At the end of a yoga class, you’ll likely hear the instructions, “Come into corpse pose.” Corpse pose — or savasana as it is called in Sanskrit — is arguably the most important pose in any yoga class. It is the final posture, and is a chance for our bodies and minds to integrate the benefits of all the poses we’ve done in our practice. It’s a time for the body to completely relax, and come into a meditative state.
But why the name “corpse pose?”
It is said that after each yoga practice, we emerge anew. We come into the present, refreshed, and as a different being. We leave our old body — and any tensions, negative habits or thought patterns that we have let go of — on the mat. What we leave behind is the metaphorical “corpse” of our old selves. Through shedding this “corpse”, we can step off the mat and into the world as a new person.
I think this is a beautiful concept. And I can tell you I’ve shed a mountain of corpses on my mat over my 20-year yoga practice. So, how about it — will you join me in corpse pose or savasana today?
Check out more scary secrets for making this Halloween terrific-ly terrifying.
It’s been going on for months, if not years. It’s talked about in my Twitter feed, on Facebook, at the coffee shop, at school drop-off and pick-up. People everywhere seem to be screaming: “I’m just not sleeping and I’m sick of it!”
I’ve written before about Relaxation and Meditation for Sleep. But the issue of sleep — or rather, the lack of it — keeps coming up.
As a parent of young kids, interrupted sleep is often unavoidable. But what happens when the kids are sleeping through the night, and you’re still not? Constantly feeling tired is no fun, and neither is complaining about constantly being tired. But before you reach for those pills or night-time sleep aids, why not try some simple and natural solutions to help you get some zzzzz’s?
Here are the top three complaints I hear regarding sleep, and some tips and techniques I’ve used to deal with them:
“My mind won’t shut off. As soon as I close my eyes, I start to worry. I’m thinking of all the things I haven’t finished today or the to-do lists for tomorrow.”
Recommended course of action: Meditate. Meditate. Meditate. I often hear in response to this, “I can’t meditate, I can’t turn my mind off.” The idea of meditation isn’t to completely turn the mind off. We will never totally shut off our thoughts. Meditation teaches to see and accept the patterns of the mind, to become aware of the power we allow our thoughts to have over us. We can –with time and practice- learn to lessen the volume of our thoughts, to distance ourselves from the narrative of our minds, and let go of the mental clutter that keeps us awake at night.
Listen to a guided meditation or guided relaxation to allow your mind to focus on something other than your to-do lists as you prepare for sleep.
Also ask yourself: Are you on the computer/tablet/phone or watching television right before bed? This kind of visual stimulation doesn’t help if you are a “night mind-racer.” Try to cut out technology at least 30-60 minutes before bed.
“My body just feels wired. When I lie down, I get anxious, and I feel like my body is still buzzing from the day. Or I get achy and find it difficult to settle down and get comfortable.”
Recommended course of action: Do some gentle yoga to soothe the body, followed by a relaxation meditation. There are a couple of techniques you could use — autogenic relaxation technique or progressive muscle relaxation. Both encourage a deep mind-body connection. By bringing our awareness to each part of our body and encouraging it to release, we can calm our central nervous system and physically relax our body into a state ready for sleep.
To listen to a guided relaxation, click on the highlighted words for either an autogenic relaxation or a progressive muscle relaxation podcast. Or you can read Dr. Kim Foster’s instructions on progressive muscle relaxation.
Also ask yourself: Are you drinking caffeine or alcohol that could be disrupting your body’s ability to relax? Have you eaten a heavy meal or exercised too close to the end of the day? Try to avoid stimulating the body with food/liquid or heavy exercise too close to bedtime.
“I have no trouble falling asleep, but I wake up in the middle of the night. That’s when my anxiety starts, or the worries seep into my head, and I just can’t get back to sleep.”
Recommended Course of Action: Try a deep belly breathing exercise, followed by a meditation or relaxation technique.
Deep Belly Breathing. Bring your attention to your breath by placing your hand on your belly. Let your hand rise and fall as you focus on your breath coming in and out of the body. Allow the exhalation to be longer than your inhalation. (i.e., If you inhale to the count of four, exhale to the count of six, seven or eight). Do this for 5-10 minutes.
It’s easy to put pressure on ourselves to fall back to sleep because, “Goddamnit I have to be up again in a couple of hours, I am going to be so tired. This can’t happen again.” But the more we get worked up about sleep, the more elusive it can be. While it may not seem like the same thing as dreamland, being in a relaxed or meditative state is still good for the body. We are still resting. And the more relaxed and rested we are, the more likely we are to actually fall back to sleep.
While these recommended techniques have worked for many a night mind-racer, a resistant body and a middle-of-the-night waker, there is no magic formula that works for everyone, and the environment we create for ourselves around our sleep habits is crucial. It is also important to note that none of these are a quick fix. It might take a few days or weeks to see the results in our sleep behaviour.
But, at the very least, we will have the tools and know various techniques to help the body and mind come into a calm, relaxed state.
Do you have any sleep rituals that help ease you into dreamland?
It’s a Friday night. I’m in the parking lot of the Delta Meadowvale in Mississauga. I’m in heels and a cocktail dress, pumping my fist in the air, jumping up and down, shouting, “Break through the glass ceiling, break through the glass ceiling!” echoing the amazing soul singer Jully Black and her crew. I am energized and inspired. For the record, this is not my ordinary M.O. for a Friday night. That usually involves pajamas and a good movie. But nothing about the Blissdom Canada conference is ordinary.
I look around at the four women I’m dancing with: a family doctor, an at-home mom and blogger, a not-for-profit fundraiser, a novelist. They are four incredible women from different cities across Canada. We first met through social media but have developed friendships that go far beyond the internet. I look at the stage where this amazing Canadian artist and her talented team are belting out Glass Ceiling. It’s magic. I realize that this moment—on so many levels—captures why I go to Blissdom every year.
Whether I’m in a micro-session, learning about how badly I use LinkedIn (thanks Leslie Hughes for helping me “complete my profile!”), or holding back tears listening to Glen Canning (father of Rehtaeh Parsons) speak on a Social Etiquette panel about the consequences of our words and actions online, or sitting in one of the sponsor spaces catching up with friends and meeting new people (thank you Tim Horton’s for your #timspiration lounge), there are so many opportunities to learn, grow, and challenge yourself.
Many of my favourite moments happen in between the panels and sessions, in the conversations and connections. But regardless of where the magic happens, every year I’ve come away with an idea or a theme to ponder.
There was a lot of talk this year about what my daughter calls the golden rule: do unto others as you would have done to you. And although this is something that is always top of mind for me in the social mediasphere (just ask @lisathornbury), that was not my big takeaway this year.
The magic I came away with was summed up in that parking lot on Friday night. Jully Black told us to think about our own glass ceilings. We all have one, or two or three. Sometimes we create our own, and sometimes they’re imposed upon us. But if we can recognize these glass ceilings, and we are surrounded by the right people (like those four incredible women who I was fist-pumping with) we can be inspired, supported, challenged, and encouraged to break through to greater heights.
Thank you, Jully Black, and to the amazing team at Blissdom Canada!
Photo credit: the amazing Katja Wulfers @jackstrawlane
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