I spend my days gently coaxing people out of the stupor of sivasana. Their groggy, softened faces and bodies reluctantly rolling back into the rush of the world after class. Sivasana is a pretty incredible experience….once you get used to it. Just like every part of yoga, it can take some practice.
Some days sivasana is still and filled with peace. Other days it might be swarming with thoughts and emotions that are looking for a place to land. In the silence of sivasana things can come to the surface, or they can settle to the ocean floor of the soul. It depends on the day. It depends on where we are mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. You can’t hide in sivasana. Whatever you’ve been putting off, will usually find you as you lay in stillness on the sticky mat.
Understandably, some students need to leave class early because of work or life commitments, so they end up missing this time. Can I highly recommend, if possible, you avoid this scenario as much as you can? I think sivasana is one of the most, if not the most, important part of the practice. It’s when we learn to take rest. Which doesn’t come naturally for a lot of people, myself included. It’s also when everything consolidates. When all of the effort you just expended solidifies in quietness. The asana practice kicks up a lot of dust in the body, mind and soul. Sivasana is when the dust settles.
A few things I’ve found helpful after sivasana:
- Take your time. Not rushing after class has afforded me many chances to soak up the quiet revelations that ease their way into my mind and heart after class. It’s also a nice chance to fix your hair, wipe away the mascara gunk that ends up around the eyes after sweating or even crying a bit (P.S. crying in yoga is a thing. It’s a very natural reaction – no shame.
- Don’t operate heavy machinery. But seriously, no joke. There are studies showing how reaction time and mental acuity slows down after a yoga practice. Our eye-hand coordination is literally dumbed down for the first hour after practice. You may have even felt what I’m talking about. It’s like being a bit drunk. Have you ever forgotten your keys, your phone or your mat after practice because your brain was in that yoga fog? Best to just sit and simmer in the slowness and enjoy the gentle lull that comes after a good yoga session.
- Journal. A lot of juicy stuff gets squeezed out of us in yoga. Giving that juice a container is helpful. Journaling, for me, has been a great container to hold all those thoughts and emotions that bubble up after laying down. There have been days where I’ve set up in a quiet cafe corner after a kick ass class, and three hours later, I finally look up from my laptop. I take a deep breath in and out, and feel a heck of a lot better than I did when I first sat down.
- Don’t judge. Try not to harshly analyze the emotions and thoughts that come up during this time. It’s not easy, but if you can learn to objectively observe them, where they might be originating from, sivasana and the moments after it can be revelatory. Personal awareness and acceptance have a chance to really grow. It also allows you to take away the tendency most of us have to react to emotions. Especially the uncomfortable ones. But if you can train your brain and body to see them as just feelings, not reality, it’s pretty amazing what you can unearth about yourself.
- Share the peace. This part is important. That deep, savoury, feel it in your bones peace that comes at the end of your practice is pretty fantastic. And fantastic things are meant to be shared. As our practice and our relationship with sivasana evolves we come to realize this peace can be taken off the mat and into our lives to be shared with those around us. When this happens, peace multiplies in our lives and in the lives we touch.
I hope your sivasana practice affords you moments of deeply needed peace and rest. You deserve it, everyone does. Yang needs yin, as the blog name suggests – and there is no more yin like pose than sivasana. May you be found and loved in the stillness. Namaste xo
