a thought to unfold…
Surrender doesn’t mean giving up. Surrender means softening into what is.
It’s trusting the unfolding of each breath, each moment—seeing surrender not as weakness, but as a softening—a deliberate choice to trust, release, and open to what is already here.
Where can you soften? Where might you be holding resistance—physically, mentally, emotionally—and where can you open to the possibility of letting go?
inspiration is everywhere…
In yoga, we talk so much about this idea of surrender. But what does it really mean?
If you’re a word nerd like me and look up the word in the dictionary, it says: to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority, to give oneself over to something, to give up into the power of another. Sounds heavy, right? But if you read between the lines—it means letting go of control and softening. To trust and submit to something greater.
In yoga, surrender is at the heart of our practice—Ishvara Pranidhana, the focus of the fifth niyama, the fifth and final limb of yoga in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Surrendering to a higher power and letting go of the ego, releasing our attachment to outcomes, and trusting in something greater than ourselves.
So you see, my friends, surrender is the same under both definitions. It’s not giving up. It’s simply a softening.
It’s about going to your edge, and then noticing where you can let go of the grip. Where you can release control and simply be in what is. And find peace in it.
Surrender is navigating challenges with grace, trusting the unfolding, and softening into what is.
thoughts for practice…
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Pick one or two that speak to you—or move through them all.
Where in my life am I gripping too tightly in attempts to control the outcome?
Where am I being invited to soften—toward myself, someone else, or a situation?
When have I felt the peace that comes from letting go, and what allowed me to find it?
What does surrender mean to me right now in this moment?
Need a little grounding before you begin? Pause. Feel your breath. Notice one place in your body that feels tight or heavy—and imagine your inhale filling and softening that space. Let your exhale release what you no longer need. Then write from that softened place.
“soften.”
REFLECTION FOR your practice
The next time you step onto your mat, ask:
Can I meet each pose with curiosity instead of expectation?
Where am I holding tension I can release?
Can I trust my breath to guide me through the spaces of resistance?
What would surrender look like in this moment—less effort, more ease?
Can I let go of how this practice “should” feel, and simply feel what is?
The simplest moments on our mat—breath, stillness, presence—are often the most healing and freeing.
When the body meets resistance, let your breath meet it with compassion.
When the mind clings to control, remind it that letting go doesn’t mean giving up.
It means trusting the space between effort and ease.
It means allowing yourself to be supported by the ground beneath you.
Let this practice remind you that surrender is strength.
That softening is not collapse—it’s an opening.
An opening to presence, to trust, to what is already here.
take this with you…
Surrender is an act of trust, of releasing resistance, letting go of control, and attachment to outcomes. It is choosing to navigate life with grace, to create space for peace in what is, and to align with something bigger than ourselves.
In the physical practice of yoga, savasana is the ultimate surrender, our peak pose. It’s a place to release any effort in the breath. To soften the space around the heart, the bell, the mind. Nothing to do, nowhere to be—just rest in what is.
The ability to surrender in savasana translates to a greater ability to accept and navigate the ups and downs of life with grace and ease.
Surrender doesn’t mean giving up. It means softening into what is.
—this reflection comes from a class taught on September 25, 2025—
Ps. Every volume has its own vibe—press play and let this one unfold.