One of the great joys of Esoteric Yoga is that it is such a wonderful support for developing an honest relationship with the body that then supports me to have a more honest relationship with everyday life.
The various themes that are available to be explored in an Esoteric Yoga class are endless and equally there to be explored in life’s everyday activities. Developing an acceptance in life is one such theme that has supported my body to surrender more, as opposed to pushing through life carrying tension, burdens, exhaustion or pain in general. It may at first seem that acceptance of ourselves and how things are in life would be simple, however, given the opportunity to look deeper, there is much to uncover and feel.
A poignant question I have asked myself is, “Do I have investments or pictures in life to be a certain way – or do I accept life as it is?” And if I translate this to my yoga practice, “Do I have an expectation of how I want to feel in a yoga class?”
When we have expectations in an Esoteric Yoga class, or in life, we limit our awareness, because we are so fixed on an outcome or a picture of how it should look and feel. And when those expectations are not met there can be a disappointment – a tension that can be felt as an unsettlement in the body. Thoughts of ‘not being enough’ or ‘achieving enough’ are great examples of how we don’t accept life, which result in a tension and a mistrust that we carry in our body. Not to mention the fact that we miss out on appreciating the amazingness of what already is.
Letting go of expectations supports the body to surrender. Letting go of stories of ‘what may happen’ or ‘what may not happen’ is very liberating as it allows the body to be open to whatever will unfold before us and allows us to see life with a wider lens. Accepting and surrendering are far more enriching ways to be and live that pave the way for appreciation, rather than chasing the pictures and fantasies of what we think and want life to be that keeps our body in a state of tension!
Within our body is an honesty that communicates much wisdom and is a great gauge of our level of surrender or our level of stress. When practising Esoteric Yoga I have experienced that there is an opportunity to feel this quality in the body – which is a direct result of lifestyle choices to that point. We may like what we feel or we may not – in other words, we may accept what we feel or we may not. For example, we may feel joy-full and open or we may feel pain and an uncomfortable momentum. These momentums are the result of a series of choices that become the uncomfortable tensions and tightness in our body. The point being, how we feel and our level of surrender are very much connected, and are a result of the quality of movement and lifestyle choices we choose each and every day. As the founder of Esoteric Yoga, Serge Benhayon has presented, “The body is the marker of ALL truth” (The Way of Initiation, p 602) and something we actually cannot escape.
When we do not want to accept what is felt in the body, it is very common to choose to numb and distract ourselves from feeling our discomforts and momentums, something we are actually very practised at. However, in an Esoteric Yoga class when I stop to re-connect to the body by simply choosing to align the mind with whatever my body is doing, any momentums that may be there can be seen more easily, and it is here that I have an opportunity to start to let them go.
Allowing ourselves to be with whatever is there to be felt in the body with whatever we are doing, and bringing an acceptance to this, allows an openness and thus more space for surrender. In contrast to this, when we choose to react to what we can feel (the momentums), the body stays hard and we delay the opportunity to become aware of the choices and patterns of behaviour that are causing the tension.
We can choose the path of ease by accepting what is there to be felt and allowing the body to surrender OR, we can fight ourselves by diverting our energy to avoid and distract ourselves from our awareness, and thus continue with our patterns and ways of living that keep the momentums and tension held in the body.
The more we allow acceptance and surrender, the more we allow the body to do what it knows best – and that is to return to its natural rhythm of harmony and wholeness. When we allow this, it brings a halt to everything that does not belong to our natural rhythm of stillness. The sense of ease that can be experienced in an Esoteric Yoga class has become a healing rhythm for me that I can take into my day, as I am no longer fighting myself by staying in tension and anxiety. In essence, I have an opportunity to allow the deeper quality of surrender that I have embodied to be with me and to inform the quality of my movements. From here, my patterns and unsupportive ways of living naturally start to drop away. This is why I, like many others who experience Esoteric Yoga, find it very supportive and deeply restful.
There is quite a difference to how the body can feel at the end of a day should we choose to move in a quality of ease and surrender as opposed to tension and anxiety that deplete the body. If we are moving the body in a quality that honours our innate rhythm of stillness, then we open the door to feel the joy and vitality of this. The body’s wisdom knows how to bring itself back to harmony and true connection.
The more we accept life and what we feel, the more we are able to surrender the body to its natural settlement so that we may enjoy our natural flow.
By Anonymous
Further Reading:
Esoteric Yoga – yoga for our world today
Esoteric Yoga – To Do or To BE?
International day of yoga – June 21st
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
Esoteric yoga supports us to connect with the body, and to allow the body to surrender, ‘The more we accept life and what we feel, the more we are able to surrender the body to its natural settlement so that we may enjoy our natural flow.’
