The Journey of Savasana
Diving Into the Mystery, Remembering How to Let Go
“Remember fear for what it is, resistance to the unknown.” -Terry Tempest Williams
Pause, take a deep breath. Invite the possibility to read this article with a soft face and receptive eyes.
Intrigued by the experiences of letting go, deep rest and the healing which unfolds on this journey, this article dives into the questions and uncertainties which are at the essence of savasana.
First, consider when and where you take savasana?
What position do you come to rest in? And, are you really, lovingly, giving yourself an opportunity to let go?
Put on a few layers to be sure you are warm enough. A thick blanket over your body is a nice way to encourage the body’s surrender to gravity…like a gravity blanket resting over your skin layer. And, an eye pillow or a scarf over the eyes can really help to allow the eyes and brain cavity to relax into earth. Take adequate time to adjust and if you have aches and pains in your body, consider using props and bolsters to support yourself. Some options I like are a bolster behind the upper thigh bones, thin blocks under the backs of the palms (allows forearms and hands to soften), or a rolled up blanket in the hollow space behind the neck.
How much time to you give yourself? Or, how much time do you give your class, if you are a teacher? In this busy world of time, it seems that this universally beneficial posture often gets squeezed in, or used simply as a way to recover from a sweaty yoga class.
“It is to relinquish who you are and to let go of life’s concerns into the merest of being alive. Such letting go into the smooth presence of simple being is not the kind of visible, salable skill a businessman or a violinist might develop. But, it is not at all trivial. To really let go, to not try, not even a little, is its’ own kind of mastery.” -Robert Forman
Second, consider how you drop in and how you retreat from the posture?
Once you are set, settle and breathe. Feel the parts of your body that touch earth. Feel the parts of the body that touch sky. You are the space between earth and sky. Receive the breathe through the layers of your being. Explore flickering the eyes , open and closed, almost unconsciously, as you drop into savasana. This is almost a mimicry of the dying process, slowly, slowly, letting go.
Can you have an intention to let go and simultaneously receive the unfolding as it manifests inside of you?
When the time comes to retreat from the womb of savasana; pause.
Pause.
Feel the parts of your body that touch earth. Feel the parts of your body that touch sky. You are the space between earth and sky. Let the mystery unfold in the space between the inner landscape of your body and the outer landscape of this world. Absorb the residue which lingers, right now. However you are inspired to, move slowly towards seated.
Lastly, consider the broader questions/ideas below. Look inwards for the edges of relaxation and see what you find. For me, it’s smooth edges, endless space and deep mystery. It’s sometimes scary, sometimes sleepy, and always a journey of truth, which asks me to peel back the layers and really show up for the truth of my life.
- Does your yoga practice prepare you for savasana?
What is the transition like, for you, between movement and stillness?
When the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated throughout the yoga practice, it is much more natural for our whole being to move towards a state of letting go. Even in a dynamic movement flow, if the tone of the movement remains soft and fluid, we are much more in tune with the basic primal rhythms of life (primary respiration, heart-beat, breath, etc) and as a result we can more deeply merge with the earth energies as we relax into savasana.
- Why is it often referred to as the most important pose?
Given that one of the only certainties in life is death, facing our own mortality seems something interesting to ponder and even, perhaps, practice. And, perhaps facing death allows us to really come into contact with intentions for how we want to live our lives, here and now.
- Notice and embrace the shifts in your practice?
Resist labeling your savasana practice as good or bad. Some days, weeks or years, we are going through life events and relaxation is inevitably not easy. Rather then avoiding it all together, create a safe space and be gentle and open with yourself.
If you have had trauma in your life, savasana can often be the place where it resurfaces. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, just an opportunity to revisit and move through events, which are still residing in the tissues of our being.
“Once again there was a pervasive silence and once again I waited for the onset of fear to break it up. But this time the fear never came…within, all was still, silent and motionless. In the stillness, I was not aware of the moment when the fear and tension of waiting had left. Still I continued to wait for a movement not of myself and when no movement came, I simply remained in a great stillness…Once outside, I fully expected to return to my ordinary energies and thinking mind, but this day I had a difficult time because I was continually falling back into the great silence.” -Bernadette Roberts
About the Author
4 Ways to Make Savasana Sweeter
At the end of yoga class, it’s often joked that Savasana is the most difficult pose of all. It didn’t take me long to realize that there may be some truth to this joke. Many beginners struggle with Savasana, either falling asleep or hanging on to their thoughts, forbidding clarity and relaxation to sink in.
