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Awareness and duration

This practice gives max im um benefit s if your

attention is totally involved in the practice. If

you do shavasana without enthusiasm then it

will not give the required results. A little mental

effort is necessary, but without mental strain.

Th e durat ion of the practic e should suit the

time that is available; the longe r the bette r.

For normal purposes five or ten minutes is

sufficient. Naukasana takes between three and

four minutes, so in combi nati on they take little

ume, especially in relation to the vast benefits

that they can give.

Sequence

Shavasana is ideally practised after naukasana,

be ca us e whi le it cr ea te s th e te ns io n, sh av as an a

releases it. Shavasana can and should be prac-

tised whenever you feel tired or tense. It issuch a simple practice, yet it can bring wonder-

ful results. It should also be performed after

yoga exercises or asanas, an d between th e

pr ac ti ce s if yo u feel a li tt le ti re d.

Movement and covering

try not to move your body at all durin g the

pr ac ti ce of sh av as an a. T h e re is a very go od

reason for this: even the slightest movement

will bring certain muscles into play. As such

you are immediatel y creati ng muscular contrac-

tion. the very thing we are trying to eliminate.

Some people may find it uncomfortable to

lie on the floor with only a pillow under their

head. In this case pillows may also be placedunder the knees, to take up the gap between

the floor and t he back of the knees, a nd und er

the s mall of the back in t he reg ion of the waist.

The support of these extra cushions will help

you to attain m ore rel axati on. Don't lie on a

soft bed or mattress as this will not allow you

to distinguish whether you are relaxing the

muscles or not. If the a tmo sph ere is cold or if

there are any small insects in the air, cover

yourself with a large shee t or bla nket . But th e

covering should not be too heavy.

Benefits

Basically shavasana relaxes the whole physio-

logical-psychological system. A relaxed mind

allows you to see and relate to the world and

the peo ple ar oun d you in a mor e realistic light,

carry out your work mor e smoothly and attain

more happiness in life.

A tense mind automatically implies a tense

bo dy . F ro m thi s c o m b i n a t i o n resu l t th e

majority of diseases which inflict mankind.

Shavasana, by relaxing the mind-body com-

pl ex , he lp s to re li ev e and pr ev ent di se as e. Its

be ne fi ts ar e in es ti ma bl e. T h e reader sh ou ld

not believe us when we say how effective this

pr ac ti ce is - yo u sh ou ld try it an d find ou t fo r

yourself.

Notes1 Book I, Lesson 2 Topic 7

2 Book I, Lesson 2 Topic 8

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