Our final Niyama is Ishvara Pranidhana or Surrender to God. It is the pivotal point or center from which all other qualities move. It is the place within of stillness, trust, acceptance, gratitude, guidance and grace. It allows us to be full of light like the radiant sun and humble as a tiny wildflower on a summer day. Devotion to the Supreme is repeated a number of times throughout the Yoga Sutras, as well as in all other forms of worship no matter what path or tradition one follows.

But, how do we surrender to God whom we can’t see? This is an important question and can be answered by close examination of the idea of Ishvara Pranidhana. Quoting from How to Know God by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, “According to Vedanta philosophy, Ishwara is the supreme ruler of the universe – its Creator, sustainer and dissolver. Brahman, the ultimate Reality, cannot properly be said to create, sustain or dissolve, since Brahman is, by definition without attributes. Ishwara is Brahman seen within Prakriti. He corresponds, more or less, to God the Father in the Christian tradition….Ishwara is all that we can know of the Reality until we pass beyond Prakriti.” (p53)

Put simply, Ishwara is our own personal concept of God. Even those who practice atheism can also be said to believe in God – From The End of Sorrow by Eknath Easwaran, “Of those who tell me they are atheists, I ask, ‘Do you not believe in yourself?’ Their answer is, ‘Of course, Yes.’ Then, I say, ‘You believe in God.’ When the Gita uses the term God or Lord, Ishvara or Bhagavan, it is not referring to someone ‘out there.’ It is referring to someone who is inside us all the time, who is nearer to us than our body, dearer to us than our life.” (p92)

As yogis, our lives become a reflection of God’s Inner Light. This idea is seen throughout every form of yoga no matter what the style or label. In Anusara yoga and the Tantric tradition, “Inner Body Bright” holds that everything – all creation is a manifestation of God or the Supreme Light of God. Inner Body Bright invites the Supreme Light to not only fill our own being but also expand out to all that is. When we breathe in this Light, it creates alignment throughout our spine and skeletal structure but also fills our entire being with God’s infinite Grace. It invites the Light of our soul to expand and grow within us. Martin Kirk, a well-known Anusara instructor and author (see Hatha Yoga Illustrated, Kirk, Boon and DiTuro, 2006) says, "Inner Body Bright is an invitation for the light of Consciousness to be fully expressed from within you as your physical body responds with a joyful expansion. Ishvara Pranidhana is the offering of your whole self to the light of Consciousness within you...to something bigger than yourself”.

In Light on Yoga, Mr. Iyengar writes, “The yogi realizes that his life and all its activities are part of the divine action in nature, manifesting and operating in the form of man… His body is a temple which houses the Divine Spark. He feels that to neglect or to deny the needs of the body and to think of it as something not divine, is to neglect and deny the universal life of which it is a part….The yogi does not look heaven-ward to find God for he knows that He is within, being known as the Antaratma (the Inner Self). He feels the kingdom of God within and without and finds that heaven lies in himself.” (p41)

In our goal driven world, we want results right away. In many instances we exert our control to achieve the desired results rather than leaving the results in the hands of the Divine. We forget that what really matters is our intention and effort. Krishna is constantly reminding Arjuna of this in the Bhagavad Gita. He tells him that he must perform action but that to remain without karma in the action, he must leave the results up to God. He needs to give up his attachment to the result. However, this doesn’t give us the right to injure others. The principles of Ahimsa, Truthfulness, Selfless Service, and Love must also be the basis for any actions that we undertake in thought, word, or deed. Speaking on this subject, Paramahansa Yogananda once said that the state of “inaction” mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita is like writing on water – “No mark remains.” It is only through actions based in love and kindness that the water can remain without any ripples.

If we believe that God is within us, how can we do any wrong? There is a story that my teacher, Ajaib Singh, used to tell. Once a guru wanted to see how much two of his disciples had grown spiritually. Of course the guru already knew this but wanted to give an outward demonstration to these two disciples. So, he gave each disciple a pigeon and told them to go and kill the pigeon where no one could see. The first disciple went behind a building and quickly killed the pigeon. The second disciple looked and looked to find a spot where no one was watching but could find none. Disheartened that he could not obey his teacher’s orders, after a few days he returned to the ashram with the same pigeon. When his guru asked him why he wasn’t able to find a spot to kill the pigeon where no one was looking, he replied: “Because the very same pigeon was looking.” So you see, God, Ishvara Pranidhana, permeates in all and everything. The God in that pigeon was watching the disciple! If we understand this, how then can we commit a wrong act? God in us is always watching us. No matter what religion or form that God takes, it is all the same. In fact, the word religion comes from the Latin Ligare, which means to bind or connect to what is sacred, and the prefix Re means again or back. So the word religion can mean to bind back or to reconnect back to God or the Divine.

The writings that have been done on the subject of Ishvara Pranidhana have been and always will be endless. So in conclusion, rather than intellectualize more on the subject, I’d like to share with you a practice on Inner Body Bright that I learned in a recent Anusara workshop. Sometimes it is so much better to feel an idea rather than to think it.

Stand in Tadasana. Feel the earth under your feet. Let muscular energy support you as you allow your spine to grow upward toward the sky. Allow your tailbone to move gently toward the earth but let the crown of you head lift as your spine gently lengthens from the support and steadfastness of your grounded feet. Now soften your outer body with a slight smile on your face. Relax your eyes keeping your dristi soft or eyes closed. Feel the balance of Tadasana. From this place of balance, begin to breathe in light. Feel the inner radiance filling up your torso. Allow that radiance to be breathed not only into your front body but let it move and radiate out into your back body. Let your back ribs begin to feel the support of this radiance. Let your side ribs expand into the radiance. Feel how your thoracic or middle back becomes supported and full. As you stand in Tadasana, enjoy the effects of Inner Body Bright. Feel the balance, support, grace, and warmth when we attune ourselves with the Divine Power that lies within us all!

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Om

NOTE: Francesca is offering a series of lesson plans on the digestive system, including a series on the entire digestive system and its organs in relation to yoga and asana, as well as an anatomical series with yoga lessons wrapped around certain muscle groups. The most recent lesson released is Side Bending 101 - Quadratus Lumborum. These are available for purchase at www.shreeyoga4u.com

Francesca also has just released a new series of Lesson Plans! It is an anatomical series with yoga lessons wrapped around certain muscle groups. The first group is the rhomboids and correct shoulder placement. The lesson is called Healthy, Happy Shoulders; the Rhomboids. Other lessons on different muscles will follow!

As a lifelong advocate of both physical fitness and spiritual growth, Francesca finds the practice of yoga a natural. She began studying yoga seriously 6 years ago when first introduced to the philosophy and alignment principals of Anusara Yoga. She is now a registered SOYA yoga instructor with a RYT 500 designation with the Yoga Alliance and is a faculty member of the South Okanagan Yoga Academy in B.C. Canada. She says, “Taking the seat of the yoga teacher is a gift and a responsibility given to me by my teachers. I take this position seriously since I now function as both student and teacher. My desire is to share my love of yoga and the philosophy that enlivens it with all my students.” She encourages people of all ages, shapes, and sizes to come to class and enjoy the many benefits of a yoga practice. You can email Francesca at francesca.shree@me.com or visit her website for more information at www.shreeyoga4u.com