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 Fidgety during savasana?Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Yoga -> General Yoga | Message format |
Empress Echo |
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Well, I'm more or less a fidgety person in my daily life anyway... so I do struggle during savasana to keep still. Sometimes I can do it from the outset, and other times I fidget througout, or at least until near the end (of course, this varies depending on how long the savasana is...) I find that I have to concentrate fiercely on being still. So is this common or unusual? Do others of you have or have had this "problem"? Or is it just a normal part of learning in the practice of yoga? Curious, Echo | |||
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| afroyogi |
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I'd say it depends, Echo. I'm a very nervous person myself and often encounter problems lying still. On these occasions nothing seems to be right, it itches here, it itches there, there's a frog in my throat, my head isn't lying comfy on the mat, my shirt is rippling in a way that it hurts and so on and so on. And just when you think that everything is in order, some stupid fly decides to land on your nose.  So I try to correct everything, creating new problems on the way. I think these are perfect occasions to practice self-control and I get the idea that savasana is a real yoga asana that has to be practiced to be mastered. Sometimes savasana is easy, everything is fine and I could just spend hours in motionless relaxation. But that only happens when I'm very tired and then I have a problem concentrating on the teachers voice and my mind is wandering off. To answer your question, yes I think that it's quite common to encounter problems when trying to relax. That's the reason why savasana is regarded as a "normal" yoga asana. Relaxing body and mind is a conscious effort and therefore it must be practiced. | |||
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| Empress Echo |
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afroyogi - . On these occasions nothing seems to be right, it itches here, it itches there, there's a frog in my throat, my head isn't lying comfy on the mat, my shirt is rippling in a way that it hurts and so on and so on. And just when you think that everything is in order, some stupid fly decides to land on your nose. YES!!!!! PRECISELY!!!! LOL Really it's maddening sometimes - one buttock goes this way, one that, then my spine isn't perfectly straight, then I have to stretch my heels a little further - ad nauseum... I think these are perfect occasions to practice self-control and I get the idea that savasana is a real yoga asana that has to be practiced to be mastered. I think you're exactly right... I wondered if it was just me (I do have these anxiety issues, and people have commented to me in the course of things how fidgety I am...) or if it was something just to be worked through. I'm relieved by your reply! Namaste! Echo | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442      | Echo - fidgety savasanas do happen sometimes but there are a few practice ideas that can help. First, if you have done a lot of backbending or a very energetic practice, do a bunch of twists to help bring the spine back to "neutral" then a long shoulderstand, plough, viparita karani or setu bandha. If that doesn't settle you, do some forward bends with your head on something like a chair seat or even sit cross legged near a wall and rest your forehead on the wall for a bit. More help needed? Put some blankets or something heavy on your thighs to ground them (remember the dentist's lead blanket thread?), make sure your chin is at least level to the floor or maybe put a little blanket under your head so the chin is a bit lower than your forehead. Or use an eyerest  | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Or better yet...do a full Bikram series practice...you won't fidget, you will be in literally what Bikram calls it...DEAD MAN'S POSE, heeheehee  | ||
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| leela |
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i don't usually encounter problems during savasana unless it goes on too long--then i get a bit impatient  | |||
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| Empress Echo |
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Cyndi - 2005-05-15 8:23 PM Or better yet...do a full Bikram series practice...you won't fidget, you will be in literally what Bikram calls it...DEAD MAN'S POSE, heeheehee LOL! I've been there with a few power yoga workouts & know what you mean, Cyndi! Actually I really like that feeling - that you've wrung all you can get from yourself at the moment and just collapse there! I don't fidget then, but I'm not always able to work myself that hard Tourist - thanks so much for the different ideas - I'll give them a try Hugs, Echo | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | LOL - fidgeting=rajasic (energized), sleep=tamasic (inertia), savasana=satvic (as Goldilocks would say, "juuuuuust right!" | ||
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| Empress Echo |
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Boy, ya got that right! It's just so much easier said than done sometimes, isn't it?! | |||
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| Orbilia |
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| redtail |
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| jeansyoga |
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| It's not called the "hardest pose in yoga" for nothing! As hard as it is to keep the body still, it is MUCH harder to keep the mind still. It just takes practice. You wouldn't be concerned if your bakasana(grrr) was not perfect the first 2500 times you tried it. With savasana it is the same. I have found the "continuous breath" focus that we discussed in another thread sometime ago is a very useful technique! Normally my Saturday morning students are very energetic, fidgety, ready to pop right up and start their weekend activities. After suggesting that they focus on that, I can hardly get them up in time to make room for the next class! | |||
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| Empress Echo |
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jeansyoga - 2005-05-16 10:49 AM It's not called the "hardest pose in yoga" for nothing! As hard as it is to keep the body still, it is MUCH harder to keep the mind still. It just takes practice. You wouldn't be concerned if your bakasana(grrr) was not perfect the first 2500 times you tried it. With savasana it is the same. You've got a darn good point there, Jean! I won't be quite so hard on myself about it after the responses in thread, as I see I'm definitely not alone here! | |||
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| belovedofthegod |
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| DownwardDog |
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| Empress Echo |
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Nope, no jerking (although I do experience that sometimes before going to sleep - in bed, not by accident during savasana! belovedofthegod - there is a practice in both the Vijnanabhairava Tantra and Kaulajnananirnaya where you visualize your body being burnt, starting from the right toe. If you can very vividly visualize the the fire rising and really feel that your body is being turned into ashes, your impurities being burnt away and only your awareness remaining, then it is a very good contemplative practice.
