The reclined Mountain Pose. Years ago I remember my teachers (Don & Amba Stapleton) referring to Savasana as this. Through their experiential learning method, here are some tips!
HOW TO LIE DOWN:
Stretch out both legs and come back into stillness. Take the time you need to make any adjustments that allow you to settle into your body. Recall the sensations of becoming heavy. Scan your body and allow gravity to work on your bones; feel them glide downward through the layers of muscle and tissue.
NOTICE:
Are there any areas in your body that are resisting the pull of gravity in this moment? Allow any resistance or discomfort to be present precisely as you experience it.
THE MIND:
Become aware of your mind. Notice the speed of your thoughts, the pulse of your thinking. Are any particular thoughts arising in this moment? Allow whatever thoughts that are present to simply be.
THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL YOU:
Invite your logical mind to remain present to help you witness the dimensions of your experience. The body lives in a dimension that is much slower than mental time. You cross a time boundary to enter the temporal dimension in which the body actually lives. Suggest to yourself that you begin crossing this time boundary now.
YOUR INTERNAL MOOD:
What is your internal mood in this moment? Are particular feelings or emotions present? Suggest to your logical mind that is is safe, desirable, and pleasurable to expand awareness to include all of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions arising in every level of your being.
BREATHE:
Beginning now to enter an even deeper state of relaxed awareness, notice the sensation of breathing in and breathing out. Without attempting to change or alter your breath in any way, simply notice the way your body is breathing in this moment. What sound does your breath make as it enters and leaves your nostriles? How far down in the torso can you feel the movement of your breath: to your collarbones? to your ribs? to your upper belly? to your lower belly?
SENSATIONS:
Notice how your awareness is expanding to include the pulsing sensations that stream through your entire organism. Listen to any messages that are coming to you through the wisdom of your organism. Let go into the pulse of your own being.
WISDOM:
In this place of deep, relaxed awareness, notice how you feel when you are at home in the center of your being, receiving from the wisdom of your organism. Notice any changes that have occurred in your breathing since you began.
RETURNING:
Suggest to your logical mind that you will be returning to wakeful consciousness with knowledge and wisdom from your organism. You will be returning with the feeling of having had a healthy, rejuvenating sleep. You’ll be returning wide awake, fully alert, and ready to move on to the next events of your day.
This excerpt was taken from Self-Awakening Yoga by Don Stapleton, Ph.D. pages 68-69 on the Exploration: Self-Balancing Breath. Visit https://www.nosarayoga.com/learning-library/articles/self-awakening-yoga-book to view more about Self-Awakening Yoga.
