Sunday evening, as Charlotte was closing the monthly Women's Circle, she shared a story about how she was touched by an act of support that helped her clear a hurdle that she had been dodging for a long time. Her experience was moving to hear in this setting, where we get vulnerable and open to our emotions while we share and listen, and it reminded me about the many ways that we can show our support to others in ways that we may not understand as profound.
It also reminded me how much easier it is to offer support than receive support for myself, a sentiment that has been uttered to me many times over the years. It's hard to receive. It's hard to believe that we are worthy enough to receive. And sometimes, we push away support when we may need it most.
Our yoga practice asks us to surrender. In the physical practice, we are asked to surrender to the breath, to the body sensations that arise, to the pull of the ego that can lead us into competition or comparison and away from the deeper connection to ourselves and the present moment of experience. In meditation we are also asked to surrender ego, and let go of attachment to accept each moment as it presents itself. To drop away from the active mind and surrender to a softer perspective of intuition. In pranayama, the breath practice, we surrender to consciousness and to focus. We release distraction and become single-pointedly attuned to our breath as a clearing and healing tool.
Surrendering happens when we allow ourselves to feel supported. That may come by feeling the ground under us or by having a good friend hold space for you while you work through a difficult problem. You might feel it is easier to surrender to the present moment when you are not fighting distraction. You might find it easier to feel compassion and empathy when you feel like your needs are taken care of or you feel completely seen and heard.
Support is essential for us to grow, for us to move into a more healed, unified space within ourselves. Our yoga practice, these teachings that have been passed down to us from teachers that go back thousands of years and have evolved and broken down and built up again, can be the path to find that support. When we dive into the depth of the practice and we understand that at its core, the aim is to discover and remember a root connection to self, we can greater believe and come to understand in a visceral way that we are not alone. That we have all we need. That we are enough.