Savasana

Life in the 21^st century can feel intense, volatile, and uncertain. Even in a world with more modern devices and services that offer more leisure time and choices, many people still experience anxiety and stress, making our yoga and spiritual practices even more important to bring about presence and balance. 

When we hear Savasana (corpse pose), we think of the simple lying down pose that is done briefly at the end of the yoga class, but is an intricate and precise posture that creates alignment of the body, mind, and spirit and brings groundedness, rejuvenation, and balance.

“Savasana is a yoga posture emulating the dead, but out of apparent death comes life.”

Although this reclining pose seems simple, it is essential to take the time to find the correct alignment and structure, ensuring that the channels (nadis) are aligned, allowing the life force (prana) to flow smoothly to all parts of your being.

Begin by lying down on a flat surface with your inner feet and knees touching. Gently press your heels outward to lengthen your spine and lower back, aligning your anal opening, navel, sternum, throat, chin, bridge of the nose, and forehead.

Once aligned, ensure your sacrum and shoulders are even, and gently lower your chin to avoid tension in the back of your neck. Finally, let your inner thighs and upper arms naturally turn outward, causing the back of your body to lift gently, opening the front of your body, releasing the areas where the Chakras (energy centers) connect along the spine at the pelvis, abdomen, solar plexus, heart, throat, and head—and which correspond to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms.

When alignment is achieved, you will feel a relaxation in your jaw and temporal area, the tongue will rest neutrally in your mouth, your eyes and brain will subtly recede from the skull and eyelids, and your ear canals will soften.

“Consider each pore of the skin is a conscious eye, and delicately adjust and balance the

body from within with the help of these eyes.”

Although the goal of savasana is to rest the body and mind, the practitioner should remain fully conscious and avoid falling asleep. Instead, they should cultivate conscious surrender as their senses withdraw, experiencing a sense of introspection, lightness, detachment, and surrender.