Hello lovely one.
Welcome and well done for carving out a little time for yourself.
Our days are filled with so much effort and there are so many continuous demands on our precious time and energy resources that it's really a small miracle that you are here,
Willing to make time for you.
So thank you for that.
This is a recording of one of my favorite ways to practice Shavasana.
Shavasana is the relaxation posture usually practiced at the end of a physical yoga class,
But it is so much more than just a posture.
Shavasana is an opportunity for us to refill our cups,
Recharge our batteries and reconnect with the source of our life force.
Shavasana is like a place within us,
A place of deep healing rest that we can go to anytime we need to unplug from everything that drains us.
We spend so much of our days just doing things.
Striving,
Rushing,
Struggling,
Achieving,
Pushing.
We put so much effort into our daily tasks that oftentimes we forget the importance of just being,
Of finding ease.
There's a beautiful quote by Tich Nardhan who explains this concept so eloquently.
He says that,
We have a tendency to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being.
We think that when we are not doing anything,
We are wasting our time.
But that is not true.
Our time is first of all for us to be.
To be what?
To be alive,
To be peaceful,
To be joyful,
To be loving.
And that is what the world needs most.
It is so vitally important for us to find the balance between effort and ease.
And Shavasana is one way for us to do this.
So if you choose to,
You could view this practice as a gift to yourself.
A wonderful opportunity to unplug,
Reset,
Revitalize,
And recall all your energy from the importance of doing to the importance of being.
No effort,
Just ease.
No striving,
Just surrendering.
In this Shavasana practice,
We'll be using our awareness to bring a sense of calm and ease into our bodies.
By giving the various parts of us conscious permission to relax.
We'll be using our thoughts to create an internal environment of deep thankfulness and love.
So when you're ready,
Find a comfortable quiet space to lie down.
You may choose to lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched out and comfortably away from the body.
You may choose to bend your knees if your lower back feels a little tweaky.
You may even choose to lie with your legs extended up the wall,
Or even on your belly resting your forehead on stacked hands.
Remember that it's your body,
Your rest,
Your rules.
So choose a restful posture that feels good for you today.
Take a moment to get settled in,
And then let your whole body start feeling soft and heavy and warm.
Take a long,
Slow,
Loving breath in through the nose and sigh out the mouth.
And if that felt good,
Go ahead and do it again.
Loving breath in.
Long breath out.
And then let your body breathe for you.
No control.
Just natural,
Easy,
Effortless.
Start by taking your loving awareness down to your toes.
Take a moment to sense and feel your toes,
Your feet,
Your ankles.
And quietly in your mind,
Tell them,
Thank you.
Tell them,
Thank you.
Tell them,
I love you.
And then tell them to relax.
Let your loving awareness move up to your calves and your shins,
Your knees and your thighs,
Your hips,
Your buttocks.
Sense and feel those parts of you.
Fill them with your own thankfulness,
Blessings and love.
And then tell them to relax.
Let your loving awareness shift up so that you can sense and feel your lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back and shoulder blades.
Awareness wrapping around to your belly,
Your diaphragm,
Your chest,
Your collarbones.
Thank you.
I love you.
It is safe to rest now.
Let your awareness move from your torso to your shoulders.
Moving to your upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists and palms,
Hands and fingers.
Thank you.
I love you.
Now relax.
And loving awareness moving into your throat,
The column of your neck,
Resting on your chin,
Your jaw,
Your lips,
Teeth and tongue,
Cheeks.
Awareness filling your nose,
Your eyes,
Your ears,
Your forehead,
Wrapping around the sides,
The back and the crown of your head,
Softening.
To your whole head,
Your whole face,
We say thank you.
I love you.
Relax.
Sense and feel your whole beautiful body resting,
So lovingly held and supported in ways that we don't even see.
Fold to the brim with your own love.
Now lovely one,
Let yourself rest.
For the next few minutes,
There is no need to go anywhere,
To do anything,
To be anything other than what you are right now.
Whole and complete and perfect,
Just as you are.
No efforts,
Just ease,
No striving,
Just surrendering.
I will be right here with you the whole time.
When it's time to start moving,
I will let you love.
Very slowly,
Softly and as gently as you can,
Bring your attention back to your body,
Resting.
Slowly become aware of the temperature of the air against your skin and any sounds you might be hearing as we start the transition back into the world outside of us.
You can start deepening your breath and turning the corners of your mouth up in a gentle smile to warm your cheeks and to acknowledge the important work that you have just done.
Rest is never idle,
It is necessary.
You can start inviting a little movement back into your fingers and your toes,
Giving your toes a playful wiggle and rubbing your thumb over your fingertips.
Slowly start turning circles with your ankles and wrists.
It might feel good to turn your head from side to side a little.
And only when you feel good and ready do you gift yourself one last full body stretch.
So take a big loving breath in,
Reach your arms up over your head and stretch.
And sigh it out.
And then we end our practice with a hug.
So wrap your arms around your chest or draw your knees into your belly and hug yourself like you mean it.
If it feels weird,
Just pretend that it's from me.
Hug yourself like you love yourself and say thank you to all of you,
Every part of you.
You can gently roll over onto your side,
Lying in the fetal position for a moment.
May your day be filled with small pauses between all your busyness just to feel into the center of your beingness.
I love you dearly.
Thank you.
Now go and have a blessed and beautiful day.
