What is sattva? In the yoga tradition, there is a beautiful word, sattva, which stands for the qualities of goodness, balance, harmony and serenity. These are the qualities that yogis aim to cultivate through their practices, and indeed the very qualities that most of us can attest to wanting more of in our lives Sattva is one of the three gunas or elemental qualities that are described in the yogic traditional texts. The tradition describes how these three elemental qualities make up the essential aspects of nature: energy, matter and consciousness. They are:
We need the energy of rajas to get up in the morning, get our to-do list done and make change happen in the world. But, when rajas runs rampant, we get over-busy, agitated, tense and irritated.
We need tamas to slow us down after a long day, to wind down and to rest. But, when tamas rules our bodies, we get sluggish, complacent and even obstinate. The goal is to bring all three gunas into balance and yet to favor, maximize, and cultivate sattva. How can we cultivate sattva? I live a complex life and I bet you do too. I know that on any given day the energies of rajas and tamas will be strong influences on my body mind. It's so common or all of us to get swept away with busy-ness, overwhelm, stress, and frustration. It's also common to become dispirited and complacent with when we experience boredom and tedium. The best way I know of to cultivate sattva is to build in daily sattvic habits to buffer the rajas and tamas. Cultivate sattva with these daily habits:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Annie BarrettEducator, certified health coach, educator and yoga instructor. Search this website
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|