The Art of Yoga and Relaxation: Savasana

When you pick up a new skill based activity progress is usually pretty slow due to physical limitations, but with yoga so much of the activity is based in freeing your mind of self imposed limitations. I went to a second class this week and I was surprised that I could hold poses that last week i could barely get into, moving in and out of poses was less forced. I think that this is partially due to the environment of the yoga classes, the people taking the classes are not focused on what everyone else around them is doing but rather on themselves, without anybody focused on what I am doing I do not feel the pressure to seem skilled, and I can instead focus on breathing in time with the movements and going as far as I can with the poses. Often when meditating the first minute or so of breathing and clearing your mind is extremely forced, your concerns, worries, and problems are the foremost thoughts on your mind. This makes it difficult to go straight into a relaxed calm state of mind. The last part of the yoga classes that Maria teaches is called savasana, or corpse pose, it is often considered one of the hardest poses in yoga. Although the physical aspect of what you must do with your body is simple, you must lay down on your back, seems simple enough, but savasana is aimed at being sully awake yet fully relaxed, which is why it is the last pose in a yoga routine. To do savasana correctly you must be completely and fully aware and relaxed, a skill rarely employed in everyday life. For me this has been fairly hard to do, despite through the rest of the class my only thoughts have been about what I am doing right then and there, but when time comes for savasana, the one pose that is not physically demanding, there is a thought of what I must do later, or other minor concerns. My goal in the next few weeks regarding savasana is to be able to do it and be completely relaxed and aware, that way I can benefit further from the meditiative side of yoga.