What is Shavasan?
Shavasan means corpse pose.
Asan means seat,
Which refers to the tiger skin that the ancient yogis sat on in lotus pose for the contemplation of the divine.
Shavasan is not a position of power like a standing pose but nevertheless it is a pose of yoga.
In Shavasan you are laying on the floor simply surrendering your body to the earth.
The word corpse implies that you are dead to the world.
In Shavasan you let go of your outer personalities or who you think you are.
You become dead to that and alive to the rich deep world of your inner being.
In yoga there is a wonderful word called santosh.
It means contentment.
Things may not be the way you want them to be but you can still be at peace with the world.
Shavasan helps you let go of the need to control your world every minute of every day and allows you just to be with your soul.
Twenty minutes of Shavasan in the evening will help you make the transition from active day to relaxed evening and will start the wind down process moving towards bedtime.
Do this practice when you have finished your work and make sure you don't turn any technology on again after your practice.
No computers,
IPads or phones.
This also includes the television.
Stay in this quiet space for the rest of the evening before bed.
This practice lasts for 20 minutes.
Make sure you are in your most comfortable clothes and get ready for your practice.
Set up your space.
You can lay on your bed with a pillow under your knees to support your back or on a yoga mat with a bolster under your knees and a pillow or cushion under your head.
Cover yourself up with a blanket and make sure you are warm.
I'll be guiding you into a period of silence and I'll watch the time.
All you need to know is that I'm holding the space for you.
Let your legs fall apart as they want to and have your chin slightly dropped to bring your mental attention inwards.
Have your palms facing up and make sure your inner arms aren't touching your body.
We'll start with a beautiful poem by Donna Folds called Unchained at Last.
I lift the lid off my experience.
Instead of holding it at a distance,
I dive right in and stare at my stale identity without flinching.
This isn't me or it's such a small part as to be insignificant.
I stop trying to fit myself into someone else's mould and I let go of what I've known.
In that moment of surrender,
Swirls of colour glide and pirouette behind closed eyes.
My spirit flies like a captive bird turned loose into the open sky.
Nothing can contain me.
I'm unchained at last,
A torrent tumbling from a hidden source,
A flow undeterred by boulders holding to no form.
Finally I know myself as energy.
Now is the moment just to be.
There is nothing expected of you right now,
Nothing to be gained or lost,
There is just you in this moment.
No one's judging you and there are no demands.
Unchain yourself from the outer world,
Drop the roles of who you think you are and become alert to your inner world and your energy.
Let yourself be,
Soften the body and get a sense of being open.
Let the bed or floor receive your body.
Allow the weight of your body to disappear so you find yourself losing your physical body.
Bring your awareness to the breath.
Don't try to do anything with the breath.
Just observe the breath.
There's no right or wrong,
Just observe.
With the next out breath,
Let any attention you had on the breath slip away.
Rest,
Soften and be silent.
I'll watch the time.
Let go.
Let go.
It's time to come back to your body.
Start noticing the connection between your body and the floor or the bed.
Start feeling the weight of your physical body on the floor or on the bed.
Sense the boundaries of your body.
Take a few deep breaths and stretch however the body feels it needs to.
Slowly open your eyes.
Hey everyone.
