My Journey with Samasana
To be absolutely honest with you, I used to skip it. During all classes of yoga, when the instructor took us into the position called Samasana (or Corpse Pose), I would fidget, look at the clock, or even roll up my mat. I believed that the actual work was in hard poses. I was wrong. It only took me to a wall of constant stress and burnout to see what Samasana is all about. This is not a pose that you perform at one end of the day; and it is an existence that you combine. In my case, Samasana turned out to be the practice that has trained my nervous system to finally get some real rest. Here I will tell you just how this deepest practice is accomplished, and why I think that it should have a first place in your life on and off the mat.
What is Samasana, Really?
The Sanskrit word samasana comes to mean Equal (sama) and Calm (asana), seat or pose, and is more commonly known as Savasana or Corpse Pose. To my taste the term corpse pose is not the point. It is not being dead, it is being incredibly, thoroughly alive in a state of quiet serenity. It is the active of conscious relaxation, in which you lie flat on your back, with arms and legs falling gently open, and letting the weight of your body and the chatter of your mind fall on the earth. It is the attitude in which the work of assimilation takes place–where your physical labour unites itself with your mental sanity.
The reason I want it to be Samasana is because of the following reasons.
I have been pursuing complicated arm balances and deep backbends where I believed that the level of progress was in the degree of flexibility. Progress to me was redefined by samasana. I gauge it now in my ability to be calm. This is what has truly been given me by making this pose part of my everyday life:
A Reset My Nervous System:I was always buzzing with my sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight mode). Safety in my brain will be a positive response to lying in Samasana and this involves the parasympathetic system which is the system that deals with rest and digest. This change is a physical sensation that I experience when my heartbeat decreases and my breath becomes deeper.
Greater Self-awareness: in the silence I started to observe. I saw the places where I was tense (my jaw, my shoulders). I watched my mind and never got carried away by it. This consciousness bled into my day and I was able to respond, not to react.
Further Incorporation of My Practice: Be it a yoga practice or a hard work out, Samasana enables the fruits to take root. My muscles rejuvenate, my neural networks become clear, and the clarity of mind that I develop has time to settle down.
A Guide To Mindful Meditation: Sitting meditation proved to be a challenge to my unstoppable mind. Samasana provided a gateway. I concentrated on the deepest physical relaxation first, and my mind eventually drifted into a meditative state. It was my running meditation when lying down motionless.
My Step by Step Instructions to Your Ideal Samasana.
Forget rushing. This is the order I go by whenever I want to get maximum out of my Samasana.
Get Your Space. I turn the lights down, locate a noisy place and occasionally a light blanket. I put my yoga mat and a bolster or a pillow close to my knees.
Lie down with Intention: I undress myself by lying down slowly on my back. I dropped my feet, more or less hip-wide. My legs are partly turned to the side, palms up, with the fingers curled.
The Moment of Fine-Tuning: I shut my eyes. I inhale deeply then I exhale, purposely pulling my lower back towards the mat, then releasing it. I crawl my chin to make my neck long. When I have a sore back in the lower part, I will bend the knees and have the bolster under them–this is a game-changer in my case.
The Systematic Scan: I begin with my toes. I say to myself, my toes are relaxed. I stand up, ankles, calves, knees, etc. to the very top of my head. I waste more time on my chin, my eyes, and my forehead.
Give up and breathe: In the next 5-15 minutes, I will be. On the occasions that thoughts occur (and they will), I accept them as clouds in the sky and renounce my contemplation to the sensation of my breath coming in and out of my body or of my limbs pressing against the floor.
The Soft Send Back: To come back, I start to enrich my breath. I move my fingers and toes slowly. I pull my knees into myself and roll over on my right side, where I lie a moment in my fetal posture. With my hands, I lean myself till I am seated, bringing the calm along.
My Best Yoga Advice To Your Samasana Journey.
Start Small: I started with 3 minutes only. A 90-second deliberate immobility is much stronger than 10 minutes of fidgeting.
Apply Props Unsparingly: My blanket, eye pillow, and knee bolster are not luxuries but necessities, and will make the pose quite reachable and comforting.
Get Rid of Judgment: Other days, my mind is a thunderstorm. Other days, it’s a calm lake. I have come to understand that both experiences are acceptable. The practice is in showing up.
Practice Off the Mat: The principles of Samasana, which are conscious relaxation and observation, are now used by me when I am standing in line, at the start of a large meeting, or when I feel overwhelmed. It’s a portable piece.
My Experience Responds to Your Samasana Questions.
Question: How long is Samasana?
A: 5-10 minutes are usual in a classroom setting. I am hoping to achieve 10-15 minutes in my personal practice. It is all about consistency in the long run. Short daily practice affected me better in comparison to one-weekly long practice.