The Yoga of Enoughness – Practicing Santosha On and Off the Mat

 Yes, I made that word up: enoughness. Doesn’t it sound delicious? Like a deep exhale after a long day. Santosha, the Sanskrit word for contentment, is about exactly that: being at peace with what is. Enough as it stands.

But before we dive in, let’s do something a little unusual for a blog. Take a moment to pause. Gently close your eyes. Slow your breath. Just breathe consciously for three to five rounds, inhale... exhale... and then open your eyes and keep reading.

(How did that go? That might be the first time I’ve ever guided breathwork through the written word!)

What Is Santosha?

Santosha is often translated as contentment, satisfaction, or acceptance. It’s one of the niyamas, the personal observances in the eight-limbed path of yoga outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Now, contentment can sound a little passive, like giving up or settling. But true Santosha isn’t resignation, it’s peaceful participation. It’s the art of being in the moment without needing to fix, flee, or flaunt anything. You don’t need to earn it. You simply breathe into it.

Enoughness in the modern world

Modern life doesn’t exactly support contentment. Our culture thrives on dissatisfaction. We’re told to upgrade, hustle, do more, be more. Even when we’re sitting still, we’re scrolling, doomscrolling the news, checking messages, watching other people’s highlight reels.

This keeps us hungry, distracted, and always just slightly disappointed.

Santosha on the mat

The yoga mat is a great place to practice Santosha. You’ve shown up on purpose. You’ve turned your attention inward. That’s already a win.

Practising Santosha means accepting the body that arrived today. It’s probably different from yesterday’s body. And tomorrow will be different again. That’s part of the practice, progress without perfection.

Notice the hips, the heart, the breath, and just... be with it. Let go of comparison. Let go of yesterday. Let go of “better.” Be here, as you are.

Santosha off the mat (oof, harder)

Let’s be real, it’s easier to feel content while lying in savasana than while standing in a slow-moving grocery line or navigating a tough day at work. Even yoga teachers struggle with this.

But Santosha isn’t about floating above reality. It’s about being in it, and still finding enoughness.

It’s choosing to focus on what is instead of what’s missing. It’s being grateful for the ordinary, not just the highs. It’s accepting the messy, beautiful, real life we live every day.

The enemies of contentment

Capitalism, conditioning, social media. (Don’t even get me started about the commodification of Yoga.)

We’re constantly sold the idea that we should be different, better, faster, shinier. Add to that trauma, injustice, and grief, and yeah, contentment can feel out of reach.

Let’s be clear, Santosha is not complacency. If something in your life needs action, if there’s injustice or harm, it’s okay to feel discontent. That’s not failure. That’s awareness. And sometimes contentment begins when we stop pretending we’re okay, and start showing up for what’s real.

Tools for cultivating Santosha

1. Journal your enough.
Instead of a to-do list, try an enough list.
Something like:
– I went to yoga
– I folded laundry
– I ate something nourishing
That’s enough. You’re enough.

2. Practice mindfulness.
Stillness, meditation, or even just sipping tea without distraction helps create space for contentment to arise.

3. Go outside.
Nature is the original master of enoughness.
Trees don’t compete. Flowers don’t compare.
Each thing just is, and that’s the whole miracle.

A story about getting lost, and then found

One summer day, I was out running in the woodlot with my partner. He got ahead of me, and I lost track of which path he took. I wasn’t truly lost, but I didn’t want to head off in the wrong direction. So I did the only thing I could think of, I sat down on a log.

A little annoyed, a little wound up, I waited. And then something shifted.

The forest held me. The light filtered softly through the trees. The ground was quiet. And in that stillness, I felt... peace. I didn’t need to get anywhere. I didn’t need to do anything.

That was Santosha.

I often feel happiness when I’m running, accomplishment, endorphins, achievement. But what I felt sitting still on that log? That was contentment. No striving, no winning, just being. Enoughness.

I feel that sometimes on my mat, especially during savasana. A sweet collective stillness.

That moment where I can say:
This is enough. I am enough. We are enough.

Invitation: practice santosha today

Take a moment, maybe right now.
Set down your phone, your plans, your worries.
Look around. Find something beautiful. Breathe.
Let yourself be content, no doing, no striving. Just being.

And if it helps, say it out loud (or silently in your heart):

This is enough. I am enough.

A Poem: Enough

I chased my goals with empty hands,
believing more would make me whole.
But the horizon just kept on moving
and I always wanted more.

I thought Kathadin owed me praise
for climbing through the trees and rocks,
but found its silence wiser still,
Guiding me to sit at the top and just be.

The Wolastoq river did not ask to shine,
Odell trees do not compete to grow.
They simply are, and in their being,
taught me all I need to know.

No podium finishes at the end of my race,
no drumroll at the end of my strife,
just breath and bone, and a soft knowing.

I am not behind. This is my life.

As always, your everyday Yogi,

Kris Murphy