How many times in your life have you found yourself fighting against what is happening, clinging to how you want things to stay or wishing things were different as a way to find control? For me, it’s way too many to count! This is what the last Niyama, ethical yogic practice, addresses. This Niyama is Isvara Pranidhana, translated as Surrendering to God. To me, it is the practice of letting go of what I think I can control (but really have no control over) and connect back to trust and faith.
Surrendering, in some circles, can be a sign of weakness. This is hardly the case in Isvara Pranidhana. Letting go can sometimes be the toughest thing we can do and takes courage, vulnerability and strength. To be willing to face our fears that are sending us outside of ourselves to find control, is one of the most brave acts that a person can perform. It is this act that can set us free.
I also know that the word ‘God’ can be a loaded one for many depending on your life experiences. Please don’t let a word 
continue to limit you. Find another way to define it. Just simply thinking of surrendering to the reality of what is happening right now is helpful practice. It’s all about transcending our ego, our limiting definitions and beliefs and all that is impermanent. Anything that changes is impermanent. Yoga is about discerning what is impermanent and what is permanent or Truth.
If you are someone who reads more spiritual self-help books or spiritual scriptures, you probably have found that after a few, they all start to sound the same with just different ways of communicating the same thing. That is because they are all speaking of Truth and Truth does not change. This is what we are to practice surrendering to in the practice of Isvara Pranidhana.
Practices
Some concrete ways to consciously practice Isvara Pranidhana to get you started:
- Read the Serenity Prayer daily. It speaks directly to letting go of what you can’t control and take responsibility for what you can control.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
- In helping the mind let go of a story it has created about the future or the past, come back to the facts of what is happening right now, the Who, What, Where, When. Emotions and assumptions are not fact.
- From Deborah Adele’s book “Yamas and Niyamas,” one practice she mentions is “…watch your attitude and responses to the moment. Are you fearful, trusting, fighting, judging, or annoyed? Notice if there is a pattern to your attitude.”
And one of my favorites is practicing being grateful. We take so much for granted with a sense of entitlement and “my right,” which ends up creating tension and anger. This body, all that we materially have, the cultural system we live in are all impermanent. They all change over time and they will not come with us when we die. Pausing to say thank you for these things in your life right now as they may not be with us tomorrow. Notice what happens when you remember to be grateful. (A guided meditation practice in my blog “The Gift of Gratitude.”
- Every time you do something, offer it to God or to the greater good of all beings. Whether it’s work related to your job, things you do at home or something you do for your community. Offering up the fruits of your actions to something greater than yourself. This is actually the definition of Karma Yoga.
Taking a little time each day to surrender, let go and cultivate trust and faith helps to calm and relax the mind more and more.
May you find peace, may your find contentment and may you find clarity.