Santosa is one of the Five Moral Observances, or Niyamas. According to Gates and Kension (2002), “The niyamas are the fundamental practices that sustain a life based on love” (p. 83), and santosa is one of five habits that help sustain faith throughout our lives and protect us from spiritual harm. Santosa is “the feeling of being content with what we have.” (Desikachar, 1995, p. 101). But where does santosa come from? How do we learn to be content with our lives, despite our current circumstances? Is santosa an attitude that we approach all facets of our life with, or do we experience contentment as a result of what happens to us in our lives? In other words, is contentment an input, or an outcome?
I have come to believe that if we rely on our circumstances to determine our peace and contentment, we will live a very vulnerable life. We will be blissfully happy when things are going well, and we will be woefully disheartened when we face life’s toughest challenges. Because it is impossible to live a life without challenge and strife, when we live our lives in this reactive manner we run the risk of living a life consumed by disappointments because we allow our circumstances to dictate how we feel. When we live a reactive life, we can only be happy when the outcome of our activities or desires meets our hopes and expectations.
On the contrary, when we bring a spirit of santosa or contentment to all situations in our life, we save ourselves from repeated disappointments because we unconditionally accept the outcomes of our decisions, actions, and circumstances. This notion was very difficult for me to understand at first. How can we work hard and set goals, and then not be disappointed if we don’t meet our goals or expectations? Santosa, however, isn’t about not caring about the outcome of things. Rather, it is about not allowing the normal ups and downs of life to determine how you feel about yourself or how happy you are in your life. For example, let’s say we are training for the Olympics and hoping to win a gold medal. Although we set our sights on winning and therefore prepare and train to the best of our ability, we will not be discontent if we do not win. The disappointment will still be there but we won’t allow this disappointment to define us. Rather, if we are practicing santosa, we set our goals within the spirit of contentment, accepting the outcome for what it is and no matter what it is. While feelings of disappointment may be present, we understand that what we need to feel content and complete cannot be found in accomplishments, accolades, or other external things. Contentment comes from within us and not from outside of us. It is stable and consistent, no matter what is happening in the world around us.
Sometimes it is very difficult to tap into this inner source; this part of us that is completely whole, completely safe, and completely at peace. Our yoga practice can help us get here. Through our yoga practice we learn to be less attached to outcomes, and we learn how to begin to accept things for what they are. Our yoga practice helps us learn how to care about things without letting our contentment be based upon what happens to us and around us. If we show up to the events in our life with a content spirit, then we will invariably be content as a result of our actions, no matter what the outcome.