On the last day of Doug Swenson’s workshop, he discussed The Eight Limbs of Yoga. The eight limbs are not that complicated. Basically they can be broken into three parts: ethical (yamas and niyamas), physical (asana, pranayama, and mental (pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi). Now I could go into depth here and define all of the above, but what I really want to talk about is the second niyama.

The second niyama is contentment or santosa. It means being at peace with where you are right now. Doug elaborated on this to say that it doesn’t mean that you can’t aspire for better or to be some where else, but you can also be content with where you are in this moment. I feel like this year has been a practice of santosa for me. I got to thinking that maybe I’ve been a little toO hung up on being content with where I am right now and I’ve forgotten to work on the aspiring for better things.

I’ve been grumbly about the rain and drizzle that has settled over us for the past week. Grumbly about all the things I can’t do because of it. This morning, driving to work under gloomy rain heavy clouds, my heart sunk at the thought of walking the inside track today. The more I looked out the window, the more I thought about just sucking it up and walking outside. I mean, we are planning on moving to place that sees an average rainfall of 36.3″ a year. So, I donned my rain jacket and headed out. The battery on the iPod went dead by the time I made it to the capitol. For more then half of the walk it was just me, the rain/drizzle, and the sounds around me.

So this morning I feel like I truly practiced santosa, being content to walk in the rain while thinking that this is what it would be like living in Portland. The peace of hearing the swish of my arms as I walked, the splashing of puddles as cars drove down the streets, feeling the tops of my thighs get damp and cold as my pants collected the water dripping down my jacket. Being happy and content with all of it.