An Invitation to Letting Go

I find a moment to steal away to the river less than an hour before dusk. My heart has wanted to come here all day, to ponder and reflect...

It is cold and a bit windy, and I sit by the rocks in my boots before I wade in by the launch site...

I want to go into the water and feel the comfort and familiarity of the river's embrace - but it is not meant to be today. But just sitting by its banks for a few moments is enough. I am able to sit - and just simply breathe...

I breathe in the air - I breathe in prana - I breathe in the very essence and spirit of God...

I reflect on unexpected news received yesterday that will alter how I practice for the next two months, eliminating even some of the most basic poses. For the first time I have to experience letting go of all that I had taken for granted - the most mundane and fundamental poses. Yet this is nothing in comparison to other news I receive on this day, of a dear friend and musician suffering a major stroke...

I wake up and decide to go to a beginner's yoga class taught by a friend who is also a yoga therapist, and listen intently to all that she strongly advises me I should not do in my practice: no Dog Pose, no Uttanasana or standing forward bends of any kind - basically nothing where my head is below my heart...And all along I was thinking that I would only have to eliminate poses like headstand and handstand, and pincha mayurasana! Both this friend and my teacher emphasize how this is an opportunity to work with other things - and with some poses much more deeply...

My friend's theme is is "letting go" - which she poses as an invitation to her students. There are so many opportunities waiting for us when we let go...

I sit in class, absorbing everything in, and practicing with a beginner's mind, alongside beginners, having to forgo even doing a child's pose...

This year has been all about letting go, and I realize the lessons are not nearly over. There is always another layer to be unpeeled - revealing deeper and deeper ones nestled within...

There is so much we need to let go of to realize our true purpose in life - which is to recognize and embody our connection to the Divine. Yet it is not an easy lesson to lean...

I think of Yogananda, who wisely counseled a devotee who wanted to go the Himalayas to find God - to experience God instead in his work, relationships, and in every aspect of his every day life, in addition to devoting himself to meditation. This would be a more proper path - for him - and for most of us...

I cannot deny that on some level my heart is heavy, but on another level it is light. I know that the limitations of my body do not define who I am and will never cage my spirit or divine nature. I feel blessed that I truly believe this, for life could not be endured otherwise...

I step into the river and connect with its essence, and for a brief moment, we are one...