The Niyamas

saucha (cleanliness),

santosha (contentment),

tapas (discipline or burning desire or conversely, burning of desire),

svadhyaya (self-study or self-reflection, and study of spiritual texts), and

isvarapranidaha (surrender to a higher power)

The second of the niyamas (personal observances) from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, santosha is essentially the opposite of desire, of lack, of feeling that we need things to be different before we can be happy. In Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar writes, “the yogi feels the lack of nothing and so is naturally content.”

“Today I choose to live with gratitude for the love that fills my heart, the peace that rests within my spirit, and the voice of hope that says all things are possible.”

“Lately I’ve been replacing my “I’m sorry”s with “thank you”s, like instead of ‘sorry I’m late’, I’ll say ‘thanks for waiting for me‘, or instead of saying, ‘sorry for being such a mess‘, I’ll say ‘thank you for loving me and caring about me unconditionally‘.” – Unknown

“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding.” —Alice Walker

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” —Robert Brault

“If you knew your life were ending at midnight tonight, who would you still want to thank, forgive and say ‘I love you’ to? Why wait?” – David Scott

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” —Dalai Lama

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” —Alphonse Karr

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, a house into a home, a simple meal into a feast, a stranger into a friend, a touch into an embrace.” – David Scott

“What you seek is seeking you,” – Rumi

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” – Amy Collette

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” – Lionel Hampton

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha

“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” – Mary Davis

“You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.” Rumi

Mixed Bag

“What is planted in each person’s soul will sprout.” – Rumi

“You have been the harshest voice inside your head. You have the power to be the kindest.” Davidji

“Courage is knowing it might hurt and doing it anyway. Stupidity is the same thing. Wisdom is knowing the difference and making to correct choice.” David Scott

There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“Use your voice for kindness, your ears for empathy, your hands for helping others, your mind for truth, and your heart for compassionate love.” – David Scott

“Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.” Jack Kornfield

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

“I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.” – Rumi

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain

When you are evolving to your higher self, the road is long and lonesome, but you’re simply shedding energies that no longer match the frequency of your destiny. The hardest walk is walking alone, but it’s also the walk that makes you the strongest.”

“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” – Rumi

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not in the branch but in her own wings. Always believe in yourself.”