“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to, rather than opposing the flow of life. Surrender doesn’t transform what is, at least not directly. Surrender transforms YOU. When you are transformed, your whole world is transformed, because the world is only a REFLECTION of you.” Eckhart Tolle
Being a Yoga teacher is one of the most challenging paths I’ve ever taken. Not only due to the responsibility of the safety of my students in my Asana classes, but also because this process of Self Transformation is a scary one for all who choose to take it.
When we open up to the transformative path of Yoga, the world that we’ve known can turn upside down. Our conditioned mind of how we think life should be is challenged, and all of a sudden things begin to change.
The Sutra II:3 talks about the 5 Kleshas or Obstacles that we are faced with in our physical life. One in particular our Ego, or Asmita, has been one of my most challenging to overcome. When we approach our Yogic path with the intent to peel the layers of our past conditioning & break down the walls that we build to push people away from us, we begin to understand our ego.
Once we begin to understand our ego, we fight with it, we run away from it, get frustrated with it, and eventually, perhaps our purpose is to understand it so much so that we begin to surrender to it. So rather than label our ego as something that deters us from living a truthful and whole life, we come to understand that without it, we wouldn’t begin to know who we really are.
Surrender for me doesn’t mean to ‘let go of,’ but rather for me it means to stop fighting and begin listening. Being quiet, stilling the body and the mind allows the Observer (the one with us that is ALWAYS there, and is ALWAYS the same) to whisper that everything is going to be okay, no matter what is happening in life at the moment.
I choose to continue this path of Transformation as my physical life unfolds with all the drama, all the nonsense, and all the doubt I have within me, as the path that’s meant for me to grow, and to begin to understand the light within me.
May you continue down this beautiful, challenging, and sometimes ruthless path of surrendering to the gentle, compassionate power within.
Liz Terry is the founder of Satya Flow Yoga in Dubai. She lives life guided by her teachers, the divine, and her own inner light. She enjoys exploring the world around her organizing Yoga retreats & trainings all over the world, which allows for opportunities to delve into the untapped world within. Follow Liz at www.satyaflowyoga.com
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