One of the reasons I developed a commitment to yoga was the paltry $5 difference between signing up for only yoga classes and tacking on a full gym membership. I seldom went upstairs to the gym. Movement on the machines felt unnatural and I was intimidated by the bulky dudes in tight shirts. Meanwhile, I found the yoga classes soothing. I sweated out so many toxins and worked on my flexibility, but there was something that regularly happened in class that annoyed the sweet prana right out of me.
When it was time for the exquisitely long 15 minutes of well-deserved Savasana, some unknowns upstairs would start their heavy weightlifting routine. Loud thuds and trembling shock waves distracted my focus and raised feelings of anger and rage. I thought about going upstairs to complain, but I wasn’t inclined to start an argument with buff dudes who could kick my skinny ass.
I didn’t realize until my teacher training that this aggravation was allowing me to practice aparigraha, or non-attachment, by letting go of thoughts and emotions, either positive or negative. After about four months, those thuds sounded like a light knock on the door of my perception; I had learned to withdraw from my senses and my active mind.
Here are four ways to improve the Savasana experience, both in your personal practice and when you’re teaching class.
Learn and Practice Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a technique that guides students through various parts of their bodies. It works by increasing the awareness of sensations in the muscular, connective and nerve tissues by breathing into them to send a signal of relaxation.
If done right, one can feel the energy flow up and down through the chakras. Eventually, it’s possible to dissolve sensations from the body altogether. It’s like having a voice-guided eraser that slowly fades your body into the ether.
There are many Yoga Nidra meditation recordings out there, and some teachers like to guide their students through a session during Savasana. However, due to time limits at studios, it’s best to incorporate in a home practice to allow yourself the extra time.
Mystical Music or Silence
Traditionally, yoga was done without music, much less meditation. It wasn’t until yoga came to the West that teachers started to notice the addition of music adds more flow and rhythm to a class. In the end, it really comes down to the preference of the individual.
Being a “Cosmic DJ” is no easy feat. We often let our personal musical preferences filter into our sacred tracks, be it mantras, Kirtan, white sounds or Enya. I’ve had some teachers play great songs through class and then choose an awful track for Savasana that was distracting or too intense.
My recommendation is to experiment and find tracks that take you to another dimension. If you live in a quiet town or deep in the woods, these locations allow for moments of silence; work with that and get a little Tibetan bowl timer in case you drift too deeply.
Visualizations
One of the most powerful resources available to us is our imagination. I’ve found that using my imagination for visualizations has led me to profound and prolonged sessions of peace, quiet and rest. Here are three visualizations that help the mind let go.
The Big Blue Sky
Bring your awareness to the color blue, as if you were lying down on the earth looking up at the sky. Feel the warmth of the sun on your body and start to breathe in the fresh air. Any thought that passes through your mind, give it the shape of a big, fluffy cloud. If a thought is more negative, make the cloud more stormy and grey.
As you inhale, summon the power of the wind element, and as you exhale, watch how the clouds slowly drift away. Continue attaching thoughts to cloud shapes and breathe them away until nothing remains except blue bliss.
This visualization is a personal favorite inspired by Pema Chodron’s quote, “You are the sky, everything else is just the weather.”
The Ocean of Consciousness
Imagine you are sitting on a deserted beach in front of the crashing waves. Imagine that each wave is a thought or feeling. Let the wave slowly rise and fall as it crashes and dissolves in the sand.
As the breath deepens, so do the waves. Ask yourself, Where are these waves coming from? Their source is the depths of your mind. Imagine standing on the shores of your own consciousness, witnessing the waves arriving and dissolving. Realize you are not just the waves, but the whole ocean.
(This visualization works great with some ambient wave sounds.)
The Theater and the Ghost Light
Imagine that the mind is a stage, and your awareness is auditioning thoughts to see how well they perform. Some are funny, others are dramatic, and there’s the occasional poetic script read.
Imagine that your cue to let each thought go is a deep breath. As you start to slow your breath, you notice the stage lights are slowly fading out. The stage turns dark except for a white light that’s keeping the ghosts from the past and future away.
This light is your anchor to the present moment. It’s the light that shines within you and illuminates other beings with love, compassion and kindness. With every inhale, let these positive feelings sink in and watch how the light glimmers brighter and brighter.
Essential Oils
Last but not least, aromatherapy is an effective way to calm the mind and relax the body. A diffuser works like a charm to spread the scent through a whole room, but there’s nothing more powerful than rubbing a little dab of oil right on the third eye, the base of the neck and the temples. Some favorite essential oils for Savasana are lavender, bergamot, ylang ylang, rose, jasmine, melissa and geranium.
