savasana

Earlier this week I had a couple hard hormonal days. My body hurt. I ached all over. And my soul hurt, my heart hurt. I felt useless. I wanted to crawl under the covers and not come out. Everything felt pointless. I thought I should just close shop and throw in the towel. Why did I bother anyhow? I identified with my failuresI could muster kindness out in the world and in the hours that I taught, but my family bore the brunt of my grumpy day.

Then I awoke on Thursday and the frump had passed as quickly as it had arrived. I took a deep sigh of relief. Relieved that my body felt better. Relieved that this is how I usually feel: hopeful, easy, and happy. Relieved that my body is healthy and functioning just the way it is supposed to.

I had the lovely realization that I could begin again. Each day when I wake up I get to create the day ahead of me. I didn’t have to carry the frump along any farther. I could set it aside, brush the crumbs off my shirt, and begin again. I could step into being the being that I enjoy being.

Savasana is corpse pose. It is the most important yoga pose. We end every practice with it. We give ourselves the opportunity to completely let go. We shed everything that we are and come to the deep rest of a corpse. We invite silence into our systems: our mind, our body, our spirit. We suspend doing. We suspend being. We rest as completely as we are able.

And then we return. The simple sound of a bell begins to call us back. We notice where we are again. We notice the delicious touch of the air on our skin and in our lungs. We listen to the sounds of the room around us. We take a deep breath. We expand the body in all directions. We recompose. We follow the desire of muscle and tendon and we begin to stretch and wiggle. We luxuriate in the movements that arise spontaneously.

We resurrect ourselves from Savasana. This is a moment of choice. Who do we want to be? How do we carry our yoga forward into our lives? How do we stay integrated in each moment? We make a choice and set the tone for what will come next. This is a powerful moment. We return to sitting and bow our heads and notice ourselves returning. We make a choice, set an intention, and say a prayer. Namaste.