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 Savasana Help!Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 2 3 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Yoga -> General Yoga | Message format |
LadybugWDYS |
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| I'm a college student who thought I'd take yoga for an easy PE credit. Boy, was I wrong! Not only is yoga not easy, I've found that I really love it... But, love it or not, I have a final to prepare for - it is a college credit course after all. As our "final exam" each member in the class has to instruct different postures for the rest of class. I very much wanted to instruct prenatal posture, but alas, I didn't get selected for that one.  I am responsible for instructing final relaxation. When our instructor leads us, I find savasana to be wonderfully relaxing and a very intimate time with myself. I'm worried for my fellow classmates that, when I lead it, I'll trip up on my words and their experience won't be as fulfilling. So here's my real question: What words do your instructors say to you during savasana? Mine usually leads us in "the bottoms of the feet are relaxing, the bottoms of the feet are completely relaxed, the ankles are relaxing..." and so on and so forth, but I'd like to not just copy what she's said. I'd like to do it a little differently. I'd really appreciate some advice on other people's experiences and what they found soothing. Thanks a lot in advance. And remember: you're helping to secure my A...  | |||
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| loli |
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| Hello Ladybug, Before I started teaching I found the thought of teaching Savasana really daunting too, but I have settled into it now and don't worry about 'messing up' anymore.....I do a similar thing with working from the feet up, tensing and relaxing and then bringing awareness to the breath. I always remind people to relax their jaw and their tongue, let tension slide away from thier foreheads etc....Moving onto the breath it is nice to get them to breathe in to a count of 4 and out to 4, then gradually extend the exhalation to 6 etc. I also do a visualisation of breathing in 'bright white light', inhaling through the crown of the head and exhaling through the soles of the feet, cleansing the body of any tension, negativity etc. This seems to work for most people, thankfully. Good luck with your exam!  | |||
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| LoraB |
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What a fun way to test the class! If you want to trade finals, you can finish up my interior design project (only if you get an A  ) and I'll take your svasana!  Seriously, though - you'll be fine! You've absorbed more than you think you have throughout the semester, and once you get over the hurdle of doing it, you'll be great. The best part is that unlike a speech nobody will be watching you!!! No 30 pairs of eyes watching your every move! The tips that have been posted up here are great. I've had teachers do both, and I like both. The good thing about svasana is that you don't want to talk too much. Going through the body parts and relaxing them is great, or like Bruce said, you can read a short passage and let the students take it from there...The best teachers are like Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz - they take you to the yellow brick road, and then let you follow it.  | |||
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 "Just follow the yellow brick road of savasana--and if your teachers keep babbling, ringing chimes or burning incense, tell them You have no power here! Now begone, before somebody drops a house on you!" | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442      | OK, first of all, its "Glinda" the good witch, not "Glenda" (that would be moi). I think getting your class lying down and saying a short, inspiration passage would be great but probably not earn you a terrific mark. Does your teacher do much in the way of instructing HOW to lie down? It is important to be sure everyone is in a position to really let go so tailbones must be tucked in, heads level, shoulders un-hunched etc. Once that is done give a few breaths of silence then begin to give slow, evenly paced, very direct instructions on letting the various body parts relax. In your example, you said the feet "are relaxing" and I would be more inclined to say "relax the feet." Not only is it more direct and the brain absorbs it as a command, not a suggestion, but if someone like Bruce is lying there he will be internally thinking his d*mn feet aren't relaxing and that would make him more miserable than he already is You don't have to talk in metaphors like "melting into the floor" and be VERY careful with any visualisarion because one person's "happy place" thinking about floating in the sea or in the clouds is another person's worst nightmare. I know someone who gets queasy the minute the ocean is mentioned. Generally I work from the feet up and from the back of the body to the front so that the face is last and can have special emphasis. Hips and shoulders are both tight spots for many but they are heavy areas so you can focus on those sinking into the floor with their own weight which helps everything else relax. Then your quote or poem, then a few moments of silence and come out. Have people keep their eyes shut as they roll over, keep them on their side for a couple of breaths then encourage them to carry the relaxation of savasana into the rest of their day. So where are you located? There aren't many places that offer yoga as a credit course! | ||
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| jeansyoga |
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| CGG |
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| Kabu |
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| I can only speak from a student's point of view but here's what I love: My teacher likes to concentrate on the hips and shoulders/neck during the "body scan" (for lack of a better term). I swear, the more she says "Drop your hips open," the more my hips actually open. She says, "Feel your shoulder sink into the floor," and there I am...sinking. I think these are areas where most people tighten up, so it's nice to concentrate on them. She also does what Bruce suggested. She recites a short passage and then remains quiet. Here's the part I really like: "Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I calm my mind." She'll say that slowly and deliberately throughout the body scan too. So she'll start with the feet, move on through the ankles and thighs, *then* she'll slip in "Breathing in, I calm my body..." part. It works really well. At the end of the body scan and right before she slips into silence, she says it again and adds: "May I be balanced. May I be at peace." Sometimes she recites a little more, but this is my favorite part. Good luck! | |||
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| pinupyogi |
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| LoraB |