“Within our body is an honesty that communicates much wisdom and is a great gauge of our level of surrender or our level of stress.” I’ve never placed the two worlds ‘stress’ and ‘surrender’ together but they do go well as a pair reflecting opposing ways to be in life. In stress it definitely feels like I’m fighting something and not accepting life as it is, and not accepting myself. Surrender is such a beautiful feeling, allowing all of me to be present, instead of being in a fight against the flow of life (and myself) to have life how I perceive I need it to be.
Accepting what is presented, and allowing ourselves to surrender is so supportive for our bodies, and our well-being, ‘Letting go of expectations supports the body to surrender.’
I used to love attending the themed yoga programs as it felt like the Esoteric Yoga, combined with the theme super magnified my life in that particular focus. For example a program on Delicateness – that quality and my understanding of how it is or isn’t lived in my life was brought right up into my face in the most loving way possible. Being reflective about life, with the support of the connection to the body that comes in Esoteric Yoga is really beautiful.
It was great to read about expectations, the expectations we have and just how much they limit us. Also when I read this ‘Developing an acceptance in life is one such theme that has supported my body to surrender more, as opposed to pushing through life carrying tension’ I became really aware of the tension I was carrying and holding onto in my body which then enabled me to let this go. It just goes to show how we can hold ourself in something like tension, stress, anxiety and not even know we are doing this!!!! So therefore great to bring such awareness back to the body and how we are, and Esoteric Yoga is one of the best modalities I know to support with this and of course letting go of those tensions.
Expectations we place on life can be quite invasive and limiting, ‘Do I have investments or pictures in life to be a certain way – or do I accept life as it is?’
‘Developing an acceptance in life is one such theme that has supported my body to surrender more, as opposed to pushing through life carrying tension, burdens, exhaustion or pain in general.’ I can’t exactly pinpoint the moment where I began to accept myself and my qualities so much more but in the acceptance them. life has changed considerably. Esoteric Yoga as a modality has definitely played a significant part in this and it is a modality I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
I agree with you michelle819 when you say
‘I can’t exactly pinpoint the moment where I began to accept myself and my qualities so much more but in the acceptance them. life has changed considerably. ‘
This has been my experience too. Esoteric Yoga has supported me to come back into my body and build a relationship with myself, something I have not had since I was a child, where we are constantly encouraged to look outside of ourselves rather than develop the natural beauty that is within us all.
With no expectations, and more acceptance, we allow more appreciation and enrichment in our lives, ‘Accepting and surrendering are far more enriching ways to be and live that pave the way for appreciation, rather than chasing the pictures and fantasies of what we think and want life to be that keeps our body in a state of tension!’
What I can appreciate after reading this blog is realising that actually I do not have a lot of expectations, however I am sure there is always more I can let go of! #makingitaboutlove
Great that you do not have a lot of expectations Vicky, as they can be quite detrimental to our daily living, they ‘limit our awareness, because we are so fixed on an outcome or a picture of how it should look and feel.’
I have found esoteric yoga to be a huge benefit to me by taking the stillness I have connected to into my day has made such a change to how I behave and move, what I say and the thoughts I have. My day is easier because I am with myself in the day, so that a lot of the nervous tension has gone and I feel very settled in my body. Esoteric yoga is so simple but so profound.
‘Thoughts of ‘not being enough’ or ‘achieving enough’ are great examples of how we don’t accept life, which result in a tension and a mistrust that we carry in our body. Not to mention the fact that we miss out on appreciating the amazingness of what already is.’
I know this is a huge chunk I’m highlighting but so needed to read this today. It is a tension that I feel in my body – that striving to try to be more stops me from appreciating what is, and what is is actually pretty awesome!
Every Esoteric Yoga session is different, however it is always a true reflection of how we are and relate to life. What we are offered can be a revelation to support us in our everyday life.
Esoteric yoga brings you to a stop from the whirlwind we can all too often get caught in in day to day life. Sometimes that feels a little bit confronting which is why I often avoid doing it.
It is great to have some stop moments to connect with your body and what you are feeling, ‘how we feel and our level of surrender are very much connected, and are a result of the quality of movement and lifestyle choices we choose each and every day. ‘
I agree, my mind can be a great facilitator for distraction and justification yet my body doesn’t lie and the Esoteric Yoga is a wonderful vehicle to embrace that relationship with honesty and truth.
“Accepting and surrendering are far more enriching ways to be and live that pave the way for appreciation, rather than chasing the pictures and fantasies of what we think and want life to be that keeps our body in a state of tension!” This is so true, the pictures keep us in reaction because life has it’s way of delivering what’s needed which never looks like how we want it to. Accepting and surrendering would support us to stay open to be with what has been delivered in life and work with it. Without the acceptance we may be fighting how life is and going into struggle.
