I died! I now know what Savasana—the dead body pose—truly means. I was in my final week of Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, and this was another intense two-hour class. But today it finally clicked: I was dead, not literally, but in the sense that everything that made me who I was—my name, my body, my gender, my religion, my race—was gone.
Bikram all his life would say, "Welcome to Bikram’s Torture Chamber, where you come to kill yourself for 90 minutes !"
And for the longest time, I didn’t quite grasp what he meant. But now, in this moment, I finally got it. He wasn’t talking about physical death—he was talking about killing the ego. The "self" that clings to identity, labels, and attachments. In the heat of that room, with sweat pouring down and my body exhausted, everything that fed my ego melted away.
Every teacher had always explained to us why the dead body pose was the most crucial one. I became no-thing at first, but I soon realized that I had the ability to create anything out of no-thing. From my perspective, this was a significant change in my yoga practice. This was my first lesson on the subtle meaning of what it means to be dead only to be reborn again.
Why Savasana?
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
Savasana, also known as the Corpse pose, is a ritual that arises in the silent aftermath of every energetic yoga practice. It's a place where the echoes of practice find a place to rest, not simply a time to relax and do nothing, but where all of your yoga benefits come together.
Picture the yoga class, the air still thick with the exhaustion of practice, the collective breaths of everyone who have walked the mental and physical paths of the discipline. As the teacher leads the class into Savasana, bodies slowly drop down onto the mat, taking on a pose that resembles death. However, there is a meaningful journey hidden in this quiet.
The Physical Integration
First of all, Savasana is a crucial pose because it allows the body to integrate the physical and energetic changes brought about by the previous poses. It promotes equilibrium by enabling the nervous system to rebalance. By purposefully remaining motionless, the body's efforts are integrated rather than abruptly discarded, serving as a canvas on which the resonances of every position can be absorbed. Savasana symbolizes the life-cycle and regeneration cycle. In its motionless rest, the body becomes a symbolic offering, admitting that there is healing to be found in silence. It is an act of tremendous strength, a release of the need for control, and an acceptance of the innate wisdom that resides within, not a surrender of weakness.
The Mental Tranquility
Savasana is a doorway to mental tranquility that extends beyond the material world. This pose offers a unique chance for the mind to relax in a world where action and stimulation are often constant. It turns into a haven where the mental turbulence sparked by the vigorous practice eventually goes away, making room for a calm mental state.
The Spiritual Journey
Savasana also fosters a deep feeling of self-awareness. Practitioners go on an inside trip while lying in this posture and tuning into the natural rhythm of their breath and internal feelings. It's a time for reflection and observation of any residual feelings or ideas that might arise after the procedure.
Savasana's metaphorical meaning is as significant. The body assumes a symbolic position of submission as it lays in a position akin to a lifeless form. It's an admission that rejuvenation can be found in the silence, a letting go of the old, to create room for the new. This giving in is not a sign of weakness but rather of strength, a call to give control and accept the body's and mind's innate knowledge.
Rest and Digest: The Nervous System's Role
Beyond the metaphysical and spiritual aspects, Savasana is also about engaging the body's parasympathetic nervous system—the "rest and digest" mode. After the physical exertion and the mental focus required throughout the practice, Savasana provides the necessary space for your body to recover and for your mind to assimilate the experience. It's in this state of deep relaxation that true healing and rejuvenation occur.
The Final Savasana: Reflecting on Death
Lastly, let's consider the final Savasana as a practice mirroring our inevitable death, yet without attaching ourselves to it. This concept resonates with the story of Buddha, who was profoundly affected by four encounters: sickness, old age, a monk, and death. Reflecting on these incidents compelled me to seek deeper truths. In the East, realities like sickness, old age, poverty, and death are openly acknowledged and more visible than in the West. There's a saying that increased awareness diminishes fear. Therefore, when a yogi consciously practices the metaphor of death in Savasana, the fear of death becomes less unfamiliar, allowing us to approach our mortality with a sense of peace rather than dread.
Savasana, in its simplicity and stillness, is the culmination of the entire yoga practice—a moment to reflect, to integrate, and to prepare for whatever comes next. It’s where we let go, not just of the physical tension, but of the mental and emotional baggage we carry, allowing ourselves to be reborn with each practice.
As you lie in Savasana after your next practice, ask yourself—what am I holding onto that no longer serves me, and how can I let it go to create space for something new?
In this way, Savasana becomes not just the end of the practice, but a powerful new beginning, a chance to reset and renew, ready to face the world with a clearer mind, a lighter heart, and a stronger spirit.
First Chapter of my book Modern Hot Yoga
Sumit Banerjee
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