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| I personally am not a big fan of imagery either - other than a generic "imagine the most perfect place for you right now". More than that and I tend to get distracted trying to focus on conjuring up what the instructor is talking about and picture that rather than really just being there. When the imagery comes from myself I don't really have to try. With regards to asking the class if they have any specific imagery that they would like to avoid I think you will find that nobody will answer! Unless you're a smallish group and know each other fairly well, I think most people would prefer to not be the one to rock a boat...It can be awkward to be the one person in a class asking not to focus on a sunny meadow when there are "supposed" to be positive associations... Passages dealing with specific religious or spiritual imagery can also pose a problem - that's a good point, Pinup. It shoudl be relatively easy to find one that doesn't, or, if you find one that is amazing but does contain a reference to a specific religous figure, you might be able to tell them they can substitute the divine being of their choice. I liked the part about varying positions too! Sometimes something gets stretched or tweaked or it just plain doesn't feel good to lie in corpse.... And Glenda, I think you might be the good witch of the board! You always have such wise words for us! | |||
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| tigrsunam |
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| MrD |
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| jeansyoga |
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| I know I was not the one who originally posted the question, but I am LOVING all these suggestions! I'm going to try the continous breath one in class tonight!! | |||
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| MrD |
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jeansyoga - 2005-04-20 2:31 PM I know I was not the one who originally posted the question, but I am LOVING all these suggestions! I'm going to try the continous breath one in class tonight!! Let us know how it goes. | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Thanks Lora Another thing about images and visualizations. Bear in mind that this is an Iyengar perspective and not everyone agrees with this: visualization is going into your head and then going where your mind takes you. To fully experience and utilize the deep relaxation of savasana you have to be IN your body. I think of it like a vacation - it is wonderful and nice and pretty but does it help when you get back home to the same old sh*t? Learning to relax the way you do when you are on vacation while still participating in everyday life would be ever so much more useful. | ||
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| sideshow |
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| afroyogi |
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| Some of my teachers are using a very hands-on method to get us into relaxation. After carefully directing everybody into the right position (chin slightly tucked in, feet outwards, palms up), we're doing some breathing and then relaxation from the feet up. In order to reach deeper relaxation we first tense all the involved muscles (breathing in) and then relax them (breathing out). Toes, arches, calves, thighs, followed by the other leg. Then we go to the arms, also beginning with making fists, relax (watch their fingers, they're a good indicator), tensioning lower arms, upper arms, shoulders. Then tension and relax the whole upper body. You may suggest to lift the whole upper body 1" off the ground, by trying to put the shoulderblades together. The last part is the head, first roll slowly to one side, exhaling, then back to center, inhaling. Repeat a few times until the head is centered and the neck is relaxed. Then, during inhale, try to pull all your facial muscles up the the tip of the nose, exhale and relax. Or just let them make funny faces. Then try to reach the tip of your nose with your tongue, after that try to bring it down to the chin. All tensioning happens inhaling, relaxing by exhaling. Speak slowly but articulate and during the tension phases you can even cheer them on a little. One of my teachers, she's always shouting like "tense tense tense!" That way the class knows how long they have to inhale and tense, before they can start melting away. That procedure will take a while and a good portion of the savasana is already done. After that just let them lay down in peace and quiet and shut up for a while. Towards the end let them slowly come back by wiggling the toes and touching the fingertips with the thumbs. Then have them pull their tighs up to the chest and roll over onto the right side. Have them slowly come into a sitting position and start the final prayer/om/shanti or whatever you do. I like savasana like that because I don't have to imagine silly things like floating in the ocean, or breathing in silvery moonlight and exhale golden sunlight and stuff like that. Also it's easier for beginners to acknowledge savasana as a real asana and relaxation as a conscious practice. Maybe even Bruce wouldn't find savasana so dreadful then. Most important: Don't forget to dim the lights before savasana! | |||
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| LadybugWDYS |
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| Bay Guy |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 2479 Location: A Blue State | |||
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| LadybugWDYS |
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| Yea, Bay. You and I are on the same page. Northern VA is, sadly, painted with same brush as the southerners. Too bad they won't make us our own state, but I guess having a Virginia, a West Virginia, and a North Virginia would be a little much. No lynchings around here, and I'm not saying southern VAers are bad or anything (I mean, hell, my whole family lives down there), but we're just far more liberal up here. Did you see last April 25th, the March for Women's Lives? It was THE LARGEST ASSEMBLY/PROTEST EVER. And yes, a lot of supporters bussed in from around the country to be there, but a lot of us were from right around here, NorVA. Yea! Elect Hilary!  | |||
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| LadybugWDYS |
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| I don't think America necessarily needs a woman for president. Any president, woman or man, who represents the interests of women will do just fine. But a woman for president would be nice. The nation owes it to itself for electing Dubbya not once but twice. Take it from the man himself: "There's an old saying in Tenessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tenessee - that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." Well, apparently America didn't get that memo in November 2004.  | |||
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| jeansyoga |
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| Wow, a bunch of savasana-loving Dubya-haters - Bruce, this is just not your forum, is it? Just wanted to say I tried out that "continuous breath" savasana technique on a class last night and they SUPERLOVED it!!! After grimacing and sweating through the whole rest of the class, more than half of them came up to me afterward and told me they were sooo relaxed and they needed that so badly. Awesome! It made my day! Thanks for the tips, expert yogis & yoginis! | |||
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| Kabu |
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Bruce - 2005-04-21 6:52 AM Elect Hilary for what? Forgive them George for they know not what they do. The thought of Hillary in the Oval Office (again) gives me chest pain. | |||
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