Your Everyday Life is Your Spiritual Life

Contentment (or santosha) is on the “To-Do” list in classic yoga, and part of the path to happiness. My teacher explained that on the physical level, contentment is being able to sit still. I can do that – at least in a chair or for a little while on a meditation cushion. The whole practice of hatha yoga – the stretching and twisting you do in a yoga class – is really about being able to sit still in a meditation pose.

It’s the verbal aspect of contentment that I am having a problem with right now. According to my teacher, verbal contentment is not complaining. It is astonishing how much a part of our cultural conversation complaining is. It’s not just used to vent anger at a specific situation. It’s used to build rapport – to bond with others over common aggravations of everyday circumstances. It’s part of humor. And it’s that sub verbal murmuring we do as we read an email with another task from the boss or from another net newbie forwarding the “Bill Gates will pay you for reading this” email.

The only way to tell exactly how much complaining you’re doing is to have a ‘complaint fast.’ It’s like fasting from food, only it’s spending 24 hours not complaining. Yikes! I try over and over again to be a happy camper, and then something sets me off. The next thing I know I’m talking back to a commercial on TV or agreeing with somebody at work about how bad the weather is (it’s spring so we’re in the rain complaint zone, having completed the “oh, no, it’s snow” winter rants).

Anyway, I’m done complaining about my complaining. Remember be aware not only of what you’re doing, but of what you’re saying. Verbal contentment is a powerful practice.

Here’s a poem from Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh that is a type of contentment meditation practice:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment.