SAVASANA
In the sacred silence of Savasana, it is the only time in the day I'm doing nothing and creating nothing, serving no one outwardly but serving everyone inwardly
Judith Hanson Lasater
Have you noticed how each time you lie down in savasana at the end of yoga, you have different experiences? Sometimes you feel truly relaxed & calm and other times you can feel irritable or agitated. Your body has entered a quiet space, being physically still and there’s no plan to move until you’re gently instructed to. It’s a rare and unusual place to find ourselves in isn’t it….but Neurologists recognise the massive benefit to the nervous system, when the body stops 'holding itself together' and 'powering down'.
Here are a few things you may have experienced and why Savasana is so important to practice:
We have become conditioned on being productive and Savasana may feel unnecessary and non productive. Aaaah this is so common, I’ve skipped savasana myself because I didn’t have enough time, I clearly felt it wasn’t worthy of my precious time! But…this is exactly the lesson to learn here. It’s ok do some things that don’t instantly feel productive. It’s ok to give ourselves permission to ease off. The act of surrendering to the demand of proving ourselves all the time, will provide the most needed release of internal stress. The benefits to our health are immeasurable when we accept it’s ok to stop sometimes.
When things feel uncomfortable, we’re used to moving away from it! Think about situations in your day that feel irritable, you probably changed your focus in another direction, or moved entirely so that you can avoid the discomfort. The magic that occurs in the act of remaining where we are, is that we give ourselves the chance to allow feelings & emotions to change and shift whilst we’re there. In yoga we are encouraged to notice what we notice! Give all feelings a nod of acknowledgment (I see you!) and sit with it. Of course, settling into a position for savasana which suits your body is very important. If your back is happier with the knees bent or your neck more relaxed with a cushion or block under it, make sure that you set yourself up. But going back to the point about moving away from irritable feelings…. It’s ok to feel irritable sometimes. It’s just an emotion and a good exercise to look at as neither good or bad but just one of many emotions that we can experience within a short period of time, 10 minutes for example. Sitting with our emotions is such a valuable tool to carry around in life. It allows the space to pause before reacting or responding!!
“Savasana does not agitate you. It reveals how agitated you already are”
Judith Hanson Lasater
We keep ourselves so busy these days, our bodies expect more activity, noise, overstilmulation & stress. So when we ask ourselves to STOP, it feels alien. The fight or flight hormones tend to have far too much ‘air time’, due to the stressful demands & expectations of life these days. The cortisol & adrenalin that is coursing through our blood is seeking out ways to utilise the supply. This can feel uncomfortable but it’s in the slowing down that triggers the nervous system to reduce the adrenaline supply, prompting the calmer, grounding hormones to appear, thus reducing the pressure on the heart to pump blood at such pressure. Having high blood pressure (hypertension) is taken very seriously, it can be a dangerous place to be. It’s known to be a precursor for a plethora of diseases like heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease & type 2 diabetes. To live a healthier life, it’s so important to keep our stress hormones in check. To live a healthier life, it’s so important to keep our stress hormones in check.
The beauty of savasana is that, quite simply, it’s when your practice has the space to seep in and absorb. For every cell in our body to be touched by the powerful energy, prana of your asana practice recalibrate and repair. Your breathing slows, your shoulders release, your spine settles to the ground & it feels like your body is powering down.
Each time we practice savasana, we’re teaching ourselves that we can rest, without guilt, without the need to prove our worth to anyone, without the need to achieve or produce something tangible, without any justification!!! Resting is very much DOING.