The Power of Savasana

They say that Savasana, or “Corpse Pose”, is one of the most difficult pose in Yoga. I can attest to that.

Even though its literally laying on the floor, relaxing your body and breathing, I can’t help but feel restless despite knowing how restorative and beneficial the practise is for my mind and body.

Pre-COVID times after doing Bikram Yoga, when the heaters were finally switched off and the Instructor mercifully opened the door to let a cool breeze enter the sweltering room, Savasana should have been a moment of euphoria to prolong as much as possible — the reward after managing to survive yet another 90 minute, sweat-inducing class without dying! Nonetheless, I could only last no more than two minutes before succumbing to the urge to leave and get on with the day. My justifications were sound — to refill my drink bottle which was inevitably empty by the end of the class, to beat the queue at the showers, to get home and eat because I was starving…

But as I do morning yoga in the comfort of my own home these days, I find myself often skipping Savasana despite the best of intentions to end my practice with it. Its not that my body feels uncomfortable laying on the floor or that I end up falling asleep, I know how good it feels in that first minute where I fully relax, breathe deeply and just let everything go, it’s just that I can never manage to last more than a few minutes without my mind pushing notifications that I can’t turn off — what’s waiting for me in my email inbox? What’s happening on on Reddit? Has Britney released another bat-shit crazy video on Instagram?

I think my mind has a fear of mental stillness because it equates doing nothing with being unproductive.

I blame the years I spent mastering the art of multi-tasking, believing it made me more productive — Look Ma, 10 balls in the air!

I can’t even make a pot of coffee without fighting urges to multi-task! Instead of enjoying the ritual of slow pour coffee from start to finish, I find myself cleaning the kitchen or watering the plants in between steps!

Alas, I don’t think I’m a lost cause, awareness of your own actions and behaviours is the first step to mental health and well-being. Have you struggled with Savasana? When was the last time you just listened to music without doing anything else?