Grief does not change you, it reveals you.
I would like to extend heart felt gratitude to my students and community for holding space for me while I have moved through my mothers end of life care, and into the new phase of letting go. On October 10, 2014, my beloved Mom passed away in our home in North Western Ontario, surrounded by loved ones.
Throughout these last few weeks and even longer, many of you have been nurturing me with your kind words, your hugs, and your willingness to go with the flow of substitute teachers. I trust that you were able to source new wisdom from your practice while being guided by a new voice and a new energy. Gratitude to those wonderful teachers who stepped in, sometimes last minute, to offer a class in my absence. I am grateful to have been able to take space at this time, and I’ll see you this week in classes!
Ishvar Pranidhana: An Exercise in Trust and Surrender
I’d like to share with you a yogic teaching that is alive for me at present. A teaching from the Yoga Sutras, within the Yamas and Niyamas (first two limbs of Ashtanga, 8 Limbs of Yoga, Observances and Restraints) Ishvar Pranidhana. Ishvar Pranidhana is a practice of letting go of control, a practice of surrendering to the mystery, surrendering to Life, the Divine, the Will of the Universe.
Ishvar Pranidhana teaches us to let go and trust in the unfolding, to accept what we cannot change and trust in the divine. This practice has been alive for me throughout my Mom’s illness, in consistently needing to dwell in the mystery; not knowing what would happen with her cancer, not knowing a timeline, or how it would feel to have her pass, surrendering to what is, and cultivating trust. Throughout her illness, Ishvar Pranidhana helped me to stay present and let go of control. Now that my mom has transitioned, Ishvar Pranidhana reminds me that she is still with me as a part of creation itself, to trust and let go into the knowing that she is at peace in Oneness with the great mystery of spirit.
Perhaps you have experienced loss, or change that is not expected. Perhaps in these moments you feel like you are losing control, or what is dear to you is slipping out of your grasp. These moments remind us to loosen our grip and surrender; let it be. Open up to the mystery and above all, TRUST. Trust that as you loosen your grasp, you will surrender into an even deeper state of Oneness.
I wish for you deep trust in this unfolding dance of life, death, and rebirth, each breath as a reminder of this natural cycle, and the knowing that our ancestors, our loved ones, and our angels and guides are here, in our hearts, in spirit, joined in union with all that is.
Peace, Peace, Peace
Tiina