Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class we are exploring Ishvara Pranidhana, the fifth Niyama.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and
more. It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos into order, confusion into clarity....It turns problems into gifts,
failure into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into
important events. Gratitude makes sense
of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow."
-
Melody Beattie
Consider Ishvara
Pranidhana the fifth Niyama. Ishvara represents that living symbol of
the divine that is in our hearts and Pranidhana
a profound recognition of that which sustains us and gives meaning to our
lives. Literally it means surrender to God.
Ishvara Pranidhana
is fundamentally about a relationship to something higher than or beyond
ourselves. It may be a higher force, as
in the context of traditional religious traditions, or it may be in relation to
human values, such as kindness and compassion.
In either case, it will manifest in our lives as the ability to let go
of the tyranny of our self-importance – whether it reveals itself as pride and
arrogance, or self-pity and low self-esteem.
It will awaken in us attitudes such as gratitude and appreciation. As a result, we will be able to simply wake
up in the morning and say,”Ah, I’m alive another day.” We will feel grateful in our hearts for the
gift of this life. We will take the time
to look and appreciate the beauty around us.
In our relationships we will become open to receiving each other with
respect and appreciation.
Homework: What does the concept of “sacrificing your
own self-importance” mean to you to?
Does this sacrifice have to come before the qualities of kindness,
compassion, gratitude, appreciation and respect can be cultivated? What little step can you take today to begin
or deepen your practice of Ishvara Pranidhana?
References:
Quoted and paraphrased from Iyengar the Yoga Master, edited
by Kofi Busia, Kriya Yoga: Transformation Through Practice – A Western
Perspective, by Gary Kraftsow.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington
