Moving closer to santosha

Obviously I am constantly striving to practice tapas, using this discipline and motivation to keep moving forward. However this can sometimes detract from the practice of santosha, contentment. Enjoying where you are rather than looking for where you could be.
So for me this trip has been beneficial in so many ways. Admiring the beauty of snow capped mountains, and being glad I don’t live there! Getting the chance to really appreciate what I have at home and how much my life suits me and who I am. So basically it’s done what a vacation should do, taken me to beautiful places, allowed me to spend quality time with family and friends, and allowed me to really appreciate the life I lead when not on holiday. So the feeling of wanting to move away was necessary to realise that actually I find my santosha at home.

Finding the discipline to pause

think that is one of the things yoga has taught me, the discipline of slowing down. To dawdle and meander and enjoy each moment. To have the discipline to maintain a practice and find time to pause in every day. Discipline…the mere notion of which often has negative connections. However the avoidance of self discipline is often taking you further from freedom, not closer. It is useful to remember that habits and structure are often established for good reasons!
I was reminded why i need the discipline of a regular practice. That for me, happiness is discipline and enough pauses to remind me that the happiness and peacefulness are always there just waiting for me to quieten down, to pause and to notice 🙂