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Meditation
Support
Relax
Completely: Try this Pose!
Excerpted from The Art and Science
of Raja Yoga
from the July Daily Meditator
I have already
pointed out the importance of being aware enough of one's body to
relax it, and of relaxing into every pose instead of forcing
oneself into it. It is time now to learn the supreme relaxation
pose, Savasana (the Corpse Pose).
On the surface, this would seem to be the simplest of all the poses
to assume. In fact, however, because relaxation itself is so difficult,
perfection in Savasana is rarely attained.
To practice Savasana, lie on the floor. Turn the palms of
your hands upward (this position will help to induce a feeling of
relaxation and of mental receptivity). The head, neck, trunk, and
legs should be in a straight line. One should not use a pillow in
this position; the flow of blood should be equal to all parts of
the body.
I have said that awareness is the necessary precursor of relaxation.
There are many parts of the body that are tense without our conscious
knowledge. How are we to become enough aware of them to relax them?
The answer is, by increasing the tension throughout the body. Often
it happens on a psychological level that we only overcome our faults
when they have become so exaggerated as to be obvious to us. The
same is true with physical tension. The best way to induce preliminary
relaxation in the body is first to inhale, tense the whole body
(equalizing the flow of tension throughout the body), then throw
the breath out and relax the entire body at once.
After this preliminary relaxation (which you may repeat two or three
times), lie very still. Be aware of your breath, if you like. You
may watch it in the nostrils, or simply be mentally aware of the
rhythmic rise and fall of your navel. As your calmness deepens,
feel your consciousness becoming centered increasingly at the point
between the eyebrows.
Now, strive for deep relaxation. Think of your body as surrounded
by space—space in all directions spreading out to infinity.
Now think of your feet, and visualize this space gradually seeping
through the pores of the skin into your feet, until your feet become
space. Visualize this space as gradually coming up into the calves,
thighs, hips, the abdomen and stomach, the hands, forearms, upper
arms, shoulders, chest, the back of the neck, sides of the neck,
the throat, jaw, tongue, lips, cheeks, eyes, and brain. In feeling
space in your brain, release from your mind all regrets about the
past, all worries about the future. Rest in the infinite ocean of
the eternal Present. The objects of endless human concern no longer
exist. There is nothing in all eternity but the Right Here, the
Right Now.
Affirm mentally: "Bones, muscles, movement I surrender now;
anxiety, elation and depression, churning thoughts: All these I
give into the hands of peace."
Savasana may be practiced more briefly between the other
postures, until the heartbeat and the breathing have returned to
normal. At the end of one's posture session, however, one should
go into deep relaxation in Savasana for at least five or
ten minutes, or until you have felt the deeper rejuvenating effects
of total relaxation.
Relaxation may be particularized after each posture. If you have
been stretching a particular part of the body (as, for example,
the lower back in the Posterior Stretching Pose), while doing Savasana
after it concentrate especially upon the relaxation of the lower
back, rather than on the relaxation of the whole body.
Benefits: Savasana brings supreme relaxation; helps
in the development of receptivity, so important to yogic practice;
rejuvenates the body cells; and aids in mental and physical healing.
Savasana
(The Corpse Pose)
"Bones,
muscles, movement I surrender now; anxiety, elation and depression,
churning thoughts: All these I give into the hands of peace."
More Articles
on Yoga Postures:
from the
July Daily Meditator
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