Several months ago, at my doctor's suggestion, I took up the practice of yoga. And I love it. It's a different type of physical challenge in that it also challenges you mentally. If you've never tried yoga, that may not make sense. The best way I can explain it is to say that the poses, the breathing and the balance required compel you to focus on what you're doing.

Last week while sitting in swan pose and struggling to hold my position, I heard the yoga instructor say, "Surrender to the pose." 

It was epiphany time right there on the yoga mat. 

"Surrender to the pose" immediately — for me, at least — extended beyond its literal meaning on the yoga mat and to a broader message about life. The word surrender kept echoing in my ears. And as I stopped resisting the pose and yielded to it, it reminded me how the concept of surrender can serve us well in so many aspects of life. 

The problem is we often perceive surrender as a bad thing, as simply giving up. But surrender doesn't mean that you give everything over to chance. It doesn't mean that you have no input or that you get to be lazy. Surrender is when we do our part, complete the work and then wait for what comes next. 

A few days after that yoga class, I read about approaching stress in one of two ways: swimming or floating. We can wear ourselves out by swimming against the current, or we can float along and accept the circumstances we find ourselves in. In other words, we surrender. Surrender is when we stop fighting, stop resisting and trust that things will be ok. And if it's not ok tomorrow, it may be the next day. Surrender is trust that no matter what happens, you'll be ok and you'll handle it. 

Life is a series of peaks and valleys. Some spend more time on peaks while others seem to find themselves in valleys all too often. Either way, we all have our struggles. But sometimes we keep struggling and fighting against a circumstance trying to change it, and the change doesn't happen. It's frustrating. It's like swimming upstream and wearing yourself out, because you're not getting anywhere. 

Maybe you've begged God to change something or make it better. You've sent out good vibes and good karma to the Universe. You've waited. You've worried. You've fretted. Still the situation hasn't changed. These are the times when it's best to surrender and know that you've done your best to change or improve the undesirable situation. Now it's up to God and the Universe to move things into place. (And I'm preaching to myself as much as anyone here.) In these situations, think of surrender as being a matter of trust — like that game featured in team-building exercises where you fall and rely on your team members to catch you. 

If you've done all you can to improve a circumstance you find yourself in but the condition hasn't changed, maybe it's time to surrender. Allow God in His infinite wisdom to work out the rest. Trust that the Universe is on your side and that things will eventually work out. And if they don't work out just the way you'd hoped, trust that you will have the strength to deal with it.

Do your part, breathe a prayer and then ... surrender. 

Do you find it hard to let go and surrender? Do you have advice for those trying to master the art of surrender? Please share in the comments and tell us what works for you.

A few weeks ago I looked around my gutted kitchen and found it hard to imagine that it would ever get put back together again. It was difficult to see past the ugly mess and envision the beautiful kitchen that was drawn up on my contractor's plan.

Tearing down walls, ripping up floors ... it's all part of the necessary work to remodel a room. You have to tear it down in order to rebuild it. You have endure the ugly to get to the beauty on the other side. 

Isn't that just like life? Sometimes careers, friendships and marriages have to go through a rough, ugly patch in order to heal what's broken and make it better. Sometimes we have to feel the hurt of grief and loss to feel the beauty of life and love and wonder on the other side. Sometimes we have to push through the hard stuff to get to the good stuff.

If there's something ugly in your life right now, imagine your ugly duckling situation turning into a beautiful swan. (Just like my kitchen, shown above and almost complete.) Consider the possibilities. After all, we're all a work in progress.

Are you living through something ugly right now? Have you lived through a particularly bad period only to find something beautiful at the end? Please share your thoughts, experiences and advice in the comments.