesha and Santosha woven into the gentle section. I hope you enjoy.
Love, Shala
Santosha: 72 min. Vinyasa Flow & Yin/Gentle Yoga (suggested Spotify playlist is in the Vimeo description that you’ll see once you click the link.)
https://vimeo.com/708777396/2afeaf2b24
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This recording is offered for free. If you enjoy it and know someone else who would, please forward this email :-)
If you’re able and would like to make a $1-$10 love offering/recording, many thanks!
Paypal = shalarain@gmail.com
Venmo = @Shala-Worsley
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You can find me in the studio at Asheville Yoga Center:
July 8-10 Restorative Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation
Co-led with Gota Cebrero; All are welcome! Register at https://www.youryoga.com/300-hour-tt/
Here's my weekly class schedule:
Mondays in-person at Asheville Yoga Center:
4-5:15 Warm Gentle, Restorative, & Yin
5:30-6:45 Hot Vinyasa Flow & Yin
Wednesdays In-person at Asheville Yoga Center:
12-1:15 Hot Vinyasa Flow & Yin
Would love to see you there!
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