Surrender

The final niyama invites us to surrender our perceived control to a higher power, however you define that power.

This niyama is considered the last step toward enlightenment, but we can also think about surrender in terms of loosening the tight rein we have on our daily schedule and overall life plan.

That way, when the universe throws you a curve ball, you can easily recover and move in a different direction without losing your balance.

1. Sit up tall in your chair with lower belly muscles firm. Place your hands against your lower ribcage and notice the rise and fall of your breath. Stay here for 5 complete breaths.

2.  Let one hand rest in your lap as the other hand *very slowly* begins reaching for the ceiling, your eyes focused on your fingertips, carefully following the movement. When your hand is as high as you can comfortably reach, relax your shoulder and neck, continuing to look up at your hand for 3 breaths. Rotate your wrist and squeeze your fingers, making a fist, then release your fingers once again. Reverse the movement by slowly watching your hand return to your lap- challenge yourself to move as slowly as possible! Patience, remember? Repeat all instructions with your other hand this time.

3. Let's use that same focused movement with our legs now. Hands can rest on your lap again. Push away from your desk so that you can see your feet. Begin to straighten one knee as you *very slowly* lift one foot off the floor, eyes fixed on your toes. Pay attention to the feel of each muscle working to make the movement possible. When leg is straight, flex the toes toward your body as you push through your heel. Take 3 slow breaths as you keep watching your foot. Then point your toes away from you, taking 3 full breaths. Circle the ankle in each direction 3 times. Then you can very slowly lower the foot back to the floor, eyes watching. Once it's lowered, gently shake the whole leg a bit to relax the tight muscles. Repeat all directions with opposite leg this time.

4. Sit back comfortably in your chair, let your shoulders relax down, release your jaw so your teeth are not clenched. Close your eyes and just breathe. See if you can count to 100 before getting distracted.

5. Did you skip #4 completely? Did the slow pace of #2 and #3 drive you crazy? Impatient, maybe? Let that message be your theme of the day. :)