1.- The Virtue that contains the Niyama Santosha
Santosha is the second Niyama described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and its broader meaning is that of Virtue, which originates in the acceptance of any circumstance, and the satisfaction that comes from oneself and not from the outside. Santosha is both an attitude and a state of deep inner peace.
You need to joyfully accept the offerings that life makes available to you in your present, without wasting energy reminiscing about the past or idealizing the future.
Santosha could be interpreted as contentment, but it is nothing more than focusing on the present and living it intensely. It means opening up to continuous experience, and the clear perception of what is now: the special of each moment.
Santosha is loving the world as it is. The fact of being here and now reveals the greatest possible ecstasy. Nothing that exists in this world must be changed: what really must be changed is your inner attitude towards everything that surrounds you.
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2.- The different levels of the Niyama Santosha
Many yogic texts talk about Santosha in how it manifests or how it can be practiced at different levels:
Inner Peace: a satisfied mind in a state of low activity, enhances multiple virtues such as compassion and detachment.
Intention: put the maximum intention and effort in our actions, and accept the results without creating expectations.
Revelation: Santosha manifests in the appearance of serenity and contentment not focused on unnecessary desires.
Although the greatest practice is that through the Niyama Santosha he accepts the becoming in Shiva‘s dance.
Santosha is related to equanimity, since practicing it allows you to accept any circumstance that arises, be they positive or negative, for example pleasure, pain, success or failure.
Santosha gains strength in your life in the form of happiness without object, and in your full satisfaction.
2.1.- The multiple benefits of this Niyama
Niyama Santosha accepts the future, helps the yogi to develop a better relationship with himself. Learn to accept and be happy with your own way of being, even if sometimes you don’t like yourself very much. Make your happiness depend on achieving the goals you set for yourself, or changing those aspects of yourself that don’t work.
You will feel the benefits of Santosha through the practice of asanas, making an effort to accept yourself, recognize the limitations of your body, work for what you need not for what you want… without seeking perfection.
The wise man is happy in hell, while the fool also suffers in Paradise.
3.- How to bring Santosha into your life
Accept everything that happens with gratitude. Be grateful to those who give you the opportunity to get to know yourself better Coexist and with all emotions, both positive and negative, without letting them dominate you, accepting the feelings they may produce; in that way we can transcend our duality.
With the Niyama Santosha we can live life happily because of what we are feeling at all times. Experience all kinds of moments with an attitude that allows us to transcend them without altering our feelings.