shavasana - motionless pose
By Amitabha Deb
In
Sanskrit terms ‘shava’ means dead body. In simple terms it
means an unconscious/dead, motionless pose.
This asana is done after every asana to rest the body.
Without the practice of ‘shavasana’ at the end of each
asana, one cannot reap the real benefits of yoga.
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Do:
1.
Lie totally motionless
2.
Loosen every part of the body: Toes, fingers, thighs,
arms, stomach, throat, lips, cheeks, and ear (in later
issues we will discuss a body scanning exercise called
yoga nidra as a part of relaxation exercise)
Don’t:
1.
In shavasana, we never lie crooked
2.
The body does not move and no tilting of head is
allowed.
Benefits:
1.
It relaxes the nerve and brains
2.
Removes fatigue
3.
Teaches concentration, calms the emotions
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Procedure:
1.
Lie flat on our back with legs stretched out and
slightly apart. Drop your feet sideways as possible (Shavasana,
Figure 1)
2. Arms to be kept
by the sides (about 50 degrees away from the chest),
with palms turned up. If possible drop your feet
sideways (Shavasana, Figure 2)
3.
Close your eyes and keep the chin pointing toward the
chest, breathe normally and relax (Shavasana, Figure
3)
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