Why do we get blissed out in Savasana (corpse pose)?
As I mentioned in the previous post, we use the poses in Asana practice to shift the energy of the body. When we do lots of back bends, they have an uplifting effect. When we stand in Mountain pose or any of the Warrior poses, as the name suggests, we cultivate a sense of strength and stability. I remember being asked in the early days of my practice to move into the pose I like the most, and I immediately went to Warrior 2. It was a time in my life with lots of change and movement, a very ragasic time, and this pose helped me to feel stable and grounded, purposeful. Yet, in a room of a dozen people, I was the only one who choose that pose.
As an exercise physiologist, I will take all the fluff out of this and tell you that when you breathe in a rhythmic pattern, you balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, resulting in less stress. Both mountain pose and warrior pose do not involve movement, and thus enable steady smooth breathing. The more we stabilize the breath by focusing on it, the quieter the mind becomes and this results in less interpreting and more receiving or awareness of this moment, directing us toward more sattvic energy expression, a balanced state.
Now you can imagine when a Yoga teacher walks into a room and sees some folks ready for Savasana before you even start and others already forward folding and still others doing twists that s/he has quite a challenge. How does one offer a class to meet each of this participants where they are, and eventually get them all on the same energetic wave length? On one level it is easy... just smooth out their breathing because that will have the greatest impact. Thus beginning with rhythmic movement, whether that is a Sun Salutaion or simply moving the arms up and down on the breath, will begin to bring the inhale and exhale into alignment. Offering poses that provide a solid foundation is the next best step. A sense of balance also has a sense of stability. Thus most teachers will move into standing and grounding poses to cultivate that sense of being grounded, stable. From there, the class will probably be designed to meet the description; if it is a core class, there will be core work. The entire class however, should focus on the flow of the breath. And if breath is not being smoothed out during a Yoga class, then you are not practicing Yoga, you are exercising. Still a healthy choice, just not Yoga.
To sum up, these sanskrit words, tamasic, rajasic and sattwa give name to and simply describe what an exercise physiologist would call the degree of balance or imbalance of the parasympathetic nervous system. The attention on the breath and where it flows in our body, which is different with different poses, draws the Yogis attention to tension and openness in their body. This attention or awareness brings the focus more inward that reactive to the external influences on the senses. This new awareness can result in a new perspective or curiosity about ones body and that is a step on the road to self-realization.
We are all experiencing life differently and there is no one magic Yoga class that suits everyone in the same moment. A power class is great for folks who need to burn up energy before they can get clam. A back bending class is fantastic for someone who has a hard time getting going. A nourish class, longer holds and more opening can be fantastic for someone who is already fatigued and stressed. What class is right for you? Get curious. Start journalling how you feel right before and right after your noon hour class, or your Saturday morning group class. Then pull out your journal and notice how you felt a few hours later. Then ask, did this class have an overall positive effect or a tiring effect. Remember your goal is to learn to cultivate and direct energy! Did you meet that goal of feeling more empowered not just after class but hours later?
Good luck. Shopping around for the right class can be fun!
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