Letting go, surrendering, letting be… You decide how you would like to phrase it but either way it’s easier said then done! To surrender to the processes of growth to the process of change is a BIG DEAL! I often find myself amazed at how hard I fight to hang on to or work against something when my heart tells me to just let go, just surrender. I find myself over and over again surrendering to the act of surrendering. In Yoga we have the opportunity to hold poses for strength and flexibility and then we have opportunities to hold poses that simply surrender to the process of letting go. For example in Final Relaxation or Child poses we are given the opportunity to be with our breath, on our mat with nothing to worry about or hold on to…. Surrender. But even in these moments we fight and we work against ourselves instead. The amazing and beautiful thing about Yoga (and life) is that each time we come to our mats we have the chance to practice this act of surrender. Just like in life everyday we are presented with opportunities to surrender, some days we fight like hell to hold on and some days we take a deep breath and let our bodies know that today we surrender. No matter what our choice is we are doing the best we can in that moment, but when we find ourselves continually being given the same challenges or running through the same thought patterns we could ponder if maybe surrendering in that moment might be an option, it may feel painful but notice what happens after the pain subsides.
Speaking with a friend yesterday about her process of surrender and how she has been able to shift her perspective in a big way because of it got me thinking. I started to think about how important it is to acknowledge when we do surrender and the shift that occurs afterwards. We have to give ourselves credit for this challenging processes. I am curious in what ways have you found surrender to be valuable in your personal growth? Feel free to share in the comments below or on the FB newsfeed attached to this link.