Ishvara Pranidhana and the art of surrender……..
Surrender to the postures; the difficult ones reflect lifes struggles, the sweet ones our joy.
Surrender to the outcome of your actions they are not in your control, each day, each practice, just do your best.
Surrender to the actions of the Universe; the marvel of nature, the things you never saw coming.
Surrender to your present difficulties; the pain and the losses, especially the things you tried so hard to control but couldn’t.
Surrender to the definition of yourself; your judgements they are just your way of limiting who you are.
Have a deep, unwavering trust that right now, you are where you are meant to be.
Feel the Universe working beautiful magic through you.
Gabby Harris on Ishvara Pranidhana
The last of the Niyamas and pinacle of self realisation
When I first read the Yamas and Niyamas the one that struck me the most was the last - Ishvara Pranidhana and the whole idea of ‘surrender’. Those of you not familiar with Patanjali I would really encourage you to study his teachings to develop your yoga practice and connection to self.
The asana’s or yoga postures I felt naturally drawn to at this stage in my life are the restorative and yin ones that signify surrender and letting go, the above being my favourite image to capture this.
These times that we are living in of uncertainty, challenge and loss call upon us to dig really deep and find some way of acknowledging that we can’t control things, can’t always change things. Whilst I have spoken in the past about acceptance, beyond acceptance comes surrender.
What does surrender look like? Trust is one element, we want to trust the process and trust that if we jump or fall we will be caught, trust that our life and process has meaning, trust that someone or something has our back. Compassion, can we have compassion for ourselves and what we are going through, be kind and acknowledge that only by surrender can we free ourselves and open our hearts. Can we find that freedom on the other side of surrender? Can we release the ego, that part of us that holds onto every last bit of control so we feel safe with no unexpected surprises ahead and that life will support us. Can we stand alone in the darkness and know that come the morning the light will appear again?
Practice Ishvara Pranidhana on your mat, in savasana, yoga nidra, restorative yoga, yin yoga, earth prayer, moon salutations, meditations, pranayama until it becomes part of your off the mat way of being, in a challenging world.
If you want to work with me to see how you can put these practices into your life, please get in touch….