Nicole Shahida

Letting Go

Let go.  Surrender.  Such simple, such liberating words yet so difficult for most of us to attain.  We live in a society, a culture, that supports and promotes the holding on to things, be they emotions or material goods.  We are valued and defined by the cars we drive, the homes we live in, the friends we keep.  We are tethered to our expectations, disappointments, fears and desires.   What we don’t realize is how much space these things take up in our lives. As we get rid of things, as we let go of our ideas of how things should be, we are able to create more space in our bodies and in our minds for what we really need.  It is only when we can let go, when we can truly surrender that we can come to know contentment. 

Letting go is one of the most difficult aspects of my yoga practice. Often, I catch myself tensing, gripping, and even holding my breath.  I am so focused on perfecting the pose that I am not allowing it to just take shape in my body.  I have this incredible need to be in control, both on and off the mat.  The most difficult classes for me are restorative ones because I have to let go of the physical practice and focus on what is going on in my mind.  It is only then that the yoga has its most profound effect on me.

        Yoga Sequence of Surrender

• Supta badokonasa  (bolster, blocks and strap)
• Cat/Cow
• Cat/Cow with Arm Thread Twist 
• Bent-Knee Down Dog (adho mukha shvanasana)
• Mountain Pose (tadasana)
• Pyramid Pose with palms together behind back  (both sides w/tadasana in between)
• Child’s Pose (with bolster) - (balasana)
• Seated Spinal Twist (arda matsayendrasana)
• Paschimottonasana (blanket under thighs)
• Reclined twist  (with bolster) - (jathara parivartanasana)
• Shavasana  (fully supported)