Accept and Surrender

(water rushing) So, welcome. This is a practice that I use when I hate what's happening. When whatever it is that's going on in my life is making me so mad or so uncomfortable or irritated and I want it to be different. And even though I know in my mind, my knowing is clear of the truth, that things are exactly as they need to be, my heart is fighting that and wanting it to be different and so I'm gonna lead you through a practice that I use often. (giggling) I often am fighting against the reality that things are what they are.

And really, I started using this particular practice as I was watching my dad die. As he was getting increasingly ill, struggling with dementia, I had so many moments in hospitals and in hospice of wanting it to be different. Of wanting him to have access to his mind and he didn't and I use this practice to quickly drop in and quickly move the energy so that I could begin to release the tension that I was feeling and open up to a different kind of reality, so I really see this as a fast drop in, shift transformation and I'm really hopeful that it's helpful to you and if you join me in a moment in your life of I hate what's going on, that maybe, together, we can move through some of the fighting against what is real and begin to drop the illusion that we have that much power and instead, shift the question to how can I find acceptance for what already is and how can I see this moment and situation as a teacher instead of as an enemy. So with that, find your way into pigeon pose. I love you.

I like to get into pigeon through just a quick down dog because I think it feels good. So what I'm gonna do from here is just bring my right foot forward. So in this half pigeon, you're taking your left foot behind you, maybe straightening your back leg so that you can take your foot directly behind you on the mat. We have a tendency to let our heel go in or out. And then feel for pulling your right hip back.

You might take a blanket underneath your right hip here. Might even shimmy your way down. The top of your foot's coming towards the floor and to create more sensation, take your shin forward. This is probably enough for me in this moment. So before you lean forward, sit up tall.

Recognizing the sensations that are coming up for you and then slowly allow yourself to walk your fingertips forward while pulling your right hip back. You're gonna find your way down to the floor. Or to your variation of the floor. Because we're using this practice to change the way that we're feeling, I'm gonna offer you to take your hands into prayer and then let that prayer land at the nape of your neck. It's like a prayer going down your spine.

And here, find your breath. Allow your inhale to come up through your nose. Expand past your heart, perhaps your broken heart. Allow the breath back into your kidneys, into your side ribs, the back of your body. As you exhale, sending your exhale breath into wherever your body's holding the sensation.

Might be the top of your hip. Could be your heart or your shoulders. Wherever your body is holding sensation in this moment, send the breath there each time you exhale. Our tendency is to want out of this moment. To want it to be anything other than what's happening.

You find lots of ways to numb or to anesthetize or to escape and very likely, this osena is symbolical asking the same of you. Perhaps, even now, you're wanting to fidget, fix something, move around, get out of the posture. Give yourself permission to stay in the stillness. Keep your hands together in prayer. Might your prayer be, open my eyes to see the situation differently.

Open me to clarity. Allow me to release the illusions that I'm holding that are causing this to be so uncomfortable for me. Continue to breathe. It might feel good for you to release the prayer. Taking your right hand down beside you and letting your left hand extend out to your right finding a twist.

If you find a twist, you're gonna take your left ear down to the mat. From here, you can take your right arm up bend through your right elbow, then wrap around. Your right hand might find your left toes, if it does, it allows for more opening through your heart. Your heart's trying to protect you and guide you by fighting what's real, what's true. Allow your heart to open to something new and different.

Can you have the strength and the courage to let this moment be different? One more breathe in. As you exhale, find your deepest twist. And then slowly release. If you found that bind, taking your right hand back down.

Using it to press up. Here you are. Take your left toes and tuck them under you. We're just gonna switch sides, so take your right foot behind you, nothing fancy, you might press down to a down dog, if that feels good to you, and then you're just gonna step your left foot forward, finding pigeon, second side. This time your right toes tuck under.

You might wanna look back and make sure that your aligning your back heel with your hip. Then take your toes underneath you, this time it's your left hip that's gonna pull back. You might place a blanket underneath this hip if there's a lot of space. You're pulling in and up through your pelvis here. Taking a deep breath, opening your heart.

Slowly exhale, lock your hands forward. Same thing here. Again, finding prayer hands and allowing that prayer find its way down your spine. You're continuing to use your breathe sending your exhales into the sensations as they arise in your body. Asking for opening, seeking transformation.

There's likely very little you can do to change the situation, to alter what's happening in your life. However, you do have an opportunity to change the way that you see it. To respond differently. To be less reactive, more present. Allowing the moment to be a teacher for you, even if its reflections are fierce.

