Whenever I travel out of town, I try to hit up a local yoga studio for a class. I’m not a yoga student nearly as much as I’d like to be, so I soak up every moment. On a camping trip last week, my husband and I took an amazing class with Sesa O’Connor at Yoga Salt in Wilmington, NC. Her easy way of being in a room and teaching from the heart was just what we needed after a week that brought a lot of change and uncertainty.
The class was the best kind of challenging. Then Sesa reminded us that ending yoga in savasana, corpse pose, is practicing death and the ultimate expression of letting go. Even when we have to let go of how things were or how we thought they would be, we’re still infinitely and safely here.
ALL FEARS LEAD TO DEATH
They say that all fears lead to the fear of death. I’ve tested this theory enough times to feel pretty confident in believing it. Try it out the next time you feel anxious and afraid about anything. If you keep going to every “and then”, you’ll more than likely end up dead. I haven’t explored anything yet that didn’t ultimately lead to my earthly demise.
We get very comfortable with our lives. My biggest fears revolve around resistance to any change in me, my life, or my lifestyle. I freak out even when an unexpected change is needed and will certainly bring good things along with it. I can go through the 6 stages of grief in less than an hour. But I know at the heart of me that I will be fine and happy with much less than I have.
FIND GOOD YOGA TEACHERS
Yoga touches on every aspect of life. It’s not just about relaxing or the physical benefits. We learn about universal truths from a place of feeling more and thinking less. If we’re taking classes from teachers who have been open-hearted students, we’ll find ourselves guided into uncomfortable positions and come out of them better than when we started. Then finishing in savasana, corpse pose, can be like a trip to another world.
Yoga helps us practice death to find freedom from fear. Savasana reminds us that we are without end. Practicing death is practicing peace.
Here’s an Energy Balancing class to help you let go: