SAVASANA literally corpse pose and often called relaxation pose. ‘Letting go’ your hold of the physical body, and bringing the mind to focus on observing breath quality, can be experienced as a most refreshing effect on our being, and a lovely way to end a practice.
PRACTICE NOTES
1) Sit in the middle of your mat with your legs bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2) Come back on to your elbows keeping the chest lifted as you extend your spine to the ground.
3) Slide a folded blanket under your head and neck to touch the shoulders and use the hands to draw the skull away from the body side.
4) Straighten your legs. Carefully place them, one at a time, on the floor with the centre of the back of the thighs and calves pressing down, then allow your feet fall out to the sides.
IN THE POSE
Our awareness gets dragged back to the surface of our being when the body tilts to one side. Therefore, take some time to carefully align the centre of your chest, pelvis, inner legs, and heels; maintain an even weight on both sides of your body.
Close your eyes. Relax your throat. In these reclining poses it’s important not to lose the meditative quality of the pose. Be present and stay with the moment.
Let your belly relax and spread to the sides. Hold the sides of the mat and roll your shoulders away from your ears.
Elongate the back of your neck and rest your head on the centre of the back of the skull.
Extend your arms out to the sides so there is space between your upper arms and your side chest and armpit region. Turn them outward so that your palms face up.
Allow your joints, even those at the back of the skull, to release and loosen.
Release the skin on your forehead, from the hairline to the eyebrows, and then allow your brow to spread outward.
Relax your inner ears and listen within.
Relax your tongue and allow it to shrink and become smaller.
Let go completely.
Focus on the exhalation and allow the breath to become soft, smooth and slow.
Become more inwardly aware, listen to the breath, feel your pulse in your ears and look into the internal space of yourself.
Surrender the intelligence of the brain to the wisdom of your heart.
Hold for 5—10 minutes.
Thanks to our model, Julie and fellow teachers at Yoga on Tay in creating this pose of the month guide. If you have any questions regarding this guide or your suitability to practice yoga, please do get in touch. We will be happy to help you.
