At some point in every yoga class the instructor delivers a message that goes something like, “begin to prepare yourself for Savasana.” The lights are lowered and the music becomes tranquil and soothing. Practitioners can almost feel a sense of relief, a sense of letting go. No matter what “style” of yoga you practice, all yogis, all over the world love their Savasana.
Despite the fact that most yoga practitioners eagerly anticipate and appreciate Savasana, it is probably one of the most difficult asanas to master. We practice Savasana by lying on our back extended to our full length with our arms to our sides but some space away from our thighs. Typically, our palms will face up in Savasana although some teachers may vary the position of the hands or leave this to the student. Normally the legs are slightly separated.
Savasana, also called Mrtasana means corpse pose. Sava and Mrta both literally translate
to corpse. The idea is to remain as still as possible imitating the body after the life force has departed. Although the physical practice of Savasana is relatively simple, the primary intention is to keep the mind as still as possible without drifting off into a sleeping state. Our goal is to be fully conscious while at the same time keeping the mind completely still. Therefore, Savasana may just be the most difficult pose to actually master.
The recommended length of the practice of Savasana is 15-20 minutes. However, in today’s world of express yoga and “power hour classes” this duration is rarely achieved. Unfortunately, many yoga classes and instructors treat Savasana as an after thought. Recently, it seems that the emphasis in western yoga classes has shifted to strength and physical power rather than mastering the chattering mind that is the root cause of our dysfunction and disequilibrium. It is after all the mind that is the source of our dis-ease, not the body.
The Death of a Practice – The practice of Savasana is also our opportunity to release any attachment to our daily asana practice. Sometimes as over achieving western yogis we have the tendency to become attached to the “successful completion” of certain poses. In addition, it is common for our egos to become engaged as we compare ourselves to the practitioners in the class around us.
Savasana is our opportunity to completely release all successes and perceived shortcomings of our practice. The goal is to empty the mind of all ego concerns, emerging from our meditation renewed and reborn. We will return to the work of our yoga again tomorrow but until then it is forgotten.
Savasana and The Big Chill – Savasana literally translates to “corpse pose”. We not only imitate a corpse in Savasana but we are also reminded of the transient nature of our lives when we practice corpse pose. We use Savasana to contemplate the moment of our own death. Death is the future experience that we all have in common. It is useful to bring our full and undivided awareness to the matter of our own death in order to truly appreciate the many blessings and gifts of our life. Death is a concept that is largely ignored in our culture, which is probably why Savasana is often shortened or overlooked in lieu of getting in a few more Chaturanga push-ups. When we bring awareness to our death we begin to diffuse some of the fear associated with the death experience.
Share the Love!
So we practice Savasana to calm and control the mental chattering of the mind (ego). We practice Savasana to remove the fatigue caused by the other asanas. We practice Savasana in order to release any attachment to the physical practice. And, perhaps most importantly, we practice Savasana so that we may face our own death and become more comfortable with the transient nature of our lives. You should emerge from a proper Savasana refreshed, renewed, humble and in love with your life and the people around you.
This weekend, please bring your attention to your practice of Savasana and great beauty will manifest in the world around you. Take the love you cultivate during the practice of Savasana into your life and share it openly!
