Sip of Sattva

Take a moment to tune into your internal sensations. Is there a sense of busyness? A sense of sluggishness? A sense of steadiness? Have you ever had that experience of your mind racing? Or maybe it’s the opposite you’ve noticed. Like your mind will not operate the way you wish it to because of a fog. Have you ever experienced your mind calm and ready? A mind that is both at ease but able to function the way you want, when you want, and for the duration you would like?

When I first started working on these ideas the very content seemed like the stuff of super powers. I would have chosen capacity to use my mind the way I wish over flying any day... well maybe not any day... anyway the subject greatly intrigued me. The word for calm but ready in the system in Yoga is called Sattva. Other words associated with the idea are luminous, bright, vibrant, relaxed, but with a focused nature. It is thought in the yoga tradition that to move towards the goal of enlightenment a certain amount of Sattva is needed in the system. So, one of the main goals of the Yogi is to cultivate Sattva in the system. I find myself repeating the words, “When in doubt, build Sattva” to both myself and students.

So, how do you build Sattva? It depends. As we all have different constitutions, daily life expectations, and preferences, Sattva cultivation is a unique process. However, exploring these options will be a great start:

• Walk in nature

• Spend time with animals

• Remember a time that you felt calm and focused, use that as a focus to recreate the feeling within your system

• Spend a few minutes each day taking slow and steady breaths

• Work with a teacher or coach that you trust that can help you find your way of building Sattva