Surrender, then surrender some more
- Amy Littlefield
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
This week in my yoga classes has been all about the sweet release of letting go and trusting in something bigger than ourselves.
In yoga philosophy, we learn about the yamas and niyamas as part of the 8-limb path toward enlightenment. The yamas and niyamas come right at the beginning. They are ethical guidelines to help prepare us on our yoga journey, and they come even before the poses, the breath, the meditation. There are 10 of them and they are pretty fascinating (and helpful!). Over the past month, I've been sharing one a week as a theme in my yoga classes.
This week we are exploring Ishvara Pranidhana, the surrender and devotion to the divine. What does it mean exactly to let go and surrender? To release the grip of control and just trust that something greater is on your side? To me, this can sometimes sound like "Jesus, take the wheel" and at the same time like, don't try hard, don't even give up. It truly becomes this tough balance. Of trying to plan for every outcome and have things always work out exactly like we want them to, all the while accepting what is and being okay with it. Truthfully, that is a hard pill for me to swallow as someone who has big expectations and aspirations for her life! And that is where the devotion comes in, the understanding that we aren't separate from the rest of the world and knowing that everything is connected. Plus having faith in something greater than ourselves, whatever we want to call it.
How can we learn devotion and connection to the divine (God, the universe, Mother Earth, etc.)? Well, what if everything we encounter can be seen as the divine? Viewed as an opportunity to surrender and trust in a plan we can't quite see right now? There is a saying that the mountain won't get you, it will be the pebble that is in your shoe while climbing it. That, to me, feels like this. We can learn from every experience, and everyone can be our teacher. Especially the people who challenge us the most. We have to surrender to the pebble, to the frustrations, to things not working out, to the change of plans when we want to go one way and something makes us go another. That is the letting go and trusting. That is the believing and the faith. That is the devotion to the divine.
When I was in Thailand last fall, I went to a monastery and sat on the floor to meditate and pray. And then a jackhammer started outside, like 10 feet away, while I sat in this previously peaceful, temple. Like, what?! And that was where I realized - this is the work. This is the surrender. This is Ishvara Pranidhana. It was connected to me. It was the noise in my head more than the noise outside. And I could fight it, or I could trust it and let go. So that's what I did. I cried a bit, I felt it all, and I let go into something greater than myself.
Each moment, we all have the opportunity to do the same. The lessons are there. In the yamas and niyamas, and in many spiritual teachings. It is up to us what we decide to do with them.
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