I recently attended a class at Urban Yoga Spa in Seattle. The teacher noticed that almost everyone was lying down. He went ahead and started our grounding sequence in savasana. Seasoned yoga teachers read the room and modify their prepared class to fit what they think the class needs. In the age of online yoga classes, this is a great way to make the class feel special.
Unconventional
When I first started yoga, it was quite unconventional to attend a class lying down or in savasana (corpose pose), a pose reserved for the end of a yoga practice. Savasana is a meditative pose. The point of the physical part of the practice, is to get our bodies feeling good, so the mind gains clarity, ready for meditation. From this standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to start with a passive pose. Additionally, savasana is a metaphorical death, so when the class ends, technically getting out of savasana, it signifies a rebirth.
In the ashtanga tradition, the class starts in tadasana or mountain pose. It’s an active pose, which shows readiness. This is not the case in most vinyasa classes nowadays. Sitting, child’s pose, or cat-cow have become the staple grounding classes.
Tips for Starting Class in Savasana
When it comes to starting class lying down, I prefer to have the feet on the floor, knees pointing to the sky, so it’s not so much a rest pose to start. After that, I like focusing on the core. It’s amazing how the sun salutations or standing poses feel when the core is already fired up.
Here’s a grounding sequence that starts lying down with a focus on the core. If you’re a yoga teacher, I hope you give it a try the next time you see a class full of people lying down. Thank you to the folks at Urban Yoga Spa for inspiring this article.
The Core Opening Sequence
- Knee to Chest Leg Extension: Take the right knee to chest, extend the left leg out and lift it a few inches off the ground. Anchor the lower back to the mat, relax the shoulders and start rolling the ankles. Switch sides.
- Bridge Flow: Both knees to chest, straighten legs so feet point to the sky, lower down legs to hover, knees back to chest, and bridge pose. (3x)
- Leg Circles: With the legs straight pointing to the sky, draw circles with the legs, clockwise and counter clockwise. Start small and gradually make the circle bigger if you want more challenge. Keep the lower back on the ground. Resist using the hands for support.
- Chest up Leg Extensions: Keep the legs extended to the sky and lift the chest up. Take the knees to the chest, extend the legs in front of you and hover them off the ground. Keep the leg alive and active by either point the toe or flexing the feet. (2x)
- Sitting wind removing pose: With control, rock back and forth until your feet are on the ground and have them as close together as possible. Rock back and forth to wake up the ankles and shins. Hugs the knees as close to the chest as possible. Straighten the legs and do cat-cow while in forward fold.
