In the western world, the idea of surrendering is anathema. We are raised to seek victory, and the only good surrender is when our adversaries give up and give in.
In Yoga, surrender is an act of courage and higher consciousness. In Sanskrit, it is called Samarpana.
When practicing asana (Yoga poses), we should never force ourselves into a deeper stretch or advanced pose we have yet to master. This use of force eventually causes injury and imbalance. We should breathe, release and relax into the sensation. In a challenging pose we feel it is difficult to hold, we should surrender and accept the burn in our legs or arms. Again, we never force, but we surrender to what is.
Samarpana is even more important when we are “off the mat.” In our daily lives, the courage of surrendering to reality and acting skillfully rather than reacting when things don’t go our way, is a high Yoga.
The ultimate Samarpana is to surrender our ego, and give ourselves up to our higher power. This is the greatest Yoga of all.
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Although the fight can be useful too. It gets us through. I suppose that could lead to a discussion on the difference between surrender and quitting…
Thanks for your insight Heather. In this context, surrender means releasing the go, our fears and attitudes and impulsive reactions. Then we can be skillful in action rather than responding with emotional lack of clarity.
I think the negative connotations on “quitting” has to do with the non-acceptance of failed expectations. “Letting go” and surrendering is more a transcendent movement, where ego strategies or fears are revealed and then given up to a greater, wider, universal perspective.