In the Bikram series Dead Body Pose or Savasana is practiced
throughout the entire second half of class. I really like to think of it as
practicing surrender and quite literally practicing the final letting go state;
the state of non-being, or dead. It
is dead body pose, after all. I am
not being morbid, but when I was younger, I was so frightened of death that I
literally would have panic attacks if I thought about my own death. Death is something we collectively fear
-- the great unknown. What does
dying feel like -- is it a relief -- is it painful? And what happens afterwards -- is there an afterwards? Well, if there is, it is not with this
body. This body will return to
dust. I think that whenever death
comes I hope I am at peace. I know
practicing dead body pose has helped me greatly with practicing surrender, and
living in the moment. When we
practice Savasana, we are asked not to fidget, not to adjust or move anything,
but rather just accept the moment and what is happening now. Which usually is you are breathing
heavier from just having done a strenuous pose, you are sweating, and you are simultaneously
relaxing, recovering. Newbies to
the practice sometimes feel overwhelmed at this point in the class, because
they are feeling all their cylinders firing -- and are asked to just be with
this excited state. This becomes a
powerful thing once you surrender and can feel your vitality. You feel your heart, your body functioning,
and all your attention is on your breath.
You literally feel the mechanism of your body at work, at rest. So, what does this all have to do with
death, and feeling surrender -- it has to do with both. Dead body pose taught me how to live in
the moment and in doing so, helped quill my fears of dying. What I love about yoga is that you can
make it a practice about deepening your connection not only to this life, but
also to the after life. You can be
a spiritual warrior -- looking at your own demise with courage and ultimately
peace in your heart.
