THE UNIVERSE KNOWS WHATS IT DOING WITH YOUR LIFE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010. My favorite class to teach is where we start by meditating on our open hand. That in this simple gesture we have the paradox of yoga: to open and to surrender, at the same time. If we close our fist we are not able to let go of the mental agitations that heavy us. If we close our fist we are clearly not opening to a greater force beyond ourselves.
“Grace wakes us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”. -Krishna Das
To Open to Grace, is the first principle in Anusara Yoga, but it applies to all spiritual practice. To open requires the courage to not remain closed or tight hearted or asleep to our lives. It is an awakening! To open to the light of grace and love that exists everywhere as universal support. I especially like this expression of "Opening to Grace" from Marianne Williamson's book, A Return to Love. "To open to Grace is to ask that only loving, helpful thoughts remain in our minds, and all the rest be let go".
The concept of Surrender in yoga is really in two parts.
1. When we surrender to Grace we surrender to something bigger than ourselves. Ok that seems to make sense for just about anybody. But the next part is harder for the cynical mind...
2. When we surrender we do so to a universe that knows what it is doing.
To trust that what I AM OPENING INTO will love me without conditions and has my best interests at heart is a larger leap of faith. But it is exactly when we stop trying to over control events when they fall into a natural order, an order that works. At that moment where we allow a power much greater than our own to take over we begin to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can certainly handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives".
So the practice today is to peel back the layers, let the light in, OPEN UP to the truth of who you are and how you want to be living your life. This requires that you surrender and let go of the past, of the hurt and create space for what comes next. Even though none of us really knows exactly what comes next. We must just believe as we co-create our lives with the universal intelligence of love that spirit has our best interests at heart. We are loved, we are love. So today take comfort in loving yourself, loving your day, loving your life! Silvia, Anusara Inspired Yoga Teacher, ERYT
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way." - GOETHE