Stillness from Deep Within

As much as we all love the idea of deep and total peace, I think many of us have a harder time with it than we realize.

Sivasana (my now, favorite yoga pose), also known as corpse pose, is known to be the ultimate relaxation/peace pose. When done correctly and consistently it can lead to deep healing and make your meditation practice much stronger. To a bystander, it may look like adults taking a nap :); laying on the floor with their eyes closed and blanket in tow–they may be thinking…what’s so hard about that?

The thing is, it’s not about napping–it’s about intentionally being still; inside and out while staying present in the moment. It’s actually known as one of the most difficult yoga poses to wrap your mind around–literally :)–because the trick here is not all about how limber your body is, but it’s about mastering your mind…and that my friend is what yogi’s for thousands of years have been trying to conquer.

During some of my most difficult and stressful days many moons ago, I just couldn’t do this pose to save my life. I would finish an entire hatha yoga class, and then when it came time for sivasana–within 30 seconds of laying flat, my eyes would fly open, my limbs would become antsy and my mind would be racing over my to-do list of 1001 things that needed my attention NOW. And before I knew it,  the present moment was gone and I would be transported to the land of should’ve, could’ve and would’ve’s.

I’m happy to report, although I have not mastered this pose, I have had tasted a few delicious moments of stillness that have made me come to look forward to this pose, as I know that I have been fortunate to reap many benefits from it. Consistently doing hatha yoga 3-4 times a week has really made a huge difference in my level of inner stillness, outward calmness and has definitely deepened my daily meditation practice.

The long and the short of this post, is that I know how overwhelming life can be—our minds are being inundating at a crazy rate. The amount of ways we all have to stay engaged in order to stay current (i.e. our phones glued to our hands for constant updates, texts, emails, tweets, etc)….on top of work, family, close relationships…is exhausting. So if you have a regular meditation practice–AWESOME, I think you’re ahead of the pack. But if you don’t, hatha yoga is a great way to start. Or if you want to jump straight into mediation, even better…here’s a link to the organization I’m apart of, Dhyanyoga Centers if you want any help getting started.

All, I know is, if you don’t already take the time to focus a little inward, I would highly suggest you do—it has amazing results on all things outward! Would love to hear what your favorite pose is…and what you think of Sivasana.

Lots of peace & love,
Kajal

p.s. If you haven’t a had a chance to see my work from my first week of #100daysofart…come check it out over on my Instagram page!