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| jeansyoga |
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| Actually, that jerking just before sleep is a totally natural electric brain response to falling asleep. I learned that watching House M.D.! Great show, when I'm not entranced by The Amazing Race! As for the dying visualizations, these are VERY interesting and valuable practices (thank you for bringing that up, Beloved!). I just finished reading "A Year To Live" by Stephen Levine and it was full of amazing ideas like that. Fascinating reading, makes you think about looking at your world in a whole new way. I highly recommend it! | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Downward Dog - you probably aren't going to ever be "perfectly" straight but aligning yourself well for savasana IS important. Lying the way you are most comfortable often ends up with you lying in a position you like to sleep in - not good! We are hoping to bring relaxation, not sleep during savasana. All yoga poses, including savasana are ways of taking the body out of its normal, routine way of being and into unity. Lying carefully down into the pose will help with that | ||
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| afroyogi |
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| Echo, about that not being alone issue I can tell you what happened just the other day. When you're down in savasana there's not much opportunity to watch how the rest of the class is doing. So a few weeks ago, after savasana, the teacher told us that we really creeped her out. She said it was the most fidgeting class she ever encountered. I noticed that at least I was goofing around but she told us that not a single one of us managed to lay still for more than a few seconds. And we were like 20 people in that class! It reminded her of an ants colony. Yah, you're definately not alone! And the jerking thing before sleeping: I heard that it's a natural alarm system that lives in our biology and reaches way back when we were still sleeping in the trees. Waking yourself up by jerking keeps you from falling down and get mauled by the sabretooth tigers.  Edited by afroyogi 2005-05-16 7:13 PM | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Hmmmm - afro, if I saw my class do that I would take a good hard look at what and how I taught that day. Plus check to see if there were some sort of bugs on the floor I hadn't noticed! I love it when I start to talk a class into savasana (and this only usually happens with fairly experienced students) and realise I have to stop and be quiet because they are already "there."  | ||
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| belovedofthegod |
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| Empress Echo |
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afroyogi - And the jerking thing before sleeping: I heard that it's a natural alarm system that lives in our biology and reaches way back when we were still sleeping in the trees. Waking yourself up by jerking keeps you from falling down and get mauled by the sabretooth tigers. ROFLMAO!!!!! You know, this is probably true - one of those evolutionary holdovers from prehistoric days... it's just mighty funny the way you put it! I will definitely take care not to fall out of my tree - heck, it's bad enough to fall out (OUCH!) let alone to find a sabretooth tiger waiting for you at the bottom! | |||
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| Empress Echo |
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belovedofthegod - Its a bit ironic because one of the reasons many people do yoga is to improve their bodies. So after spending an hour improving this body, you just kill it! Regards. LOL! You've got a good point there, Beloved! Hugs, Echo | |||
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Egad...! Granted, I was an anthropology major in college and try to be very open-minded about different ways and cultures... this one just really caught me off-guard! Please excuse my jaw hanging open! (ie, verymuchinshockasana... do not attempt this on your own, folks!)
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