International Woman's Day
Yoga Connections
RELEASE. RELAX. REST. REPEAT.
Being busy-proud in a do-do nation, it's hard to fathom the concept of stillness. BKS Iyengar rates all the poses in his 500+ page book Light On Yoga . On page 422, he teaches the pose Savasana:
"In this asana the object is to imitate a corpse. Once life has departed, the body remains still and no movements are possible. By remaining motionless for some time and keeping the mind still while you are fully conscious, you learn to relax. This conscious relaxation invigorates and refreshes the body and mind. But it is much harder to keep the mind than the body still. Therefore, this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master."
Are you up for the hardest challenge in yoga? To celebrate International Woman's Day don't DO anything. Try UNDOing. Iyengar explains the effects of the pose are that you feel refreshed because it brings energy flow from the back of the head to the heels. He adds, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which savasana is the best antidote." Right now, wherever you are, whatever you're doing: press pause. Check in with yourself. Are you clinching your teeth or jaw? Are you tensing your neck and shoulders? Are you gripping in your stomach? We all carry our tension somewhere. Can you find where you are keeping it, today? Once you do:
RELEASE. RELAX. REST. REPEAT AGAIN TOMORROW.