Daily Yogi’s Guide to Santosha (Contentment)

Table of contents

Daily Yogi branch of Niyamas lower limb of yoga - Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvara Pranidhana
Niyamas – Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvara Pranidhana

2nd Limb of Yoga – Niyamas (Personal Observances) #2: Santosha

The first 2 of the 8 Limbs of Yoga are the Yamas and Niyamas. There are 5 Yamas and 5 Niyamas, and we will take a full day on our Daily Yogi journey to focus on practicing each of the five. Niyamas (KNEE-ya-mas) are guidelines for our own personal habits or observances. Let’s take a closer look at the second of five Niyamas – Santosha.

All about Santosha (Contentment)

What does Santosha mean? What is the translation of Santosha?

Santosha (san-TOE-shah) is literally translated as complete contentment.

What is Santosha?

Santosha (san-TOE-shah) is literally translated as complete contentment. Personally, I find Santosha as similar to practicing the positive of Aparigraha (non-attachment) or gratitude within ourselves, as opposed to with our surroundings. I try to practice mindfulness and positive thinking to incorporate more Santosha into my day. Also, keep in mind, exercising contentment in your Asana practice is essential to avoid injury!

How do I practice Santosha?

My favorite Santosha practice to practice mindfulness is in motion, with a mindful walk, hike, or drive. Use all five senses to tap into mindfulness. Try to incorporate mindfulness in the moment, and positive thinking throughout the day. Also, try to exercise Santosha on the mat by not pushing yourself to pain in Asana practice.

How to practice Santosha (Contentment)

How to practice Santosha (Contentment)

  1. Practice mindfulness and enjoy each moment.

    Use all five senses to tap into mindfulness. Appreciate the sights, sounds, and smells around you. What is the temperature? One of my favorite ways to practice mindfulness is in motion, with a mindful walk, hike, or drive.

  2. Bring Santosha into your Asana or physical Yoga practice.

    Notice and appreciate where you are in your practice without judgement. If you are a new Yogi, maybe promise yourself to be gentle with your body, not comparing yourself to more flexible practitioners. More advanced Yogis also should be gentle with their bodies, and perhaps should revisit this concept of contentment with our journeys. Perhaps you have taken time off from practice.. release the guilt, spend a few minutes on your mat, and enjoy the time you make for yourself. Please keep in mind, exercising contentment in your Asana practice is essential to avoid injury!

  3. Practice and experience the power of positive thinking.

    Try to keep your thoughts positive, and look for the silver lining even in your difficulties for the day.

More on Mindfulness

Psychology Today – Understanding, Practicing, and Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindful – Getting Started with Mindfulness (and Meditation)

Asana Practices

Here are some Asanas (poses) and Asana series I feel embody the spirit of Santosha! Click the images to learn to how perform the pose or more about the Asana style!

Please note this section is currently under construction – please check back soon for more!

Ananda Balasana - happy baby pose - yoga pose girl sunny day yoga on the beach
Ananda Balasana – Happy Baby Pose

Meditation Practices

Here are some of my favorite meditations I feel embody the spirit of Santosha!

Mindfulness Guided Meditation.

Positive Affirmation Guided Meditation.

Please note this section is currently under construction – please check back soon for more!

