Surrender

The Practice of Surrender

“I am only here for Savasana” was my mantra during the first few months of my yoga practice.  And boy, did I mean it! When I first began yoga, I couldn’t wait for the class to be over so I could lay down!  I mean….get into savasana.  At the time, I didn’t know the benefits of that final resting pose.  My body was just tired and worn, and the “I get to lay down soon” was a great motivator to keep going. 

Being a fan of savasana is totally against my personality.  You would never catch me sitting on my couch binge-watching tv, let alone lying down in a yoga studio.  But there was something about savasana that drew me in—something about the stillness, the quiet, and the surrender. 

Oh, the surrender.  The surrender of my will.  Surrender of my anxious thoughts.  And surrender of all doing. 

At the end of class, when I could sense people around me getting up, I went deeper.  Deeper into stillness.  Deeper into surrender.

In that surrender is where I hear the voice of God.  Where I feel the divine connection of my soul to His will. 

Although I didn't know it at the time, my body and mind longed for the stillness and surrender.  It was the only time I was not fighting an unseen battle—the battle of my mind and the battle of my will.  

I didn’t know it at the time, but what I was experiencing was the yogi principle of Ishvara Pranidhana.  Ishvara Pranidhana is the Niyama, or observance, of  surrender. 

In the book, “The Yamas & Niyamas,” Deborah Adele states, “Surrender invites us to be active participants in our life, totally present and fluid with each moment while appreciating the magnitude and mystery of what we are participating in."

My first tell of me not practicing Ishvara Pranidhana is my breath.  It’s shallow.   I hold it.  I some how think not taking a full breath keeps uncertainty at bay.  Or if I hold my breath, I can control the situation or keep the bad news from reaching my ears.  With my breath restricted, my thoughts begin to run rampant and the crazy train starts to pull out of the station

I want to live a life of Ishvara Pranidhana.  Not of gripping, or holding my breath and running scenarios in my head.  But a life in full active surrender to the present moment and what that moment holds for me.  And in that act of surrender I want to learn to appreciate the magnitude and mystery of what I am participating in.  I don’t want to fear it, control it or try to make sense of it. 

 B. K. S. Iyengar states in his “Light on the Yoga Sutras," "Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and...grace...pours down upon him like a torrential rain."

Grace.

Pours.

Down. 

B.K. you had me at grace…..

That is precisely how I feel in savasana. Laying there, soaking up grace into every cell of my body as it pours down and washes over me.   Reminding me “Thy will be done.” 

How do I take what I long for in Savasana and carrying that off my mat into the world? 

How can I live a life of Ishvara Pranidhana during that hard conversation, cooking dinner after a long day or interacting with the checkout person who is asking me for the 1,0000 time if I want a Target credit card!?   

I may not live every second of every day in total surrender. Still, at least I can approach my mat with an offering and mindset of Ishvara Pranidhana and see where my practice leads. And take my experience off my mat and into the world around me. 

Prayer in Motion

“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.  Each one had a harp and the where holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people”.  Revelations 5:8

My yoga mat is my therapist, my church pew, my gym and a dear friend.  Some days I come to my mat to work out, other days the movement helps me work through some issues stuck in my mind and body.  But most day, I bring petitions to the Lord for myself, friends and foe.  My mat is where I can intercede on behalf of people.  Through my movement, my prayers are lifted up to the high heavens and the Holy One.  Where my prayers, like incense, float up to heaven and are kept in the bowl made known in Revelations.  Every breath that I exhale is a petition towards the heavens and every inhale is me taking in God’s Presence. 

Some people have options about Christians doing yoga, but to me, the movement (asana) aspect of yoga is prayer in motion.  A type of full-body prayer as I move with one breath and one movement to offer my prayers to the King of Kings.  This type of prayer, prayer in motion, allows me to slow down, be intentional and allows the peace of Christ to enter me.  It’s an invitation to pause and reflect.  And allows me to connect with my body and breath.  Two things I neglect to pay attention to on a daily bases. 

When I inhale and lift my hands over head, I imagine gathering the prayers of His people and releasing them to heaven.  Then I humble myself before the Lord as I exhale into a forward fold.  I let my exhale bring me up to a half way lift where I pause and humbly offer petitions to the Lord of Lords who wants to hear from His children.  As I continue to pray with one breath and one movement, I exhale into lunge coming before the Lord on bended knee and lifted hands as a sign of surrender.  My next inhale moves my body into downward facing dog where I take some time to go inward and reflect.  Reflecting on how my body feels. Reflecting where my thoughts are.  And reflecting on how the Spirit is moving within me.  With my next inhale, I come into plank and lower to the mat on the exhale.  Inhaling into cobra I offer my heart to the Lord.  Asking Him to speak His truth and word into my open heart.  The next exhale brings my body back to a downdog and I reflect on what was spoken to me.  I continue to move until I sense the Spirit telling me to rest and then come into Child’s pose and have the Spirit wash over me. 

As I let my practice settle into my body, I image my prayers offered up to the Lord during my practice as incense floating up to the heavens.  The thoughts and words that left my body as breath and vapor are now reaching heaven as sweet incense.  The sweet incense is pleasing to God not because of the fragrance but by what it represents:  the prayers of His child. 

Our prayers are so important to Him that He collects them in “golden bowls” in heaven.  Your prayers.  My prayers.  All collected and kept in golden bowls in heaven.  Wow!  We serve an awesome God that He would care to hear all our prayers and keep them in such a precious item. 

So, next time you pray, by moving or staying still, envision your prayers leaving your mouth, and flowing up to the heavens where they are collected and kept as treasures.