Week 31: Silence or Guided Relaxation: What is Your Preference?

I got it!

My comments last week led well into this week because I  got to participate in corpse pose (Savasana) at a hot session at Yoga Central. And what I wrote last week completely holds true - it's both physical and mental relaxation.

Now, I'm lying there, in corpse pose, thinking WAY too much because I've started to intellectualize the pose.

However, the great thing about (some) thinking is that when in corpse pose, is it better to be in complete silence or be guided through a relaxation sequence?

I jump back to my initial practice with my home DVD (Ali MacGraw Yoga Mind and Body), where Erich Shiffmann, talks through corpse pose using wonderful words ("Keep it simple. All you do is relax everywhere and be aware how you feel...Let the relaxation spread."). So, I had the early experience with gentle talking during corpse pose. But during my last practice and many other times, teachers have left you in silence with no guidance.

Silence for me can cause my mind to be distracted and the "heavy thinking" or introspective talking starts to roll. It's not really ideal for the relaxation. I wonder, what are opinions as to what is "suppose" to happen during corpse pose.

And off I go exploring to find out....

What I find is actually not totally what I expected. I was wrong in thinking it is one or the other. But in fact, based on what I found on the Yoga Journal website, corpse pose is to be practiced in silence. But it is the preparation or the lead up to the corpse pose where some talking can occur. I also found a great article for teachers about how to incorporate corpse pose which gave me further insight. 

With some self-reflection, I think I do need a form of transition into corpse pose (i.e., guided relaxation) so that the voice in my head is calmed and quieted as I relax into the pose. 

With my exploring, I found a great piece on corpse pose etiquette here. I got a good chuckle from this one! And a quick tips list here.

Oh so very interesting this journey. And it continues...
LW