Santosha Quotes

  • purple and pink epic alpine sunset in snowy mountains with pine trees and snow - santosha Quote: Santosha (contentment) brings supreme joy. - Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
    Santosha (contentment) brings supreme joy. – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
  • alpine meadow with sunflowers columbine mountain wildflowers with green grass and mountains with blue party cloudy sky - santosha Quote: Practicing Santosha (contentment) brings supreme joy. - Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
    Practicing Santosha (contentment) brings supreme joy. – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
  • purple tropical flower with green leaves in front of fence and partly cloudy sky - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. - Unknown
    Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. – Unknown
  • hobbit hole mine mining water runoff - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: Happiness is not having what you want. It is appreciating what you have. - Unknown
    Happiness is not having what you want. It is appreciating what you have. – Unknown
  • collapsed mine portal abandoned mining ruin with large boulder and green shrubbery - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. - Gautama Buddha
    Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – Gautama Buddha
  • aspen forest creek with blue river water gray boulders and brown tree branches - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. - Charles Spurgeon
    Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most. – Abraham Lincoln
  • blue shadowy snow on rocky mountain cliff with snow-covered dark rocks and pine trees - santosha contentment happiness Quote: Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. - Booker T. Washington
    Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. – Booker T. Washington
  • close up maroon deep red flower bud with bright white inner blossom and fuzzy flower flowers, green leaves, and white concrete stoop in background - santosha contentment happiness satisfaction Quote: Happiness is really a deep harmonious inner satisfaction and approval. - Francis Wilshire
    Happiness is really a deep harmonious inner satisfaction and approval. – Francis Wilshire
  • blue purple and pink epic alpine sunset in mountains with darkened pine trees and distant mountain peak - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. - Earl Nightingale
    Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. – Earl Nightingale
  • cool perspective looking through green leafy mangrove trees sand to bright blue ocean Caribbean water with wind rippling surface along coastal beach shoreline - santosha contentment happy happiness Quote: Someone is happy with less than what you have. - Anonymous
    Someone is happy with less than what you have. – Anonymous
  • close-up bright green succulent plants in the sun with shadowy leaves - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful Quote: Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. - Jon Kabat-Zinn
    Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. – Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • close-up bright orange bird of paradise flower with green leaves and brown mulch background - laughter santosha happiness positivity Quote: No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds. - Red Skelton
    No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds. – Red Skelton
  • two purple flowers with bright green leaves and brown dirt - santosha contentment happiness appreciation gratitude Quote: To be content doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s to come. - Tony Gaskins
    To be content doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s to come. – Tony Gaskins
  • cool perspective sunlit cloudy mountain sky with shadowy city - santosha contentment happiness satisfaction Quote: If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having a few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation. - Dalai Lama
    If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having a few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation. – Dalai Lama
  • cool perspective close-up of light green evergreen spruce tree needles - santosha contentment mindfulness present moment Quote - Always hold fast to the present. Every situation, indeed every moment, is of infinite value, for it is the representative of a whole eternity. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    Always hold fast to the present. Every situation, indeed every moment, is of infinite value, for it is the representative of a whole eternity. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • thin square tree sculpture set in sunlit new england forest with brown ground and sunlight peeking through bright green leaves - passion geek geeky nerdiness enjoyment santosha contentment mindfulness Quote: Being a geek is a great thing. I think we're all geeks. Being a geek means you're passionate about something and that defines your uniqueness. I would rather be passionate about something than be apathetic about everything. - Masi Oka
    Being a geek is a great thing. I think we’re all geeks. Being a geek means you’re passionate about something and that defines your uniqueness. I would rather be passionate about something than be apathetic about everything. – Masi Oka
  • white mountain wildflowers in grassy green field in front of gray lichen covered boulder - santosha contentment happiness satisfaction Quote: Happiness is a state of mind. It's just according to the way you look at things. - Walt Disney
    Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things. – Walt Disney
  • trippy white human face statue set in green new England forest with green grass and gray rocks - santosha contentment happiness satisfaction Quote: If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in and live your life to the fullest. - Nanette Mathews
    If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in and live your life to the fullest. – Nanette Mathews
  • cool perspective sunlit cloudy mountain sky with pink orange and blue sunset - santosha contentment happiness satisfaction Quote: The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. - Thich Nhat Hanh
    The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. – Thich Nhat Hanh
  • cool shot of cloudy sky above snow-capped mountains - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful Quote: Mindfulness isn't difficult. We just need to remember to do it. - Sharon Salzberg
    Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it. – Sharon Salzberg
  • cool shot of bright blue sky with sun setting behind snow-capped mountains - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful Quote: Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. - Omar Khayyam
    Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. – Omar Khayyam
  • alpine valley with darkened green pine trees in snowy epic mountain valley under tripply blue cloudy twilight sky - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful Quote: Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. - Helen Keller
    Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. – Helen Keller
  • cool close up shot of dark and light brown grains - santosha contentment happiness acceptance Quote: The moment that judgement stops through acceptance of what it is, you are free of the mind. You have made room for love, for joy, for peace. - Eckhart Tolle
    The moment that judgement stops through acceptance of what it is, you are free of the mind. You have made room for love, for joy, for peace. – Eckhart Tolle
  • cool shot through darkened trees looking at purple and blue sunset over snowy mountain range - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful Quote: I have chosen to be happy because it's good for my health. - Voltaire
    I have chosen to be happy because it’s good for my health. – Voltaire
  • Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. - Sylvia Boorstein
    Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. – Sylvia Boorstein
  • cool perspective close-up modern abstract concrete sculpture from decordova sculpture garden among bright green grass and sunlit trees - santosha contentment happiness mindfulness mindful present moment Quote: The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. - Abraham Maslow
    The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. – Abraham Maslow

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