Yoga - Savasana or "Corpse Pose"

On Saturday mornings, I frequently go to an 8:00 a.m. yoga class at the gym. It's a good class and there's not usually many poses that are too difficult for me to figure out. Nothing too "pretzel-y."

I'm starting my actual description of yoga classes at the end. Maybe some time I'll mention some of the other poses that are in the middle. A few weeks ago, the yoga instructor said that she didn't mind if people left the class early, but that if we are already at Savasana or "corpse pose," she would prefer that you just wait until the class is over. Savasana is always the last pose of the class before the end. Yesterday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, there were probably 6 people that left during Savasana, and for an already small class, that's pretty distracting. By the end of the class, there was the yoga instructor, the bald guy, and me.

There was an article in the Yoga Journal all about Savasana that I read a few months ago, called "Heavenly Rest" by John Hanc. The article starts out describing how his instructor, Maria, noted his improvement in Savasana, and his response was, "So, I'm getting better at lying on the floor?"

But here is why Savasana is important:

Maria sighed and looked at me reproachfully. "Savasana is a lot more than just lying on the floor."

Now don't get me wrong: I enjoy that delicious rest at the end of class. But until I gave it serious consideration, I thought of Savasana as a yogic chill pill, built into the end of practice to calm yuppies and soccer moms before they climb back into their SUVs and start texting their way to the nearest Starbucks.

Later in the article, there is a concise definition of what Savasana is about:

"How often in life do we give ourselves permission to lie still, relax, and just breathe?" asks Christina Geithner, a yoga teacher and professor of human physiology at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The benefits of Savasana, says Geithner, who is also a spokeswoman for the American College of Sports Medicine, include reduced muscle tension throughout the body and engagement of the relaxation response in a quiet place without distractions. Plus, you let go of the concerns of the day.

If you are planning to take a yoga class, take the whole yoga class. That includes Savasana.