Today, the world of people moves in an uneven, crazy rhythm, forcing all its many inhabitants to move. One has only to gape for a second, and a swift wave of people will rush on, leaving you far behind. From continuous tension and life in an unnatural and harmful rhythm, a person has turned into a miserable exhausted creature. Drugs that are created to correct this deplorable situation often cause addiction and have a bunch of side effects. But there is one method that has helped people clean their inner world for thousands of years. This is a special posture in which yogis relax after doing asanas - shavasana.
Why is yoga for modern man?
It would seem that this amazing art is a useless relic of the past, which also belongs to a culture completely alien to us. But the fact that yoga in Moscow makes as little sense as skiing in India is a big mistake. This unique system can make each person’s life more efficient. It is not limited to asanas, as most people who are not familiar with this phenomenon think. The foundation of this art is a set of moral and ethical rules that allow the most rational use of one's life force and carry as little negativity into the world as possible, and therefore receive fewer problems. Of course, these principles will not suit everyone, but in yoga there are many useful things besides them.
For example, cleaning methods designed to remove harmful substances that have accumulated over many years of life. With their help, you can cleanse the intestines and nose, tidy up the stomach. Asanas - special poses created to work out the body can also provide invaluable help to a modern person. They give him much-needed motor activity, knead hardened joints and tidy up the hormonal system. One such position is shavasana, or corpse pose. It is used for complete relaxation and can be of great benefit to the tormented and irritable city dweller.
Shavasana pose
This asana was traditionally used by yogis to relax after long classes. In it, the human body occupies a horizontal position in which he needs to completely relax. During the practice of this posture, the muscles relax from the tension that pestered them throughout the day. Consciousness also drops the ballast of thoughts that seek to disturb it. Only peace and tranquility instead of the usual stress and anxiety that "progress" awarded us. You can practice body relaxation in shavasana, even if you are not doing yoga, as this asana is of great benefit in itself.
Only 10-15 minutes twice a day will be able to change your life. The regular practice of shavasana will bring a little harmony to the harsh life of modern man. You can often hear that there is not enough time for such things, but this is only self-deception. If a person is willing to spend many hours a day making himself unhappy, then allocating half an hour to becoming even a little happier should not be problematic.
Place to practice
Shavasana, like other relaxation exercises, should be practiced in a quiet secluded place where no one will disturb you. If you are practicing indoors, it is advisable that fresh air enters it. If the practice takes place on the street, it is important not to freeze. Being engaged in a room with a low temperature or outdoors on a cool day, you can cover yourself with a blanket so as not to overcool. There should be no noise sources nearby; people or animals should not bother you.
The surface on which shavasana is performed should be flat, without bumps or cavities. If you constantly do this useful practice in the same place, then over time it will begin to contribute to the simplest entry into a state of relaxation, increase your concentration and help to stop the intrusive internal dialogue. It is best to do shavasana with your head north or east.
Time for practice
The practice of the corpse pose at different times of the day will bring a completely different result. Therefore, it would be wise to adjust your classes according to the goals that you set. The shavasana pose will be most beneficial if performed before sunrise. In the summer, it is approximately 3 a.m. Hardly anyone is ready to get up so early for the practice of relaxation, but if you conduct your classes at this time, the result will exceed all expectations. Before sunrise, the world is filled with peace and silence that can be absorbed during shavasana. At this time, most living beings have not yet awakened, people's thoughts do not interfere with relaxation, do not bring disharmony into the inner world.
Most people do not want to get up at 3 a.m. to do dubious things, the benefits of which are rejected in our pragmatic society. However, shavasana can be practiced at any time when there is a need for relaxation, or if half an hour is free. Practiced in the morning, it will give a charge of calm and positive for the whole day. In the evening, the practice of relaxation will help calm the mind and restore strength after a hard day's work.
