Savasana (sha-va-sana),
is known as the final relaxation pose, and it really is a great thing. I'm not only saying this as a Yoga student but also as a Yoga teacher (not because of what you think: She teaches Yoga, that's why she HAS to love all asanas). No, the reason is quite an important issue, especially for Yoga teacher trainees: After teaching 2 Yoga classes the other day, one right after the other, I had the urge to Twist my spine and to lay down for a couple of minutes on my back, because otherwise I really would've had shaky legs...
Savasana is also called Corpse pose. This kind of sounds weird at first, which is why I prefer to describe it as silent pose. Savasana is a very important pose and it's not as easy as it looks.
"Who What Were?"
Savasana is an Asana (Hatha Yoga) and in most cases, depending on the style of Yoga you're practicing, is used as the final relaxation pose at the end of class. In some Yoga Styles Savasana is repeated though out the class, but I have to admit that this is confusing for my nervous system.
Similar to meditation, you relax your thoughts and, well, 'just be'.
In Savasana you basically just lay down on your back for about 7-10 minutes (without falling asleep), stretching out legs and arms and closing your eyes. This part sounds quite easy. To avoid lower back pain you could even rest your legs on a big cushion. They say that the energy, Prana, is being released throughout the class and can be stored in the many, tiny energy channels, called Nadis. In a nutshell: the Nervous System clams down, Happy feeling (hormones) flow through the whole body and tensed tissue or muscles can relax. A pretty nice side effect is the inner contentment that we desperately need to decrease urges like over shopping of material things or over eating. Which means in the end: Savasana saves you money!
"But how do I turn my head off?"
Savasana looks manageable on the outside, but what about the internal work of: just being? What if my head is turning, circling around itself, like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, who just does not have the time to stop? Through practicing Asanas we are working towards this sweet moment of letting go: letting go of the outer shell, our bodies, letting go of ideas, letting go of being a control freak. The Asanas hopefully wear us down to some sort of fatigue that lying down is exactly what we're striving for and what we need to restore. Through concentrating on breathing our minds get tired as well, so that turning off gets easier from practice to practice. But still, for some of us who love thinking, this is the hardest task.
The quality of the Savasana experience can be different from day to day: sometimes it will be easier to allow your weight to sink into your mat and to enjoy the quietness and stillness of the inner peace, the satisfaction of not having to do anything. Sometimes it will be harder to let go of a specific problem that you just can't stop trying to solve through overthinking. This is ok too. Through repetitive rounds of focussing on letting go, letting go will be trained like a muscle. The key is to not get frustrated or emotional if it's not working as you wished it would. Practice creates masters. Practice definitely creates Yogis too.
"Savasana is stupid and boring!"
I can understand students, who, occasionally have to skip Savasana because of their busy work schedule. But: this should be an exception. If it's a regular thing, then you can be sure that you're running away from whatever inner conflict is calling for your attention.
Practice your Savasana.
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