You’re just laying there. Everything is dark, and you are laying on a mat in a cold dark spacious room. And then there are monks being played on a music system doing a OM chanting meditation.
That is not what I am down with. There are many people who may find this relaxing, I am not one of then.
To each her own.
I have tried savasana and different forms of meditation when in my yoga classes, and other times just for stress management. I don’t think I have learned to relax into a meditation type form. A therapist that I have previously seen gave me a worksheet on these different techniques. I get hung up in the technique of the exercise, rather than the relaxation. Breathe in 3 counts, breathe out 4 counts, 5 counts, whatever. I concentrate on holding my breath tirelessly and then expelling out every last bit of oxygen. And that is just not relaxing for me.
I’ve told my Mom that I don’t think I can meditate; its just not relaxing for me. What I can do is lay on mat after yoga practice and just breathe regularly. Not counting, not concentrating on a word as my ‘mantra,’ just laying there and trying to rest by clearing of the mind. Just letting the thoughts drift.
This is an article that I found on My Yoga online, a Gaiam TV production:
A woman in corpse pose or ‘savasana’
I find the visualizations helpful, to let go of the worries of current, past and future troubles. Visualizations give us something concrete on which to focus our energy. In a way, it drifts your mind from your trials to a world in which you are the blue sky, watching the clouds (which are your thoughts) drift away into nothingness, until you feel the calm and happiness of a clear blue sky.
My former yoga teacher had also introduced me to the use of aromatherapy as having a calming benefit. Being a Recreation therapist, I have knowledge of how certain aromas bring about pleasant reactions in others, I had just never thought of the frequent use to allow myself to relax. Upon recommendation of my ‘yogi’ I have a spray bottle of water diffused with the scent of lavender to help relax and for soothing purposes. So this also assists in helping my yoga practice in a more relaxed environment.
Yoga practice is just a physical medium that allows your self to focus and be in the right state of mind currently.
