Savasana – anywhere, anytime
For anyone who has ever done a yoga class you will know all about Savasana. For those of you who don’t know savasana or corpse pose, it looks as simple as laying on the floor with your eyes closed, however it is anything but.
For some/most it is bliss, for others it is 5-10 minutes of a racing mind and figiting fingers.
For me it is a small slice of peace where my mind sways between sleep and awake, between consciousness and unconsciousness. Some mornings when my bed, and husband, are warm and snuggly and I go to press snooze for the third time it is that final rest in my practice that gets me out of bed and onto my mat. I know in this time I will find quiet, it may be the only quiet I get all day, but having this small inch of space gives me a mile of presence to bring into my day.
Lately I have found myself becoming frustrated with my lack of time for Savasana. I search for it, crave it, but by the time I get through my practice I rarely leave enough time to fully enjoy it. Then it hit me, I can have it anywhere, anytime. Although the best rest follows a challenging session of asana/poses, when we practice yoga regularly we are able to tap into this gift of calming and quietening the mind no matter what is going on around you. So the other day as I was finishing up a long practice while my daughter had a friend over playing, rather than becoming frustrated when they came into my yoga space to do yoga with me I lay myself down and into my final resting corpse pose and found some quiet amongst the chaos of 3 year old’s playing. To my surprise they didn’t disturb me once, they didn’t even ask what I was doing, they simply went on with their own games letting Mummy lay and breathe. This made me stop and think two things –
– You really can have a moment of peace, calm and quiet whenever you need it. Once you develop the skill of tuning out distractions and tuning into the breath and body you can use this skill at your disposal. This is not to say that formal meditation, relaxation or yoga nidra (a lead relaxation, known as ‘yogic sleep’) is not important, it is essential if you want to be able to tap into the ‘anywhere, anytime’ method.
– Children see relaxation as a normal part of life! It is only later in life that we develop either an aversion or a desire for peace and quiet, rather than just seeing it as a normal thing to do when we need it. If we can show our little loved ones that we prioritise this time for ourselves, they will grow up making the time for themselves, it is from here that peace will ensue.
A little secret from a yoga teacher/me; I used to sit and practice pranayama (breathing) while my students were in savasana, sometimes I would sit and think about my next plans or play around with my music, I now take the time to lay my body down and float on the bliss bubble with the rest of my yogi’s! So the point of these words, go lay down and take savasana…..now! All you need is 5-15 minutes and a space to lay your body.
For those of you who struggle with the concept and practice look out for the next blog, struggling in Śavāsana for some tips on how to quiet the mind, for a few moments.
There are 2 comments on this post
Never thought I would see Lotus relaxing as such!!! So cool. As you know that’s my favourite part of yoga!! I can hear you, even feel your presence but I float away and end up feeling so relaxed and energised in the calmest of ways, it’s such a wonderful place to be. I usually come to class so tired from my morning group session, my full on day at work, and often ponder for a second sometimes as to shall in not go to yoga??? Then I remind myself how great I feel how I love the relaxation, and not to be lazy and I never regret it! It’s what I look forward to most. Thank you as always and in advance I know it will be an awesome class xoxoxo
Thankyou! You are such a special gift Alicia! I always feel such a connection when I read your posts and for those few moments at least gain clarity and some self acceptance. Keep on writing…I will keep on reading. x