Trusting the Process

I’m the type of person who likes knowing the exact outcome of anything I do. I love when things can be measured, are precise, and are predictable. It’s evident in the way I teach and that is a source of comfort in my life. 

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are meant to be a guide on to how to live a life free from attachment to what doesn’t matter in the end. I’ve been thinking of Isvara Pranidhana much more in this pandemic lately — it is the surrender of your ego to your higher power. I have never been a religious person, but I truly believe that there is more to this world than me and us. I feel it. 

COVID-19 sent all our future plans spiraling out of control. I went through a lot of anxiety over the loss that it brought and how unstable I was feeling. I had many moments of doubt because I didn’t know if the hard work would pay off. It was so easy to hold myself back because not knowing felt crippling so many times. 

I had to muster up the courage to keep moving and find ways to take care of myself as a Yoga teacher. Trust in the process and surrendering the effort was one of the biggest things I’ve learned because of all this. Yes, “the universe has got your back” but we need to do our part too. I worked hard to gain skills, create good content for classes, and build connections to my students. 

Work hard, study, have good intentions, and then LET IT GO. When we focus on the process instead of what we’re getting out of something, the Universe supports what we direct our energy towards. When we surrender the attachment to the outcome, we surrender what holds us back from reaching our fullest potential. Having faith and trusting myself has made me more confident in what the future has in store.

- Teacher Rianna