Yoga, Surrender, and the Meaning of Life
Yoga is more than just a physical practice. It’s an exploration of the self, an opportunity for uncovering what’s before us with clarity, and the crucible for growth and transformation. In fact, yoga postures as we know them, didn’t become part of the practice until the 15th century. For the previous 4,500 years, yoga looked more like meditation, and “asana” meant “seat.”
Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root, yuj, which means to yoke or connect. And that’s what the practice does: it connects us to truth - in a situation, a single experience, in ourselves, in life. One of the steps to recognizing truth of any kind, is often surrender - of limiting beliefs, of long-held paradigms, of ego, of what the external world might be calling “truth,” of a desired result. Whether you are new to yoga or have been practicing for years, the notion of surrender can deeply shift your experience in an asana practice and in life. Let’s dig into its meaning, how to embody it, and how it feels both on and off the mat.
What Does Surrender Mean in Yoga?
In the context of yoga, surrender isn’t about weakness or giving up. It’s the act of letting go of control and allowing yourself to be present in the moment. It's about releasing attachment to outcomes and judgments. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krisha tells Arjuna, “do your Dharma all out and let go of the fruits of your labor!” Simply put, Krisha was telling Arjuna to do the work, lean into the resulting vulnerabilities, and don’t think about (let alone expect a specific) outcome. On the mat, surrender can mean fully accepting where you are in your practice, without forcing yourself into a posture or striving for perfection. It means leaning into your edge, exploring it, and discerning when it’s time to stop and breathe into your current expression of it. It means not looking at what other people are doing and understanding why you take or skip the next offered vinyasa. It's about being open to the moment-to-moment experience without frustration, criticism, or a specific outcome.
Surrender On the Mat
When you step onto your yoga mat, it's easy to get caught up in the desire to master the poses, to "do it right," or to achieve a certain level of flexibility or strength. But true yoga is about embodiment rather than showmanship. Surrendering on the mat means letting go of the need to perform or impress. Give into each posture and see what comes up. The physical practice is an opportunity to create shifts, but hanging on - muscularly, intellectually, or with the ego - often works against growth, keeping us small, contracted, and stuck. Leaning into the sensitivities unveiled on the mat and exploring them in the moment (and maybe reflecting on them later) is the action that moves us forward.
Surrender Off the Mat
Daily life isn’t much different. Life serves up significant and almost imperceptible challenges that cultivate fear, doubt, and resistance. Sometimes these challenges are experiences we didn’t “want” to have happen in our lives. We might curl up and give up; we might fight back; or we might let our minds spin, get frustrated or angry or put up the armor and close ourselves off through judgement or self righteousness.
But sometimes these challenges are born from our passions, our life’s work, our Dharma, and even though they’re challenges, we can’t help but continue to pursue that work, to do that thing. We surrender to the challenge. We let go of our ego. We allow our vulnerabilities to be exposed. We admit fear. We understand our lack of control. And through this surrender, almost always, we evolve.
The Power of Surrender: Finding Freedom
The beauty of surrender is that it brings a sense of freedom. We unburden ourselves, in the most honest and true ways, of control, perfectionism, pleasing others, doing “the right thing” even when it feels wrong. We lean into our self doubt, our discomfort, and what we do not know and can’t understand intellectually. And what results is truth - in ourselves, of a situation, a stage of life, a fleeting experience. When we come into conversation with truth, we experience freedom, clarity, and connection to ourselves and the world around us.
So, the next time you step onto your mat or face a challenging moment in life, remember that surrender is not a sign of weakness, but a powerful tool for growth and inner peace. Let go, breathe, and trust the process.