“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.”
-Herman Hesse
When you hear the words “let go”, you may first draw up a negative connotation. If someone is “let go” from work, you don’t celebrate. If somebody comments to a loved one that they have “let [themselves] go,” it is most likely not a compliment. And often times people think letting go equates to giving up.
This month, I want to bring to light the positive aspects of letting go – in Surrender.
By definition, Surrender is the act of letting go, of giving yourself over to something greater. This is certainly not a bad thing! In my experience when I try to resist or push back on something that isn’t comfortable, or not my ideal – I get a less valuable response. If I surrender to what is happening everything is so much easier.
“We are at our most powerful the moment we no longer need to be powerful.”
-Eric Micha’el Leventhal
Surrender requires a higher level of humility, of trust in the process and maybe even a leap of faith, but the outcome is worth it nearly every time. Last summer, Kerry Corcoran, owner of TDM Berkeley and Lamorinda gave us proof that amazing things can happen when you surrender.
I also love this quote by McCall Erickson: “Surrender – giving up what we think should be happening for what is actually happening.”
I just traveled for 18 days with my kids and this truly resonates with me. I am a person who likes to have plans, be in control, be on time. When you’re traveling with three children those tend to become nearly impossible. I had to surrender to their needs, their fatigue, their excitement to stay somewhere longer than I planned, or to leave while I was still enjoying myself. To eat when “it wasn’t time yet” or to just stay at the apartment longer because they needed time to relax; while there was so much to do and see! It was a constant play and because I allowed myself to surrender to their needs we flowed so much better and had an amazing bonding experience, whereas it could have been constant struggle.
In your Dailey Method practice surrendering can be:
- Allowing yourself space to embrace where your practice is today
- Letting go of hesitation and pushing your engagement further
- Surrendering your ego and just listening to where you are in the moment
My favorite place to really surrender is in savasana. To allow the floor to rise up and meet and support me – to completely let go and release. It’s such an important practice to truly let the amazing hard work you’ve just done integrate deeper into your body and mind.
Surrendering to the moment at hand without any judgments is one of the best ways to know your true self. Practicing this shedding of inner resistance, of judgement and of anything that disrupts your peace will actually BRING you peace.
This month, focus on learning when to yield to something beyond yourself and see what amazing shifts might happen.
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
-Lao Tzu