Savasana: To Sleep or Not To Sleep?

When I first started practicing yoga I had no idea what I was supposed to do in savasana. I mean, yea, the teachers would tell us how to set up the pose but aside from that they didn't give much more instruction. I didn't know if I was supposed to maintain the ujjayi or victorious pranayama and keep my inhales equal in length to my exhales. I had a feeling I was supposed to 'quiet' my mind but had no idea what that really meant. So, instead of a quiet mind, I found my mind racing with thoughts of 'am I doing this right?', 'is this what I'm supposed to do?', ' I wonder what the person next to me is doing', etc. And then, the question of all savasana questions, was I supposed to stay awake or fall asleep?

After making a connection with one of my teachers, I felt comfortable enough to ask what I thought was a stupid question, should I or should I not fall asleep in savasana (I hadn't fallen asleep yet because I was too worried about doing the pose incorrectly!)? It turns out a lot of people have the same question and it wasn't such a stupid one to ask.

The answer is no. And according to Sri. K Pattabhi Jois it is a "most difficult [asana] for students, not waking, not sleeping." It's not that it's bad to fall asleep or daydream during savasana it’s just that they are unconscious states of mind, and the mind maintains its state of conditioned existence while sleeping or dreaming. And while in savasana what we actually want to do is remain in the present moment, observing the feelings and sensations deep in the core of our bodies. This is where it gets tricky. As these feelings - perhaps an uncomfortable thought, disturbing sensation, or difficult memory - start to appear in the body and the mind, our initial reaction is to flee and that's when we resort to daydreams or sleep. Instead, we have to stay with these thoughts, we don't need to re-hash and re-judge, we just need to observe without judgment and allow ourselves to relax into and be at peace with the present moment. In the words of Michael Stone, "we lie down with all of our repulsions and all of our attachments, both of which are sacred, both of which teach us about our strategies of attraction and avoidance and where we are in relation to the present moment. Observing these patterns allows us to suspend those very strategies and surrender to the feelings that we have been avoiding. This surrender gives way to spaciousness in the mind and body. When one practices this way there is space enough for everything."

So, how do you get to this point of physical relaxation? First, allow yourself to completely relax and allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm. I like to instruct my students to let the skin on the face soften - especially the space between the eyebrows, the skin around the eyes and the mouth -, and then I cue students to allow their cheeks to sink back towards their ears (that's one of my all time favorite cues from one of my favorite teachers) and to relax their jaws and their throats. Once the physical body is relaxed it's easier to connect with and observe (without judgment!) the mind and inner workings of the subtle body.

And, like everything, it takes time and it takes practice to get to the point where you can be present without judgment while still being relaxed without falling asleep or daydreaming, but I will tell you this much, you will know when you get to that point and you will be glad you stuck with it. It's an awesome feeling - a good savasana will you leave you feeling calm, relaxed, refreshed, and maybe even a little re-energized. So next time you find yourself in savasana, stay awake for it and be open to and okay with what sensations and feelings arise.