Savasana!

Please to lie your ass down with hands facing up, and eyes closed. Make sure your lips are soft, teeth slightly parted, with the tip of your tongue against your two front upper teeth. I’m so not in the mood to explain the mechanics. For now be quiet, within and without, we shall deffo revisit this “asana” a little deeper at a later date.

Don’t underestimate this powerful pose. You think it’s all about lying down and being passive, but what happens when your nose gets itchy? What about if you’re susceptible to falling asleep? I cannot tell you the handful of times the person next to me started snoring. (Ok, it was me, but in the immortal words of Marlena Dietrich, “…can’t help it”)

Go ahead, try it. See how well you can sit with your passing thoughts, outside distractions, and your lack of counterpoise.

I remember once Bryan Kest (proud owner of Santa Monica’s Power Yoga studios) challenged his students to be in savasana throughout the entire class. In such an instance the pose can be approached as an exercise in confronting the ever dreaded competitive aspect of the ego. However, personally I prefer to view it as a call to challenge myself into mindful response, rather than giving in to my knee-jerk reactions.

Have your legs begun to twitch yet. We shall see…