3 REASONS NOT TO SKIP SHAVASANA
Let me take your mind to the end of any yoga class. What happens? If you answered ‘blanky time’, ‘Zzzzz’ or ‘I leave – I really haven’t got time for this’ you might just catch me let out a soft sigh of understanding before I wade right in with a yoga reality slap. (Tough love sorry, it’s how this yogi rolls 😝).
What if I told you that this beautiful bookend to your practice called Shavasana/Savasana (or corpse pose), is the pose for taking charge of your life, health and happiness.
Are you resistant to this idea? Is your ‘go to’ thought to dismiss it as yoga ‘woo woo’, or just a nice notion?
Hear me out because in today’s 24/7 plugged in world, we all need this reminder (me included). Here it is:
To stop is to become unstoppable.
It’s important to recognise that the goal of yoga (union, balance) isn’t really something you obtain with ‘doing’ or ‘activity’. It actually only truly shows up when you stop and just ‘be’. Which, if you think about it, many of us are not much good at these days.
So, slow your horses down for a second and let me help you dive into the benefits of yoga’s ultimate ‘do nothing’ pose, which is (by the way) not doing ‘nothing’, at all.
3 REASONS NOT TO SKIP SHAVASANA
- Shavasana is when you get to train yourself to enter true rest. The purpose of the practice is to start shifting all the body’s systems from a sympathetic state (the stress response) to the parasympathetic state (healing response). I like to think of it as making time to align with your body’s very natural urge (and super incredible ability) to heal and find homeostasis.
- You create mental muscle during Shavasana. An intention of this pose is to train your mind to observe, be a witness and find the stillness in each moment. When you practice this regularly you can observe your thought patterns and become aware of your conditioned mind. Sometimes the way we think, what we believe and how we perceive can lead us away from what we truly want, need and desire. In Savasana you give yourself space to reframe everything and build the mental mind that can take you closer to your dreams and goals.
- Reactive areas of your brain shrink.Science is now telling us that when we tap into our healing response the more complex decision-making areas of the brain grow and reactive areas shrink. So, when we practice Savasana we are literally helping to increase our ability to be more considered in our approach to situations, people, challenges. So, if you’re frequently flying off the handle, torching your village, or falling back on less than helpful automatic responses, this is your way back to a more harmonious way of handling life’s ups and downs.
In short, Shavasana is neither a time filler tim or a nap. Practice this pose and you will:
- Release tension
- Regulate your blood pressure
- Regulate your heart beat
- Reduce fatigue
- Prepare the mind for meditation
- Develop self-awareness
- Experience the energy of your body
- Find peace
- Be much nicer to be around 😉 Good vibes only!
FREQUENCY HOLDS THE KEY
The key to making this pose work for you is frequency and getting out of your own way.
If you don’t repeatedly experience the parasympathetic state while awake your body gets of the habit, and with stress now known to be one of the underlying causes of most chronic illnesses today, do yourself a favour – learn how to switch your stress response off more frequently in your life.
It’s kind of tragic we have to be reminded of this. In my opinion, resting could benefit from a complete image overhaul. We’re so quick to judge ourselves and others who take time to rest as weak, lazy or failing to ‘cope’.
It’s the opposite. Rest is when you get to restore, recharge, rebalance and go into your next activity with more clarity, focus and health. When you rest you get in touch with the deeper aspects of who you are and begin to live in a calm, more measured and fulfilling way.
Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to be around someone who’s got that?
I’ll leave that thought with you…but before I go. I have an announcement. Drum rolls please…🥁🥁
BOOKINGS NOW OPEN: THE YOGIS IN BUSINESS WORK SHAVASANA
Stop to become Unstoppable.
Are you an entrepreneur in the business of serving others and pursuing your dreams?
Are you looking for inspiration on how to deal with the many unexpected challenges of being self-made? Would you like to find freedom from self-imposed stress, establish better work/life habits and bypass burnout?
Then I have the place for you come to hang out – for a while.
I invite you to the Yogis In Business Work Shavasana. THE place to stop, to become unstoppable. THE place to join a growing tribe of self-made individuals looking to pursue their business dreams and serve others, with a mind, body and soul equipped for the job.
I’ve created the ultimate networking, goal setting, life supporting workshop where you get time to
- unplug,
- reconnect
- supercharge your health and the health of your business.
You’ll also enjoy mediation, some gentle yoga, nourishing food and a chance to connect with other Yogi’s in Business who have a passion to serve at their best.
So, don’t keep goals for being healthy on your to do list. Let’s get it done, together.
Become the CEO of your health at the Yogis In Business Work Shavasana on Friday June 29, 2018 from 10am to 3pm.
All the details can be found here and on my website www.yogalocal.co.uk and regular updates will be posted on the Yoga Local Facebook page.
Please go and check it out now and please share it with all your self-made, entrepreneurial, soul-driven friends.
Questions? Email me josie@yogalocal.co.uk.
More on this? Listen to the upcoming Yogis in Business Podcast Episode 5 with Life Coach and Clean Eating Expert, Sheena Shah. Sheena will be sharing her wisdom at The Yogis In Business Work Shavasana on June 29, 2018 and shares some of her secrets on this podcast. Enjoy.
Josie XX
