The Yoga of Surrender
Yoga is such a broad, yet detailed topic that you could spend your whole life in pursuit of one tiny part of it, and it seems to me that most people in the west who choose yoga are choosing that tiny point of focus to be the postures. Over the past year, my practice and teaching have evolved to be less posture-focused, and more encompassing of the system of ashtanga yoga (the eight-limbed path, not the Mysore practice) as a whole instead of picking at pieces and parts. For those unfamiliar, here is the eight-limbed path as presented in the Yoga Sutras:
Yamas- moral restraints
ahimsa- nonviolence
satya- truthfulness
asteya- nonstealing
brahmacharya- moderation
aparigraha- non-grasping
Niyamas- moral observances
sauca- cleanliness
santosha- contentment
tapas- discipline
svadyaya- self-study
Isvara Pranidhana- surrender
Asana- postures
Pranayama- breathing
Pratyahara- withdrawing the senses
Dharana- focus
Dhyana- meditation
Samadhi- absorption
As far as I can tell, all parts work together toward one state of being. You cannot separate the different parts or it ceases to be yoga. And as a friend mentioned to me last week, there are a lot of people out there practicing the postures who do not practice yoga. And though the system really needs to be seen as a whole, certain elements are highlighted in my life at different times.
Recently, Isvara Pranidhana has been a focus for me. To surrender, you have to change your perspective. If you are “I” focused and ego-driven, life will continually be a struggle. If you operate from the perspective that life is about “ME” and “I” am most important, then you will naturally feel personally affronted when life doesn’t go your way. When you become goal-oriented instead of surrendering to what the universe has in store for you, it is easy to be disappointed when you don’t meet your goal.
If, however, you can step outside of your ego and surrender to something beyond yourself, the world might make a little more sense. If you can focus on the quality and spirit behind your actions instead of the results of them, you might find that the world falls into place a little more easily, even if that place is unexpected.
For instance, it is easy right now, when I focus on myself, to see the obvious amount of lack in my life. I personally lack energy and time to do all the things I want to do with my business, which in turn seems to lead to a lack of money. I lack patience with my husband and my dogs, and I lack the space in my brain it might take to focus on a healthier diet or adding more activity to my life. I have all these goals that I would like to meet that are not possible right now, and I feel inadequate in many areas of my life. Oftentimes I sit back and wonder why am I even teaching yoga, because I just don’t feel like I have anything worth teaching. There are a lot of “I”s in this paragraph...
But in a rare moment of clarity, I am able to surrender to what is happening in my life, my business, and my yoga practice and enjoy the natural flow of the universe. What it all comes back to is being in- nay, cherishing, basking in!- the present moment. Some times are easier than others. Sometimes the sun is out, and the dogs walk quietly and well-behaved, and I can enjoy life easily. Other times it takes conscious effort to act from and be in a place of love and gratitude without attaching to an outcome. Sometimes surrender is hard.
Sometimes I am angry when my body declines into illness on a holiday normally devoted to fun and merriment. Other times, I can appreciate the forced rest and solitude and surrender to my physical state.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand what direction I should take professionally, and it is a struggle when I feel like I don’t contribute financially to my household. Other times I can enjoy where I am in the process of growing as a teacher and a business owner.
And I think this whole surrender thing lends itself to a disconnect for would-be beginners. Most people I talk to about attending yoga have a goal in mind that they haven’t reached yet.
“When I lose weight and/or become flexible, I can go to yoga.” I hear it ALL THE TIME, and I don’t understand it! Yoga is not some pie-in-the-sky thing meant only for elite bodies and minds. But, then again, it requires some surrender to step into a yoga class, and I think that is where the communication breaks down. People don’t “get” that yoga is available to them because they can’t get past their insecurities.
Listen, I am not asking you to do anything beyond your means. I’m not asking you to be thin and do the splits plus a million push ups. Not even close. Just walk in the door and surrender to whatever you might experience. I have no disillusions- you might hate it. But you might discover that if you can be nice enough to yourself to try the postures, they feel kinda good on your muscles and joints, and if you do them you might be able to lie still. If you can lie still, you might be able to focus long enough to take deeper breaths, which will calm the nervous system down and make you less stressed and anxious. And you might like that.
