Get relaxed with Shavasana or Corpse Pose
The Shavasana or Corpse Pose is, contrary to popular belief, one of the most difficult yoga postures to master. It is at the same time one of the most relaxing and restful of all yoga postures, and is for this reason often used as the final position in most yoga sequences. It can however also be used independently as a technique to facilitate meditation.
Corpse yoga is not deceptively simple simply because of its name. In the corpse pose yoga you lie on your back and keep your eyes shut and relax. This may sound easy enough but it is in fact a tougher pose than many others. You may be able to master a variety of poses and exhibit a great deal of flexibility but mastery over the corpse pose may still be evasive. This is because perfecting the Corpse Pose or Shavasana implies perfecting your state of enlightenment. Enlightenment and deep meditation are the ultimate goal of this posture. It takes a great deal of practice to be able to achieve a deep state of relaxation.
This posture is in a sense a kind of conscious sleep, in which the practitioner is at a higher level of awareness, and observes every breath, thought and action. When practicing the corpse pose or shavasan it would be best that you relax each part of your body in a systematic manner. Begin with the feet and work on each body part individually, inducing each part to relax. You can use your mind to relax, focusing on one body part at a time. For example begin with your toes, followed by the feet, then the heels, internal organs, as well as external parts. After maintaining the pose sweep each part with your mind to ensure that there is complete relaxation as the slightest tension negates and reduces the value of this pose. Once you gained mastery over this form of relaxation, ensuring complete physical rest, you can try deeper methods of relaxation with breath awareness, visualization, and so on.
Apart from the benefits of shavasana yoga in the context of your yoga practice it also offers a number of health benefits that are relevant to all of us. Practice of the corpse pose can help lower blood pressure and is in fact therapeutic for arterial hypertension. Its effects of stress reduction are more obvious, but they are just as invaluable for patients of ever increasing stress disorders.
Corpse yoga is not deceptively simple simply because of its name. In the corpse pose yoga you lie on your back and keep your eyes shut and relax. This may sound easy enough but it is in fact a tougher pose than many others. You may be able to master a variety of poses and exhibit a great deal of flexibility but mastery over the corpse pose may still be evasive. This is because perfecting the Corpse Pose or Shavasana implies perfecting your state of enlightenment. Enlightenment and deep meditation are the ultimate goal of this posture. It takes a great deal of practice to be able to achieve a deep state of relaxation.
This posture is in a sense a kind of conscious sleep, in which the practitioner is at a higher level of awareness, and observes every breath, thought and action. When practicing the corpse pose or shavasan it would be best that you relax each part of your body in a systematic manner. Begin with the feet and work on each body part individually, inducing each part to relax. You can use your mind to relax, focusing on one body part at a time. For example begin with your toes, followed by the feet, then the heels, internal organs, as well as external parts. After maintaining the pose sweep each part with your mind to ensure that there is complete relaxation as the slightest tension negates and reduces the value of this pose. Once you gained mastery over this form of relaxation, ensuring complete physical rest, you can try deeper methods of relaxation with breath awareness, visualization, and so on.
Apart from the benefits of shavasana yoga in the context of your yoga practice it also offers a number of health benefits that are relevant to all of us. Practice of the corpse pose can help lower blood pressure and is in fact therapeutic for arterial hypertension. Its effects of stress reduction are more obvious, but they are just as invaluable for patients of ever increasing stress disorders.