It is a little-known fact that in book 3 of the Yoga Sutras it talks about "superpowers" that one can attain with dedication to their practice. Things like levitation, and teleportation may become possible for the advanced yogi. (I will let you know if this ever happens to me 😊)

Instead, I prefer to focus on the very real "Every Day Superpowers" yoga gives us.

• emotional regulation
• finding inner guidance
• creating a relationship with myself
• an inner experience of contentment

One of the greatest everyday superpowers we can tap into through yoga practice...is a connection to a constant source of INNER CONTENTMENT. This is Santosha- the second Niyama in the 8 limbs of yoga.

Santosha is the antidote to the treadmill that most modern day humans find themselves stuck on.

Always trying to fix our life, solve problems, and finally pull things together so THEN we can be content.

We listen to endless advertising telling us that this outfit, this car, or this trip will bring us happiness.

So we stay running on the hamster wheel of consumerism.

Jumping from one momentary external happiness and immediately grasping for the next one...

Stuck in this exhausting process that can go on and on until our final breath.

Santosha shows us the way out of that endless cycle.

It reminds us that external happiness is contingent on circumstances and very transient, therefore it has no endpoint.

Instead, Santosha encourages us to turn IN and settle gently into the ever-present internal contentment that resides within each of us.

It can take some work to learn HOW to sink down into this spot.

Saucha (cleanliness and cleansing practices) helps by removing the "residue" if life that clouds and clutters our inner world.

Through Saucha it becomes easier to peer inside and see down to our True Self.

The more you soften and float down, the more aware we become of our inner support system.

The clear crisp guidance of the wisdom layer (Vijyanamaya Kosha)

The gentle guidance of Intuition

And the ever-present glow of contentment radiating from the Bliss Layer (Anandamaya Kosha)

This is wonderful news!

There is no need to fix every aspect of our life to feel contentment

There may be difficulty and challenge or even pain and chaos in our life, but we can still sink down to our center to rest in that experience of contentment.

A form of contentment that is not impacted by external circumstances.

Now THAT is a superpower that I want to achieve :)

If you would like to join us in the 5 part series on Yoga's Niyamas- To form a greater relationship with SELF Join us here: https://laura-goellner.heymarvelous.com/product/70808

See you there!

-Laura

Occupational Therapist

Yoga Therapist

www.LauraGyoga.com