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D E A D B O D Y P O S E – S A V A S A N A
Savasana seems ridiculously simple: relax and breathe, breathe and relax, while maintaining total stillness. Yet, when properly performed, Savasana is the most important posture in Hatha Yoga. Its name translates as "corpse pose", due to the complete stillness required during its proper execution (pun intended). But Savasana is actually a powerful way to breathe life into the body and for many it is also the most difficult asana.
Lying on your back between brief intervals of exercise is a foreign concept to those who exercise by running, jumping or hitting. Forget sports -- you don't see this in 99.9% of the yoga classes in this country, either. In these diluted styles of Hatha Yoga the students jump around to loud music instead, like an aerobics class. From a true yogic perspective, this is a crime. So throughout the floor series we perform Savasana for a minimum of 20 seconds after each set of every posture.
Tips
- Lie flat on your back, keeping your limbs straight
- Bring your heels together and your arms close enough to almost touch the sides of your body
- Turn your palms upward toward the ceiling to release pressure on the shoulder joints
- Keep your eyes open to remain present and awake
- Relax your whole body as one unit
Now the hard part, maintain total stillness for 2 minutes. Why so hard, because you're dealing with the untrained mind. The mind is rebellious and disobedient...within just a few seconds your toes wiggle, fingers tap, fists clench, eyes squint, muscles tense, teeth grind and breathe stops. The mind has an agenda of its own and is terrified to relinquish control.
But within a few weeks of yoga practice, all wiggling, fidgeting, clenching, tapping, squinting, holding and grinding in Savasana slowly gives way to a peaceful and relaxed stillness. When you are able to make your mind your best friend, you have the power and you achieve a gradual healing and integration of both body and mind.
Benefits
- Facilitates powerful blood flow
- Lets circulation return to normal, creating internal cleansing
- Greatly magnifies the benefits of the postures that precede it
- Begins the process of learning to completely relax
- Accelerates the compression and release cycle where internal organs are first deprived of blood then flooded with it
- The irrigation and cleansing that occur after the postures is how we gain energy through yoga practice
Practice each Savasana with clear intention and take the ability to relax in stressful situations out with you in to the real world!!!
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