Savasana

Lying On One’s Back, Resting, Lying Down, Corpse, Sleeper
     Savāsana, Mrtāsana   SupP, Res, Mod4
     LoY422, YtIY150-154, BSYF196, HYI196, YS425     

"Steady, smooth, fine and deep breathing without any jerky movements of the body soothes the nerves and calms the mind."  
-  B.K.S. Iyengar, "Light on Yoga," 1966, p. 424  

"By remaining motionless for some time and keeping the mind still while you are fully conscious, you learn to relax.  This conscious relaxation invigorates and refreshes both body and mind.  But is is much harder to keep the mind than the body still.  Therefore, this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master."
-  B.K.S. Iyengar, "Light on Yoga," 1966, p. 424 

Yesterday, we received a lesson on Pranayama from Tom Hess, an Iyengar certified teacher who teachs yoga in the Chico and Paradise area.  I believe he teaches at the Chico Sports Club.  He emailed us the outline of his lecture.      

The Pranayama method introduced by Tom Hess was to 1) use preparatory asanas for upper torso, 2) use lots of props, including covering the eyes, 3) uniting or joining mind and breath, 4) use Savāsana (Mrtāsana, Corpse, Sleeper, Lying on Back pose) while doing various breathing exercises rather than being seated, and support Savasana as needed with props, 5) Ujjai breathing to focus or concentrate (Dhrana) the mind, 6) complex guided instructions or visualizations allowed, 7) completely relaxing, sinking, letting go, surrendering, 8) the experience and realizations gained through practice, practice, and continued practice of asanas/pranayamas, and 9) being here and now, alert, present, attentive, witnessing.

We learned about Bandas, Koshas, Prana, Elements, Breathing Exercises, Asanas.  

Hatha Yoga Postures List by Mike Garofalo