“Do the next right thing”
“Let Go, Let God”
“God always has a plan”
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
My Thoughts on Surrendering
I have heard so many different phrases in my life offering wisdom with regard to surrender. I quite probably have invited these comments due to a tendency to attach my energies in ways that offended others. Deb Adele in The Yamas & Niyamas characterizes surrender as giving up the ego to a higher purpose, inviting us to pay attention to what life is asking of us. To put it in even simpler terms, surrender is the practice of letting go.
Ego loves to tell us that we are God; that we are in control or ought to be. Selfish, irrational thoughts and feelings can race through our minds obscuring our connection to a Higher Power and to one another.
Surrender invites us to accept a possible higher, unselfish purpose to our being. Dharma. It encourages us to pay attention to the world around us and be willing to grow in a direction that may be more useful to life. Surrender invites us to trust. Metaphorically speaking, we are encouraged by the loving divine force to be as an acorn growing into an oak.
We are asked to be actively involved and attentive to the stream of life in the moment, opening our hearts to what is. Flow. Selfless giving. Energizing joy.
Tamas Tapas Ahimsa: Inertia Self Discipline Love
“Coming back to the mat” has become my new way to cope when life challenges me. What this means to me is to quiet my racing mind with breath. When I am teaching or doing a physical practice of poses, I invite relaxation into parts of the body with breath. My mind quiets. I enjoy peace. I emerge anew, no longer paralyzed. The mind body spirit connection of a yoga practice has been a beautiful gift to share.
“I.26 Unconditioned by time, Isvara is the teacher of even the most ancient teachers.
Surrender can give us certain knowledge of our interconnectedness with the rest of the world. We all encounter teachers in our journeys. We may teach others as well. The connection and openness to one another benefit all.
“Although all knowledge is within you, and you need not get it from outside, somebody is still necessary to help you understand your own knowledge. That is why a teacher, or guru, is necessary… Union with God is the real Yoga.” The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Maybe it’s your first time doing yoga or perhaps you have been practicing for years – regardless, I invite you to join me in a class, workshop or retreat. We can practice what it means to truly surrender and discover our place and purpose in this world.
