‘Surrender’ and ‘let go’ were the words my favourite yoga teacher, Matt, would tell us in each of his yoga classes.
After graduating in Toronto, I was clueless about my future - where to stay, what to do, and most importantly, what I can do as a career. I no longer vibed with Toronto, and wanted to end the chapter right away. I decided to have a chat with Matt. His advice was to follow my heart and to never look back. It was a big reassurance for me. The following week I hopped on a flight to Hong Kong. It was impulsive and the best decision I have ever made.
I was very fortunate that I got a job offer to work in the Hong Kong startup community almost immediately. It was a very intense yet amazing experience where I got to gain skill sets, establish my connections in the field and work on my YTT200 at the same time. Being influenced by all the entrepreneurs and inspiring individuals I met at work, I was very driven to pursue my interests in health and wellness. Therefore, I took some time off to travel, resume my yoga practice in HK, settle my wandering mind and most importantly, set goals and timelines for myself. After a few months I was offered an opportunity to teach a community class at Lululemon which helped kick start my career in the industry.
Now here I am. It has been 1.5 years since I started teaching full time, it’s without any doubt the happiest time in my life. I’m in love with what I do, what I offer and am learning along the way. I’m also very grateful for all the opportunities given. As a very competitive and active person, I love challenges and was very addicted to winning. Throughout the one year of hustling as a young adult struggling most of the time, I started to understand what “surrender” really means.
To surrender and to let go does not mean to give up, to stop caring or to call it quits. It means to just flow in the moment, by simply letting your energy guide your way. When practicing yoga, our essential goal is to be balanced - both mentally and physically. Yoga is powerful. The strong will need to practice flexibility, the flexible will need to gain strength, the unstable will need to learn to ground. The yang will always meet the yin.
Surrender does not only apply to the asana practice, it is also a mindset that we can adapt outside of the mat. We often encounter situations that are unavoidable, sometimes painful, endless and overwhelming. As time goes by, our brains will soon be entirely filled up with negative narratives, stressors, fear and tension. When we are stuck mentally, we will never find the right approach to our problems logically. Here comes the time to surrender. Begin to find tiny comfort within discomfort, slowly let go your insertion of ego, give up your expectations. Approaching challenges or putting yourself outside of the comfort zone may be demanding physically and mentally at first, but when we surrender to the situation and learn to flow with the current, we would eventually feel our strength build up, transform and grow into the moment.
Before we consider surrendering in a class setting or starting to gain the courage to let go of things in real life, we need to dig deep. Not only do we need to learn about our goals and limits, most importantly, we need to learn to keep our heart opened. An open heart allows us to create space, to put our ego aside, to acknowledge our weaknesses, to diminish compulsion, hence to let things happen naturally. Accepting challenges humbly is the only way to expand boundaries that are rooted in our heads. Be water. The person who has completely surrendered in life is looking within, instead of searching.
Stop letting ‘what if’ scenarios bother you. Stop holding on to the fear of getting hurt, failing and uncertainties. Instead of being the shaky standing stone that keeps getting hit by waves on the edge, try to become the waves.
With that said, when I invite you to join me at our studio for a crow or side crow or even a tripod headstand during class, give it a try! Hope to see you all back on the mat soon!