So true, when we fight life, we interfere with the body’s ability to communicate, or rather, our ability to listen to what is being communicated through the body, and what I often find is I trap myself in a pattern of thoughts/behaviour which confirms itself in perpetuation.
I needed to read this as my body is going through something which I am finding challenging. I love “the body is the marker of ALL truth” – and there are times when I forgo this truth and go into my head about it when it makes absolute sense, my body is signalling something.
I know my relationship with my body has to go to another level of understanding and appreciation, it is that simple, its whether I’m open to listening is the question.
The body shares such wisdom with us, how important to listen to it, ‘Within our body is an honesty that communicates much wisdom and is a great gauge of our level of surrender or our level of stress’.
We put so many expectations on the body of things like what it should look like, how hard it should work and exercise, maybe not giving it a rest when needed or overdoing the resting, so Esoteric Yoga is perfect for letting the body just be without any judgements. It shows us exactly where we are with our body and offers us evolution.
This is really interesting as when I think of expectation I have not thought of the expectations I have and place on my body!!!! 😶 On reflection and from reading this I know I do not allow my body to rest when it needs it. Definitely something to ponder and explore ❤️
“The more we allow acceptance and surrender”… the more we allow space in our body and from that spaciousness quality live life and also relate with others.
If we can have an honest relationship with our body then we have everything that we need to live a true life
Rather than numbing ourselves so we do not feel what the body is communicating with us, ‘When we do not want to accept what is felt in the body, it is very common to choose to numb and distract ourselves from feeling our discomforts and momentums’.
Attending Esoteric Yoga sessions has been a life-changing experience for me. Rushing about in a numbed out way is no longer the normal and accepted way of life of the merry-go-round of daily exhaustion and stress. A foundation of ever deepening stillness and awareness brings more harmony and joy to my day and a quality of gentleness and delicateness to movement.
“The sense of ease that can be experienced in an Esoteric Yoga class has become a healing rhythm for me that I can take into my day”
Esoteric Yoga, known as the Yoga of Stillness – offers the opportunity to develop a deeper level of awareness that begins to reveal the plethora of mental pictures and expectations of outcomes that are ‘normal’ in our daily life. Esoteric Yoga has revealed another way to be through bringing awareness, re-connection and presence with the body.
“Do I have investments or pictures in life to be a certain way – or do I accept life as it is?” And if I translate this to my yoga practice, “Do I have an expectation of how I want to feel in a yoga class?”
Esoteric Yoga is a blessing for us, allowing us to stop and connect with the wisdom of our bodies, ‘Allowing ourselves to be with whatever is there to be felt in the body with whatever we are doing, and bringing an acceptance to this, allows an openness and thus more space for surrender.’
The beauty and support of esoteric yoga in my life is absolute and known by my body deeply. “The more we accept life and what we feel, the more we are able to surrender the body to its natural settlement so that we may enjoy our natural flow.” so true .
Acceptance and surrender support the body to settle, ‘The more we allow acceptance and surrender, the more we allow the body to do what it knows best – and that is to return to its natural rhythm of harmony and wholeness.’
I knew my body needed some deep rest at the start of the week, and an esoteric yoga session gave me that space to rest deeply with myself.
Movements that support the body are so important to our daily living, ‘There is quite a difference to how the body can feel at the end of a day should we choose to move in a quality of ease and surrender as opposed to tension and anxiety that deplete the body.’
The more I look at the pictures or expectations I have in life the more I see. These ideas about how life and people should be, really limit my experience of the world as it is and the deeper version of life that is on offer when I let go of them. Esoteric Yoga is a modality where I get to feel both the limitations of having expectations and the expansion when I allow myself to drop it all and feel the stillness that’s there.
When we can get ourselves out of the way by bringing our minds into union with our bodies there is such a depth of stillness to feel and surrender to.
Embracing tension and not react to it can bring an immense healing. The tension is there for a reason supporting us to let go of something that is not true that we have held in our body. The tension can feel extremely uncomfortable sometimes resulting in my heart pounding but staying with it and being open to what it is offering me maybe the opportunity to express, I can very gently let it go. The pictures of how I am to be, look like and ‘crave’ or invest in simply have to go.
Love the appreciation of whatever is there because whatever is there is communicating something we can learn from and change from.
I’m noticing how the ideas about how I should be have conditioned me for so long. And the top of that they has nothing to do with who I really am. By surrendering to my body I can feel the Truth of my natural qualities, the power of my pressence, the beauty, my delicate nature…a whole download of information about me from inside that I couldn’t ever find in any book and anywhere outside. It breaks all these ideas and how great re-finding myself in this way.
