The acceptance of your reality is a key principle in yoga philosophy, and it is known as santosha. Acceptance is one of the five niyamas described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which are a set of principles to live by with the focus on aligning with universal intelligence.

When it comes to motherhood, santosha boils down to contentment. When we consistently return to a place of contentment with ourselves, our families, and the lives we have today (not the ones we're striving for tomorrow), we begin to embody the santosha philosophy.

Sutras quoted in this article come from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Translations and quotes describing the sutras are from Tantra of the Yoga Sutras: Essential Wisdom for Living with Awareness and Grace by Alan Finger with Wendy Newton.

Santosha in Yoga Philosophy

The niyamas are desribed in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras in Sutra 2.32, and this Sutra is where santosha is defined as, "being content with one's karma and dharma. It is acceptance of What Is."

Authors and translators Finger and Newton further note the definitions of karma and dharma in the context of yoga philosophy. Karma describes your challenges and response to those challenges, while dharma is your life's purpose as guided by your pre-determined life circumstances.

Thus, santosha is the way in which you accept and manage your lot in life. This acceptance leads to an easy way of living, as you flow with challenging circumstances, understanding that they are part of your karma. When you instead push against your circumstances, moving through them becomes a great struggle.

Patanjali describes the benefit of embracing santosha in Sutra 2.42.

Sutra 2.42 Samtosad anuttamah sukha labhah

Alongside the other niyamas, acceptance is critical in laying the groundwork for a yogic path in life, and it opens the channel for engaging with later components of this eight-limbed path.

Applying Santosha in Everyday Motherhood

Santosha is one of the ancient niyamas that requires little effort to understand its application in modern life and motherhood. Acceptance translates into contentment in the modern world. It's the understanding that this is your reality and that you get to respond to and engage with that reality with ease or through struggle.

In motherhood, santosha is the subtle shift from "I have to" to "I get to." I get to tend the home that serves as the foundation for someone's entire childhood. I get to be someone's safe space. I get to witness someone's personality, passions, and priorities unfold with wonder. I get to laugh unburdened again.

Motherhood comes stacked with the biggest love and the greatest joy any of us can experience. It also comes with challenges - late nights, loud tantrums, quiet sacrifice. Santosha is the gentle reminder that accepting the joy means accepting the pain, too. Santosha is the practice that allows us to move through it all with ease.

When you're old and looking back on your life, today is the time you'll look at and remember as deeply special. Acceptance is about looking at today right now as deeply special, not as something to get through. An excellent practice for integrating santosha into your day to day is to use a neutral mantra to remind you to practice acceptance.

Years ago, I embarked on my first big backpacking trip with a group of fellow college students. The leaders of our group gave us a mantra to use when we felt like we were struggling, "This is my current reality." When you're in the backcountry, there's nowhere to else to go. There's just where you are and what you're going to do about it. It turns out that's true in life, too. There's where you are right now and there's the opportunity to accept it with ease or malice.

This is my current reality. And mothering little hearts, shaping little minds, and managing everything that comes with it is a pretty good view to me.

More Yoga for Busy Moms

• The online yoga studio for busy, working moms seeking a slower way of life offers monthly pre-recorded yoga and meditation you can use to sink into a slower pace, plus a slow down framework where you can restructure your most overwhelming challenges into peaceful, rhythmic routines that support you and your family.

• Two-minute Reset Meditations for Routine Calm Days includes ten completely free two-minute meditations for you to capture a moment of calm right now, without spending an hour at the yoga studio or taking paid leave.

• The Mama Naturalist on my website and Substack is a space where I share both conceptual and practical guidance on slowing down, connecting to nature, and living seasonally.

• Mindful Moms Digest offers exclusive yoga and meditation classes, nature stories from a wildlife biologist (me!), and free, supportive resources including links back to every blog post for busy, working moms journeying toward a slower, more seasonal way of life.

• Cultivate Calm Mornings is a structured series of three yoga workshops that supports you in transforming your morning routine from chaotic to calm.