Even when you're up against your edge. Feel for any grasping or constriction in your body and recognize, perhaps symbolically, you might also be attached to a particular outcome of a situation. Maybe opening up room in your body and in your mind, perhaps even in your heart, to allow the situation to be, to ask for clarity of how you might shift in relationship to it, versus banging your head against the wall wanting it to be different than it already is. And then taking this time, your left hand, down to the floor, you'd like to find a twist here. Take your right hand out, palm faces up.

Pressing through your hand and shoulder to extend the side of your head to the ground and if you'd like, find an additional opening in your heart, take your left hand up, you can bend through that elbow, reach around with your left hand, you might cross pole with your toes. Any amount of opening is sufficient. There's a great amount of sensation happening. Should be happening in your hips. This really is the point of the ostenate practice.

Not to pose, not to perform, not to perfect, but to be inside the sensations as they arise for longer periods of time so that we can work through the tension that we hold in our bodies. As we can let ourselves be still inside sensations that are completely uncomfortable. It gives us the strength, the endurance, the presence to do so when we're off the mat as well, to be less reactive, more fluid. More open to the present and open to the flow. Open to what's being taught for us.

Take one more inhale breath, find the deepest twist. As you exhale, release that side. Take your left hand and allow it to help support you in pressing back up to center. From here, leave your left foot where it is. You're gonna wrap your right foot up and around, pressing your foot to the floor, and both sit bones down on the mat.

You're gonna take your right fingertips behind you, finding a tall spine. Inhale, reach your left arm up, and as you exhale, bend your left arm. Take the outside of your tricep to the top of your left thigh and find a twist. Planting your right hip down, you can allow space in your left hip to lean forward. As you inhale find the tall spine, spaced between the vertebrae in your spine and as you exhale, an even deeper twist from your midbody, from your thoracic.

Pressing through your front toe mound you might find prayer in your heart. Careful not to lead with your chin. You can inhale here. As you exhale, come back to center. Sticking your hands behind you and your feet in front of you, you're simply gonna switch sides.

This time it's your left foot that comes down. Your right foot that comes down, your left foot that reaches up and over, pressing through the toe mound. On your left foot, take your right fingertips behind you. As you inhale, you're gonna reach your right arm up, as you exhale, bend through that elbow, finding length. This time you're gluing your left sit bone down, allowing your right sit bone to come forward if it needs to, creating more length through your vertebrae.

The crown of your head lifts as you inhale. And as you exhale, if it's in your practice, in your body in this moment, you might take your hands back to prayer because we are praying. We are praying that we see differently. We're praying that we open to another perspective. That we allow opportunities for ourselves to be different in this moment, with this moment, as it teaches us, as it grows us.

One more inhale, finding your deepest twist. (deep breathe) Then as you exhale, just allow your feet to come out in front of you. As we go inside. Inhale, take your arms up above you and as you exhale, leaning forward, leaning with your heart forward fold to your degree, you can allow a gentle bend in your knees here. Your hands might be to here, and that's wonderful.

Avoid rounding through your spine, leading with your heart to your degree. If your head comes all the way down to your shins you can release the tension from your neck. With your inhales, you're extending the crown of your head forward. With your exhales, you're letting something go. Some grasping, some attachment, some wish for a particular outcome that would serve you in this moment.

The truth is, this moment is not about you. The situation, it's not about you. It is exactly what it needs to be, there are so many other players involved. What this moment has to offer you is actually for you. Even if you cannot understand how or why that's possible.

Can you open any availability to trust? Can you let go of any amount of an attachment to an outcome that you're convinced is the one that needs to happen. And allow, instead, for this moment to be complete and enough and seek instead of a knowing the solution to being open to a possibility far beyond what you alone can imagine. A deep inhale, exhale it out. And then very slowly, using your hands to press down, and your straight spine to lift up, find your way back into seated.

Where we began. But my hope is, there's a new sensation in your body, perhaps some tension's been released from your hips. Maybe an opening in your heart. But I've come to know in my own life is that our hearts break open and when they do, they open to possibility. And truly, they open to freedom.

They open to being inside of the flow and inside of the mystery and that is where the miracles are for us. Beyond what we, individually, could ever have manifested, it's bigger than we are. I hope this short practice has helped you drop in to that knowing and maybe allowed an availability of clarity and of wisdom for you. Thank you for joining me. Bless you.