Ishvara Pranidhana

Reading from Tuesday and Wednesday, March 31st and April 1st, 2015 yoga class

The following is from the book, The Yamas and the Niyamas, by Deborah Adele

NIYAMA 5  Ishvara Pranidhana-  Surrender to the divine

Ishvara means supreme, God, Brahman, true self; Pranidhana means  dedication, devotion, surrender.

Ishvara Pranidhana, the jewel of surrender, pre-supposes that there is a divine force at work in our lives, whether we call it God, grace, providence, or life, this force is greater than we are and cares deeply about us. We have had tastes of this jewel of surrender: we know it as being "in the flow" or "in the zone"... or perhaps watching a sunset, hiking in the mountains, holding a baby or caught up in something you love to do when suddenly time disappeared and you disappeared with it.

Savasana is a pose to practice surrender.  In savasana there is nothing for us to do--lie there, releasing tension in our bodies, letting go of effort and trusting that the breath will breathe us and the body will renew itself.  The practice of savasana is one of the most important practices we can do, for it is here, that we begin to learn the meaning of letting go of all the ways we physically and mentally fight with life.  Getting rid of our armor opens a world of possibility and makes us lighter and more comfortable for the journey.

Doug Keller uses the imagery of ice chunks to help us grasp this concept of expansion and release.  He likens life to a flowing stream and we are ice chunks in that stream.  We are the same quality as the stream, however we are frozen in our tensions and fears.  Our practice is to melt ourselves into the flow of the stream, becoming one with the flow of life.

Life knows what to do better than we do.  Our task is simply to let go and receive each moment with an open heart.

Swami Rama said:  Do what is yours to do.  Don't do what is not yours to do.

Surrender of the ego for a higher purpose.