Avoid chasing happiness with the practice of samtosha

This week, how often did you notice love and beauty or were content and at ease with yourself? The Yoga practice of samtosha, or contentment, is a reminder to be at peace with what you have in each moment. 

The practice of samtosha is freeing. It can support you to break the cycle of rajas and tamas that keeps you chasing happiness and excitement. When you resist what’s in front of you and live in an ideal future or past, you’re creating suffering and illusion and working against the flow of nature.

You may experience frustration, anxiety, or impatience. Or it can be hyperstimulation, strong tastes, strong emotions, and excessive highs and lows. But nature always balances things out. For every high there is a low and vice versa.

Reduce the highs and lows by setting a reminder during the day no matter where you are,  to pause and take 12 slow, conscious breaths and smile to yourself. It can be at the office, in the car waiting to pick up the kids, at the airport, or right before bed. 

These are your opportunities to practice samtosha. It might be challenging at first, but it becomes easier and quicker the more you practice. 

Remember this: The universe never stops providing what you need to grow as a human being, spirit in a body. You are enough. Let go of the striving for what you think will make you happy. Discover the depth of your love and inner calm. 

This sense of ease and flow is always present and available to you. Find appreciation for nature, and with that alone you’ll never run out of things to be thankful for.

Tune into the podcast Samtosha: The Sweet Space of Acceptance on the Everyday Ayurveda and Yoga if you’d like to hear more.

Originally Published on https://www.halepule.com/blog

Myra Lewin Hale Pule Ayurveda and Yoga

Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ayurveda Yoga Therapist, Myra Lewin is a professional member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and a master yogini. Myra has amassed more than 100,000 hours of Yoga teaching experience spanning 30+ years of practice.

In 1999 Myra Lewin founded Hale Pule Ayurveda and Yoga.

She is the author of several acclaimed books on Ayurvedic nourishment including, Freedom in Your Relationship with Food , Simple Ayurvedic Recipes, Dine with Myra, and Simple Ayurvedic Recipes II. Myra is also the host of two remarkable podcasts on holistic healing, “Everyday Ayurveda and Yoga at Hale Pule” and “Spark Your Intuition”.