Thank you for your comment Inma, you have really articulated the beauty of Esoteric Yoga, which is the reconnection back to our true selves, and living in union (yoga) with our essence everyday. All the wonders of our soul and the universe are there to be experienced from inside ourselves, and Esoteric Yoga definitely supports this.
I totally agree with both comments Inma and Melinda. Esoteric Yoga supports the body to return to itself and the feeling that stays with us is truly beautiful and is an experience that cannot be surpassed by anything man-made.
Inma I agree with you because I can feel a presence within me which I wasn’t aware of. I’m actually starting to feel my sensitivity and delicateness which I had hidden away as a child because I felt those qualities were under attack, then I forgot I ever had them. Esoteric Yoga has supported me to rediscover just how delicate and sensitive I am and that it is okay to have these feelings as they are what makes me who I am. We need more sensitivity and delicateness in the world as we have all hardened ourselves to get by and not get hurt by life. Is it possible that by giving up on our sensitivity this allows us to be abusive towards ourselves and all others?
Surrendering to our body is very beautiful, ‘I have an opportunity to allow the deeper quality of surrender that I have embodied to be with me and to inform the quality of my movements.’
One of the things that inspires me most from practising Esoteric Yoga is that there is no aim to reach but a sense of space where I can feel my body without trying or doing but simply feeling what’s inside me. For me is a very supportive technique to come back to my tenderness and stillness within, an ongoing process that feels amazing.
The sense of no aim to reach is what I would call trying; trying to be something I am not, trying to achieve something, trying to be enough. This is an exhausting hamster wheel that Esoteric Yoga beautifully supports us to step off and simply allow ourselves to be. This is where you find there is nothing you need and nothing to achieve as its all already there.
“Esoteric Yoga – Developing an Honest Relationship with the Body” – the more honest I became about my body the more open I felt in myself in life, and equally the more honest I became about life the more open people were towards me.
There is no end to developing an honest relationship with the body… there is always something being offered to us to look at and it then requires a deeper level of honesty and refinement to support us in our unfolding within in our relationship with the body.
Acceptance of my true qualities inspires me to deepen them and appreciate how different everything feels when I choose to live that way.
I have found Esoteric Yoga to be a great support to me in establishing a deeper connection to myself. I am building an inner strength a self-mastery to not be dominated by the negative thoughts that have controlled my mind for most of my adult life.
I loved the reminder of surrendering to what the body is feeling and letting go of outcomes and expectations. I haven’t quite mastered the surrendering when we perceive pain, the uncomfortableness or the tension – I still have my training wheels on there.
However over participating in several yoga programs my relationship with my body is developing to a depth I have never had before. And I will continue to partake so that my body will trust to surrender more to who and what it is, part of the universe.
A timely reminder that we are not what we feel.. ie we feel everything, but how much we stay stuck in that feeling or personalise it, is entirely our choice. Distracting ourselves from what we don’t want to feel is a short term solution that makes us feel temporarily better, but the thing we didn’t want to feel stays in our body until we’re ready to deal with it. The way we can deal with whatever is painful, uncomfortable or difficult, feels to me that it’s about being honest about what we’re feeling, and giving ourselves full permission to feel it, without identifying with it.
This is a great point Bryony, not taking personal what we are feeling and being fully honest and transparent with the choices we make…to me feels like loving and embracing ourselves with no conditions, a powerful way of being that definitely brings a true change in our lifes.
I have noticed at night I can be tired and want to go to bed early but like a young child can do, I fight it and fight it and distract myself with social media, doing the dishes, eating some more food, watching something online etc… and there is tension in my body. Then when I finally surrender to going to bed and my body goes aaah, thank you. It is a loving work in progress for me to surrender to how my body feels straight up, and not fight/resist it, which ironically just makes it more tired!
I had a big back tooth pulled out today and I hardly felt a thing it was such an easy going experience. Last time I was in such resistance to losing ‘my’ tooth that my whole body was tense…the procedure seemed long and very painful. It felt like the dentist was being really inconsiderate to my body. The main difference in these two cases was my level of acceptance. The dentist actually said that the tooth today was more difficult to take out and left a much bigger hole and will need longer to heal. We all agreed, the dentist, his assistant and I that it is very dependent on the attitude and disposition of the client as to how the procedure whatever it is, pans out.
“One of the great joys of Esoteric Yoga is that it is such a wonderful support for developing an honest relationship with the body..” – yes it is and without that honesty the truth of who we are as a person and human being cannot be leveraged and enjoyed. The joy of Esoteric Yoga is the joy of ourselves in truth.