8 Limbs: Niyama 5: Ishvara Pranidhana

“Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you.” ~Rumi

Ishvara: a god of our own understanding (be it God, a diety, nature, or our higher self, etc). Pranidhana: to surrender, devote, dedicate.

Ishvara Pranidhana is the practice of bowing to a higher, more intelligent force that permeates the universe. The attainment of the state of yoga is said to come most directly from this niyama.

The art of surrender has to do with letting go and allowing ourselves to be nudged in a direction for our own greater good. When we can move away from the dramas and embrace the present moment including the struggles, the pain, the loss and things we perhaps have tried to control, but couldn’t, then that is where we begin to be able to say, “this too, I accept” as we begin to understand and see the bigger picture of our life, and where we begin to practice ishvara pranidhana. This letting go is part of trusting that the universe has put us exactly where we are intended to be and we then allow ourselves to be unwavering in that trust so we can experience the magic that the universe is working through us.

On the mat, we surrender to the postures, including ones that seem difficult sometimes. We surrender to the practice of doing our best each day. We surrender to the definition of ourselves once we realize our judgements are limiting who we really are. And by all of this surrendering we learn to marvel at all of the things we never saw coming that allow us to experience a deeper connection to something more divine. And in our yoga practice too, we don’t just move from the beginning to the end of our practice, but we also honor the spaces between the postures, the pauses between the breath, the stillness that weaves throughout. This connection to all of the aspects that allow us to move through a practice also allow us to use the body, mind and breath as a prayer or offering by way of the spirit, making our practice a divine gift.