Friday, August 15, 2008

Savasana - The Most Difficult Pose To Do



The other day I was thinking of the yoga poses and deciding which one is the most difficult to do. Is it the head stand, bakasana (crane pose) or the other arm balance poses? All of which I am still finding some difficulty going into.

As I lay on my bed, I realized the most difficult pose is actually savasana (corpse pose). You might say, what is so difficult with a pose that need you to just lie on the floor? Well, the difficult part is to clear the mind of all thoughts and relax the body completely to get the maximum benefits of the pose.

Often, as I lay down to do the pose, my mind would start to wander and I would be thinking about the things that happened during the day or what I need to do the next day at the office. It is especially difficult when you have a lot of things on your mind, as one thought would come in after another.

One day, as I listened to the instructions from my yoga teacher, I started to observe my breathing and surrender to the sensations taking over my body, letting each part of my body relax and totally let go of all thoughts. As I came out of the pose, I felt less tense and a feeling of peacefulness.

Savasana is one of the most valuable poses in the yoga practice. Its benefits are:
  • it calms and quiets the mind

  • it soothes the nervous system

  • it removes fatigue

  • it aids in recovery of illness

  • it diminishes migraines

  • it gives an awareness of areas that hold stress and tension

"That is the end of your practice for today, but it's not the end of awareness." -- Patricia Walden

No comments: