A Wes Craven flick? Nope, you can find the Corpse Pose at your local yoga studio.  A bit macabre to practice a pose in yoga affectionately called "corpse" pose.  And more oddly, it's everyone's favorite. The Sanskrit for our final supine pose is savasana (pronounced sha-vasana).  In our death denying society (among many other denials we regularly keep) it's a surprise anyone comes to yoga.    

What some would consider the easiest pose in the world--lying on their backs as if soaking up rays in the Maldives--savasanais actually considered the most difficult.  What could be hard about that?  Three things: the mind, the mind and the mind.  The body, organically and intuitively, knows how to relax and let go.  The mind, not so much.  As we lay there feeling the muscles soften and the bones grow heavy, our real work is calming those jumping, drunken monkeys between our ears.  

Judith Lasater is adamant with her students when she says: "Always teach savasana".   Well, lying on your back seems pretty self-explanatory, doesn't it.  What's there to teach?  Lots. Letting go of control over our body, breath and thoughts is hard stuff for a control-laden society.  Thus the term "practice".  We may feel we've mastered a perfectly angled Triangle pose or a gravity defying Bird of Paradise, but it could take months/years/decades to find the release that savasana is meant to offer.  This letting go, physically and metaphorically means we have to release control--to be corpse-like.     

How long is long enough time in savasana?  In my experience as a student, savasana is often not taken seriously and only a final few minutes of the class get devoted the this important pose.  Maybe the teachers think they're wasting the students' time by "resting."  David Swenson, Ashtanga master that he is, weighs in on the topic:  spend enough time "at least until the heart rate and breath rate return to a resting rhythm. This may be a different length of time for each student."  A Yoga Journal articles states five minutes for every 30 minutes of practice.  It's not unusual to hear 15 minutes for each 60 minutes.  I don't see it often, but there are classes where students regularly skip savasana, roll up their mats and leave.  In my classes, if you need to leave early, you take a savasana before leaving, regardless of what the rest of the class is doing.  Period.      

Is it hard for you to relax because you're afraid of snoring or falling asleep?  This is common and I experience this often.  No one wants to be the snorer.  I've heard a saying:  "If you can't relax in savasana, you haven't worked hard enough.  If you fall asleep, you've worked too hard."  However, in our sleep-deprived times, maybe what your body is asking for is an itty bitty nap.  Go ahead, give it what it needs. 

Thank you Pattabhi Jois for telling it like it should be:  "If student does not get up from savasana, or lifting student up (and he/she) is like a stiff board, savasana is correct."  Ah!!

Recycled from 12/11