SAVASANA

Savasana first appears in written history around the 15th century in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and is the only pose included in every sequence within the text. Due to the demands of modern life, we may find ourselves tempted to cut our savasana short - or even skip it altogether - when, in fact, every pose in your vinyasa sequence is preparing your body and mind for savasana.

Much of life is learning how to navigate our stress in a balanced way. Stress is ultimately what keeps us running and simultaneously the element that can keep us from thriving. Our relationship with stress is much like owning a credit card. If we spend excessively without paying it back, we face the threat of debt and major strife. But, if we make timely and proportional payments, we build credit.

Equivalently, when we regularly alternate between stimulating our sympathetic nervous system - aka ‘fight or flight’, then allow ourselves to return to a parasympathetic - ‘rest and digest’ - state, we gain resiliency and strength. The amount of stress you can endure is directly linked to the amount of stress you recover from.

The exertion we experience during exercise is also stress. On a physical level, savasana returns us to a state of relaxation and homeostasis after an intense physical practice. Without it, we don’t permit our bodies to relinquish the state of defence, and we miss out on the joy of post-yoga bliss.

Savasana translates to ‘corpse pose,’ and is the practice of surrendering to death. Not only literal, physical death, but also death of ego, material desire, and attachment. On a spiritual level, the deep stillness of savasana is integral to the final stage of Yoga, samadhi, where we aim to reach full integration with the Universe by disconnecting from our physical bodies.

When we lose ourselves, bliss arises.