Shavasana. Execution technique
To perform shavasana, you need to find a flat and hard surface, a sofa or bed is not suitable for this purpose. A floor with a blanket or rug is ideal. First you need to lie on your back, evenly stretching it across the floor, aligning and centering the body. Then the chest is opened, and the hands comfortably lie along the trunk with the palms up. They should not be too far from the case, but do not touch it. Deployment in the chest is done so that the palms do not roll over towards the body when relaxing. The fingers on them should be slightly bent, which contributes to the speedy relaxation of the whole hand.
Legs are close, but socks should be spread apart. After you have made sure that the body is centered, you can lower your head to the floor. Perhaps it will be more convenient for someone to put a towel under the back of his head or use a roller to sit comfortably on the floor. The main thing is relaxation, which carries shavasana. The technique of execution should lead you to the correct position in which you can completely relax. Therefore, you can slightly turn your head to the side to unload the neck muscles as much as possible. The tongue should be pressed to the upper palate as if you were pronouncing the letter “t”. The mouth is slightly ajar, which contributes to the most complete relaxation of the face. You need to close your eyes and try to calm your breathing. Equal and calm breathing is the key to relaxing the mind and body.
Muscle relaxation
Relaxing the body seems like a simple and understandable thing. However, as soon as it comes to practice, it turns out that many people have no idea how to relax their muscles. It is best to start with the toes and slowly move towards the head, slowly looking through the inner gaze of each part of the body, relieving stress from it. Particular attention should be paid to the muscles of the neck and face, since they are the hardest to relax. Once you get to your head, you should start to go back down to your feet, checking the whole body, eliminating the remnants of tension. Shavasana, like other relaxation exercises, does not tolerate haste and coercion. Everything must be done slowly and with pleasure.
Naturally, at first it is unlikely to be able to completely relax, but with experience comes the ability to do it quickly and efficiently. Complete relaxation is characterized by a pleasant weight throughout the body. It is as if flattened on the floor, smeared on it under its own weight. Often, for those who do not know how to relax their muscles, breathing comes to the rescue. The smoother and deeper inspirations and exhalations, the easier it is to achieve complete calm in the body and thoughts. You can also repeat special phrases to yourself. For example: “my legs get heavier and more relaxed” or “my whole body is filled with a pleasant weight”, etc. Stubborn repetition of these phrases can really help to enter the stage of deep relaxation, even if other techniques have been ineffective.
How to relax your mind
Shavasana, like other relaxation asanas, is intended not only for bodily relaxation, but also for immersion in yourself, a deep knowledge of the inner world. To do this, you need to discard anything that might bother you. One of these factors is the constant signals coming from the brain to the muscles and back. With the lifestyle that is customary in our society, the brain constantly sends a bunch of unnecessary signals to the muscles, since the work of the nervous system is not optimized. If you leave these processes alone, it is unlikely that you will get the correct shavasana. Relaxation cannot be achieved until the connection between the brain and muscles is broken. For this, the yogis came up with a simple but effective technique. On inspiration, you need to focus on the tip of the nose, as well as squint at him without opening them. On exhalation, the eyes return to their normal position, concentration also stops. Just a few repetitions of this exercise can cause a sensation of soaring or falling into a void. This means that the connection between mind and body is broken, and you can move on.
To enter the state of self-hypnosis, the last touch remained. It is necessary to imagine a blue cloudless sky before our eyes. Its infinity and tranquility will also be transmitted to you as soon as you master this technique. At first, it will be extremely difficult, and the time for which you can imagine the sky will not exceed a few seconds. But with experience, this state will be achieved more simply and more naturally, until it becomes familiar to your practice of shavasana. Next, you need to imagine that a clear blue sky is not only above you, but also surrounds your body from all sides. You seem to soar in the vast expanses of heaven, deeper and deeper immersed in a state of bliss. Properly performed shavasana can become for you an island of paradise in the stormy ocean of adversity. To achieve such a complete immersion in their own depths is very difficult. Only constant practice can help here. Some people are supported by shavasana music, but it is better for beginners to conduct classes in complete silence.
