I went for a week long Restorative Yoga immersion training with the Queen herself Judith Hanson Lasater at Kripalu at the start of November.
Needless to say, (but I am gonna say it anyway), it was nothing short of amazing.
Mind Blowing, in fact. She’s like the oracle in the Matrix.
Spoon Scene.
Young Oracle: “Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.”
Neo: “What truth?”
Young Oracle: “There is no spoon.”
Neo: “There is no spoon?”
Young Oracle: “Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”
End Scene.
You are struck by that sudden “ah ha” moment.
There were MANY of those moments in the training.
The information I learned from this particular intensive was invaluable to me as a yoga teacher. Basically, I was able to learn great things from true greatness. This is a woman who has LIVED, and is willing and ready to share her experiences with us as fellow yogis – because she wants us to learn and grow. Placing all ego aside, she was as humble as ever.
In our crazy busy daily lives we are surrounded by stimulation ALL. THE. TIME.
As a yoga teacher who loves restorative practices for myself and my students, I regularly find myself wondering are we able to have downtime? REAL downtime with being still and quiet in a dark and warm place?
Many students say they head to yoga to “de-stress.” But is that happening? With music playing and challenging asanas sprinkled through fast and furious vinyasa flows, is there time to really set an intention and move inward? Are we paying proper attention and respect to our pranayama? