The Need to Surrender

By definition, surrender means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority. Now, in terms of the military, a soldier never wants to surrender. It’s drilled in our brains from the moment we start our training, never to surrender. It’s ingrained in us that if you surrender, you are weak. This mentality is why it can be difficult for many veterans to reach out for help or talk about what they have been through during their time in service.

But sometimes, there is a need to surrender. In yoga, surrender means letting go, yielding to experience, resting, and goingdid it to stretch my sore muscles from intention with the flow.going with it to stretch my sore muscles with intention andI opened Letting go is the part of surrender that I have learned to love.going with it its spiritual practickey point that caught my attention was the practice of surrendersurrender isn't

I found yoga many years ago, and at first, I was like many other yogis. I was in it to stretch my sore muscles from my long training runs. I had no intentions of diving deeper into my yoga practice, but yoga had other purposes for me.

Throughout the last few years, I began to learn more about the history of yoga. As I learned about the Yamas and the Niyamas, I began to understand how yoga could offer me so much more if Iopened up to the journey.

I decided to become a certified 200-hour yoga instructor in 2020. Over eight months, I read books on the practice of yoga, but more importantly, on the spiritual practice of yoga.  I also practiced with my teacher and fellow student and learned so much from both of them.

One of the key points that caught my attention was the practice of surrendering. Letting go of the day thus far, letting go of all emotions, and learning to be.

For me, practicing the act of surrender is not about being weak. It’s the opposite. When I realized that I could let go of the pain and traumas I had been through, I began to see the world around me in a different light. It also helped me with my writing and completing the first book- Always Forward. I let go of the fear that no one would want to read Emily’s story. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and let go of whatever may happen next.

On days when I feel the weight of work, family, and the book business on my shoulders, I let go. I close my eyes and take deep breaths, and with each exhale, I allow the stress, anxiety, or other emotions I am experiencing to go. I surrender myself, and in doing so, I continue to heal. Ceasingsubmitting. FromneverFrom never ceasing submitting, ceasingneverFrom Ceasing submittingceasing resistance to an enemy or opponent and submittingInFrom the moment we start training, we're drilled to neverintoyou