Going deeper in your yoga practice - Santosha

To offer more yogic knowledge, in conjunction with Lisa at Yoga Loft Carrickfergus, we have asked our teachers to write short articles about the yamas and niyamas. 
They are the first two limbs of the eightfold path of yoga described by Patanjali in the yoga sutras. These are fundamental concepts offering ethical and moral guidelines to yogis.

Saṃtoṣā, by Portia Sorensen

Sūtra 2:42: saṃtoṣād anuttamaḥ sukhalābhaḥ

"From contentment, unsurpassed happiness is attained" 
 

The second niyama, santosha (saṃtoṣa contentment) invites us to shift from a mindset of lack to one of active gratitude.

I’ll be honest—I often get stuck in the "I'll be happy when..." trap. Even when a goal finally arrives, I find my brain instantly skipping ahead to the next thing. It makes me wonder: will I ever be truly satisfied?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having dreams and ambitions, but external achievements alone will never bring the deep happiness and fulfilment we're searching for. Lasting contentment has to come from within.

For me, santosha is a lovely reminder that there is enough in this moment. It encourages me to find joy in what I already have, rather than constantly chasing what I don't. After all, there is no contentment without gratitude. The more we intentionally practise gratitude, the more it expands our awareness, gradually rewiring our minds to notice the abundance that's already present instead of becoming consumed by our attachments, fears, and endless desire for more.

When we let go of the constant pursuit of "what's next," we create space for something far more meaningful: presence. And it is here that we discover the magic of inner peace and true contentment—not because everything is perfect, but because we learn to appreciate what is, and who we already are.

Thank you Portia - I think many of us will recognise these thoughts!
We will endeavour to share more about these topics here regularly to build a mini accessible yogic knowledge online library :)

You can find Portia's profile here if you want to keep on exploring our website.