Self hypnosis
After several months of hard practice, the enormous potential that savasana possesses is finally revealed. The technique of execution by that time will be polished to the smallest detail, and a minimum of effort will be spent on complete relaxation. Now is the time to capitalize on the state achieved by the practice of shavasana. In a state of self-hypnosis, you can give yourself pre-arranged settings that will help you change yourself, start living more efficiently and harmoniously. In fact, this condition is even better than the one into which a professional hypnotist can immerse you. His outward signs gave the name to this asana, as the practitioner begins to resemble a dead man. His breath is barely perceptible. The pulse also slows down, becomes weak and unhurried.
You should not give yourself an attitude with a “not” particle, since the subconscious mind can simply ignore its presence by reacting to the most powerful words. For example, instead of the phrase “I will not eat at night,” it is better to use “I will stop eating at night,” instead of “I will not smoke,” it is better to use the “I quit smoking” setting. Otherwise, the subconscious mind can ignore a small piece by executing your program exactly the opposite. The advantage of self-hypnosis over a simple understanding of what needs to be done is enormous. Self-hypnosis methods allow you to load a useful installation directly into the subconscious, bypassing the conscious layers of the mind. Thus, your program does not pass the assessment of consciousness, but simply implemented and begins to work. And this is just one of the huge number of tools that yoga has! Shavasana can completely change the personality of a practitioner, make him a completely different person. Imagine the benefits that a full yoga class can bring.
Right exit
To get out of shavasana correctly is no less important than to enter it correctly. It is advisable to be in the pose of the dead man for at least 10 minutes in order to get at least some beneficial effect from it. After you feel that it is time to go back, you need to gradually regain the feeling of your own body. To do this, you can slowly “feel” the muscles of the limbs and trunk with an internal gaze, try to feel them. When you again feel like a solid physical object, you should feel the surface on which you are lying, imagine the place where shavasana is practiced. The execution technique involves a gradual return to an active state. Therefore, as soon as you emerge from the depths of the subconscious, you need to give yourself a lift and raise your elbows with your palms on your stomach.
After this, you should bend your legs at the knees and gently roll over to your right side. In this position, you can open your eyes and lie down for a while to recover a little. Then the left hand is placed on the floor and pushed away from it, helping to take a sitting position. Now you can fully come to your senses and fix the condition that brings shavasana to people. Over time, it will increasingly break out in everyday life, and in the future you can live life in this amazing meditative state. This is not an easy task, as well as serious hatha yoga classes, it requires regularity. It makes no sense to practice shavasana once a week or a couple of times a month. It is advisable to use this pose at least twice a day. In this case, the result will not be long in coming. It is equally important that during practice nothing distracts your attention. It is better to turn off the phone and ask your family and friends not to bother you. It is important not to fall asleep during shavasana, since sleep is not at all the state that is required for a short rest. Moreover, yogis claim that 10 minutes of correctly performing this asana gives an effect comparable to three hours of sleep.
Unique tool
Almost any yoga teacher gives 10-15 minutes of shavasana after intensive classes. Sometimes this relaxation pose is performed in the middle of a lesson in order to give the necessary rest to beginner yogis. For the rest, this is a wonderful tool for working with the subconscious. With the help of a corpse pose, you can not only give yourself effective attitudes, but also notice an impending illness or depression in time. Over time, when performing shavasana will not require serious efforts from you, it will be enough just to lie on your back and relax to forget all the hardships and recover after a working day filled with stress and negativity.
By performing this simple but effective asana every day, you will be able to achieve what Yogis call meditation. And this is a serious achievement that will forever change your life for the better. Over time, this condition will become a constant companion on your life path. You will be able to go into those settings of your own mind that are hidden from most. Thus, the subconscious mind will cease to be a mystery to a person who constantly practices savasana. Only half an hour a day devoted to this practice will be able to replace a trip to a SPA salon or to a massage therapist.
In a deeper mastery of this and other practices, hatha yoga will help you. In Moscow or any other large city, there is always a studio in which like-minded people learn this useful art. Do not miss the opportunity to use the knowledge of yogis to improve your life. After shavasana enters your life, irritability and bad mood will leave you forever, and their place will be taken by an all-consuming calm.