Contentment in the Time of Corona
What if your Nervous System felt small doses of contentment - every day?
What if your nervous system felt a dose of “contentment” several times throughout your day? (of course your body/mind/heart/soul would be there too!) Or even when you lay down to sleep at night? What if?!
My “Art of Joyful Living: Exploring the Yamas & Niyamas” group happens to be exploring Santosha this month – one of the Niyamas (practices) meaning “contentment”. I hear many people more on the fear, worry, even the panic end of the spectrum than contentment. Yoga teaches me how to BE in the moment: contentment IS possible! Even in the Time of Corona!
Swami Rama was known to call Santosha “falling in love with your life.” Many wisdom traditions teach us that NOW – this exact moment – is the only moment that is real and true. (The past is finished; the future hasn’t happened yet.) And given the past up to this point, the present moment could not possibly be other than it is. By definition the present moment is complete and therefore perfect – as it is.
When I am worried, angry, sad – I find when I can accept these feelings as simply what is, then I can be content, sailing on even keel, even with these feelings preset. When I wish the present to be other than it is, I am “arguing with life.”
In resisting life as it is, I create tension in my breath and body, strain in my tissues. My nervous system goes into flight, flight, or freeze. This puts additional strain on all my systems: such as digestion, heart, lungs, and is one cause of inflammation.
Contentment is NOT disinterest, denial, collapse, giving up – it's a full engagement with the very essence of life itself. Meeting life exactly as it is. To the best of my ability I become present to my body, my heart, my mind simultaneously without judging or seeking to fix what I notice. I am learning to be content while feeling sadness, worry, even anger, and of course joy and wonder. I neither resist the “unpleasant” nor grab onto the “pleasant”. What is astonishing is that when we bring our awareness to something without judgment - shift happens.
When I am simply present to these feelings — then contentment effortlessly washes over me.
If there is action to be taken, I am learning to trust I will “know” the what, the how, the when. I am then be able to act more skillfully in my life, in the world.
This is a practice. Every moment. For a lifetime. You can begin with small 10 min meditations to feel this in your nervous system. (guided sample below) See if you can feel the ease settle into your breath, your tissues, your hearts, your minds. It may not last long at first, but you will build both a “taste” for this and the skill. From this small seed, you can bring this into your daily life, nurture it, grow the gift of contentment.
Try the Guided Meditation below – seated or reclining. Wherever you are comfy, warm enough, your body supported so that your spine is long and neutral with its natural curves and your breath is free and easy. (more resources at TLC.org/support) If you would like to work with me privately for support for body, mind, soul - schedule a remote session in Meditation, Therapeutic Yoga, Breathing - or gather a group for a private session! Contact me to explore what is possible!