Yoga and the Art of Surrendering to God

On my morning runs, I constantly receive reminders that God’s presence is always close at hand.

As we continue to come out of the pandemic, we continue to experience much uncertainty. That can be unsettling. What can we do?

In yoga, the 5th niyama (observance), is Isvarah Pranidhana. According to Swami Jnaneshvara, Isvarah translates to mean “creative source, Supreme Guru, or God” and Pranidhana means “surrendering of fruits of practice, practicing the presence of.” In short, it means “surrendering to God.”

At this time of so much that is unknown, what we can do to steady ourselves is the practice of surrendering to God’s Plan. We’ll never know why there has been a pandemic, nor why we escaped relatively unscathed. However, we can experience a feeling of calmness if we add to our daily practice an awareness of God in things we do, and surrendering what we do to that Divine Force.

Judith Lasater says:

Isvara pranidanah is the surrender of all the fruits of practice to one’s chosen deity.  This deity can be whatever it is that one conceives to be a greater power beyond one’s self.  The choice of deity is not important; what is important is that one learns to let go of all the benefits and failures alike that are related to practice.  This letting go focuses the practitioner on the process of practice rather than on the goals of practice. 

And Ramesh Balsekar said:

The surest sign of spiritual progress is a total lack of concern about progress. 

Coupling the two together, when we let go of our concerns about making progress and yet still show up to and put our heart into whatever we’re practicing at and focus on the process rather than the outcome, then for sure we will make progress toward our goals. So perhaps, rather than “working” on your current life project, consider “practicing the presence of God” as you engage with your project. Your mind will calm down, and as a result you will move forward, rather than stagnate, or worse, move backward.

For me, practicing the presence of God as I write this yoga wisdom means delighting in the moment-by-moment thoughts and inspirations that come into my mind with each sentence. Practicing the presence of God in my various work projects means showing up to the work, breaking things down into smaller parts that my mind can grasp, and making enough space in my mind for the answers to show up from God. And it sometimes means not setting a hard deadline on some of the projects and not worrying if the end product is perfect or not. And outside of work and yoga, practicing the presence of God means delighting in all the amazing artistic creations in this amazing city of New York. From the restaurants, to the art creations, to the natural beauty of the sacred spaces in our parks large and small, there is something to remind us always of God’s existence.

I hope for you at this challenging time that you can delight in all the beauty that exists around you and surrender to whatever force you identify as God, and in so doing, experience the calm radiance that is at the heart of yoga, even if for only a moment.

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you practice the presence of God, …
May you practice surrendering to God, … 
May you surrender to God’s Plan for You, 
May you experience calm radiance, … 
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere.

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

I think they’re onto something at Citrovia. You've heard the saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Truly, perhaps life is really better with lemons, as this sign says. Maybe all the lemons we encounter are really part of God's plan for us. Those life encounters with lemons might make us wince, but they do make us more resilient.