.....savasana

Yogis,

Yesterday at the end of my lunch time practice, as I was lying down and pulling the blanket up over me, the song I use most often for Savasana began.  I turned to Phoebe and said, ‘My favorite song!’, with a big smile on my face.  But I realized it is also my favorite yoga pose.

It wasn’t always that way………………

Savasana, or corpse pose, is an essential part of a yoga practice.  It is done at the end, lying down, relaxing the body from head to toe and settling the mind so that all of the benefits of the practice can soak into the body and soul.  Its many benefits include calming the nervous system, relieving stress and shifting the mind into slower brain waves.  Our focus shifts inward.  Nothing to do.

But for many Savasana can be the most challenging part of a yoga class.  I have had students let me know they have an appointment and have to leave class a few minutes early….every week.  Or there is that need to fidget, adjust, take a sip of water or blow the nose.  Anything to delay lying perfectly still.  To some it appears to be a ‘waste of time’.  Not ‘doing’ anything. 

I know when I first began practicing, my biggest worries were that my stomach would begin to growl, I would suddenly start giggling, or worst of all…that I would fart.  The room during Savasana is so quiet that any movement or bodily noise seems like a broadcast over a PA system. 

But after about a year of spending my ‘final rest’ time coming up with all of the possible negative outcomes, I began to relax.  And relax some more. And relax some more.  Until – it became my favorite pose.  There is deep subtle magic in Savasana when you allow it to do its work.  Something I can’t describe.  It can only be experienced. 

So I am leaving tomorrow morning for a week on a tiny remote island where there is basically nothing to do.  A few restaurants.  One shop.  One ferry that gets you there.  No TV, computer, newspaper.  Nothing to visit or timetables to keep.   I realized that this is like an extended Savasana.  Once I arrive, the distractions of the outer world will fade so that I can let all I have done over these last few months settle in.  My mind and body can relax.  My breath will slow and will have more of my undivided attention.

We can all benefit from Savasana in classes, but perhaps even more so in life. 

In last night’s yoga class as we came into Savasana, the teacher asked us to drop our bones.  I pictured the relief of dropping my enormous suitcase (I am not a good packer)when I arrived at my destination.   I noticed that as I let my bones go, everything else followed.  I think I will let my bones drop many times this week in the warm sand.

No post next week as I will be beginning to bring awareness slowly back to my outer senses, wiggling my fingers and toes, and deepening the breath  as I make my way back to civilization.  I know my brain waves will certainly have slowed……………

Nothing to do,
SARAH