How To Relax

In this section, Shavasana, an essential part of your yoga practice.



It is called the art of relaxation. There are 3 parts to right relaxation. These include physical, mental and spiritual. For relaxing your body, you start by lying down in the Shavasana.



In this position first you tense then relax every part of your body in turn. Work from up the feet to the tip of the head. This alternate tensing then relaxing helps as it is only in knowledge of tension that you will – later – achieve relaxation. Then, you make use of autosuggestion to dispatch your muscles and organs relaxing messages.





Shavasana looks deceptively simple. However, it is, among the toughest asanas to do. Well, you change and develop with practice, but the Corpse Pose is still the classic relaxation pose. It is also practised before and between asanas as well as in final relaxation. At the end of an asana session Shavasana will feel better than at the start. This is because the other poses will have by now stretched and relaxed all the organs and muscles. When first you lie down, ensure that you are lying properly. This is because symmetry provides proper space for the whole body to relax.

These things done begin to work on the asana. Turn the legs in and out, and then let them fall softly out to the sides. Repeat this with the arms. Then turn the spine by rotating the head from side to side to centre it. Then stretch yourself out, as if somebody were tugging the head away from the feet. Feel a weight tugging you deeper into relaxation. Feel yourself, your whole body melting into the floor. Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly from the belly. Feel the belly rise and fall. a number of biological changes are happening, lowering the body's energy loss, getting rid of stress, bringing down the breath and pulse rate, and relaxing the entire body. And mind. As go deeper and deeper into relaxation, you begin to will feel the mind get clearer and more and more detached.