10 Lessons You Can Learn From Savasana

Savasana, also known as “Corpse Pose” or your final relaxation, is one of the most important parts of your yoga practice.
 
For some people, this is their favorite part of the practice – the time when you rest, relax, and receive everything that just happened during your yoga practice. For other yogis, Savasana can be the hardest pose in their yoga practice.
 
Whether your Savasana is five minutes or twenty minutes, you practice this pose by lying on your back, with your arms down by your sides, your feet relaxed, and your breath calm.
 
 

Here Are 10 Important Lessons You Can Learn From Savasana

While it may appear to others that you are just taking a nap, there are many things you can learn during your time in Savasana.
 

1. How to Relax

Every day we are confronted with long to-do lists and stressors. For most of us, our brain is constantly churning and processing everything that we need to get done during the day, and even the days beyond. Having to lie in complete silence for a few minutes trains you to leave your thoughts alone and simply enjoy a few minutes of peace.
 

2. How to Answer Your Own Questions

While Savasana is your time to turn off your brain, it can also be the time to help answer a question you may be asking yourself. And surprisingly, you can do this by turning off your brain. Before settling into Savasana, ask yourself the question you need, and when you take that deep breath, as you let the air out, let your body tell you the answer.
 

3. What Your Body Needs

Between the dark space and the quiet air around you, it can be easy to fall asleep during Savasana. If you find yourself about to nap, it’s an obvious indication that you are exhausted! Take note of this and make sure you get a good night’s sleep that night.
 

4. How to Do Nothing

The world moves so quickly and, at times, it can feel difficult to keep up. Between work and life, it’s challenging to get everything done. During Savasana, you surrender yourself to the world’s clock and allow yourself a few minutes to do absolutely nothing except breathe and be.
 

5. You Are Only Human

Lying in a room with other people who are also taking a few minutes to simply relax, you realize that you – along with everyone else – are only human. You are not the only one who is trying to turn your mind off from your endless to-do list, or the only one who may have had a bad day at work.
 
Everyone is on their own journey, but at this moment in time during Savasana, you and your fellow yogis are just humans sharing a space and a positive experience.
 

6. How to Better Your Yoga Practice

While Savasana is your time to turn off your thoughts, let’s face it – this won’t happen every time. If you find your mind is still racing, use this time to reflect on how your yoga practice was. Did you notice that you had difficulty balancing in Dancer’s Pose? Were you unable to support yourself in Crow? Make mental notes about what was off during this practice, and what you need to work on next time.
 
Need help rocking your Crow Pose? Prepare For Crow Pose With These 7 Strengthening Yoga Poses
 

7. The Power of Independence

Whether you just had a solo yoga practice in the comfort of your own home, or you were in a class with dozens of people, only you possessed the power you needed to get yourself through. Only you could push yourself harder and longer – or accept when you needed to back off.
 
While your eyes are shut and you have your hands open to receiving during Savasana, remind yourself that you – and only you – have the power to make your own choices and decisions in life.
 

8. How to Meditate

Savasana can last from a few brief minutes to as long as your body needs. During this time, however, you are turning off your brain and focusing on relaxation and breathing techniques, which is also known as meditation. You can use the same techniques that you use during Savasana to meditate at other times throughout the day.
 

9. How to Appreciate Yourself

A lot of the time, we don’t give ourselves enough credit. You are strong. You are beautiful. You are smart. While lying there, you can fully appreciate yourself for what you just accomplished in your yoga practice. You were strong, and flexible, and mindful. During Savasana you can physically bask in feeling how amazing you really are.
 

10. Life Is Short

Regardless of how long you just practiced, one thing you know for sure is that while your yoga sesh was only a brief period of your 24-hour day, life itself is short. So make the most of it!
 
If something isn’t making you happy, change it. If you are being taken advantage of, remove yourself from the situation. If you want to try something new, go ahead and do it. A minute may seem like just a brief moment in your life, but it can make all the difference.
 
 

Bask in the Lessons From Your Savasana

Next time you approach Savasana, take an extra deep breath. When you are finished with this final pose, reflect on the lessons you learned this time, even if it may not be one on this list.
 
As long as you pay attention, you’ll learn something new each time you find yourself in your final resting pose.

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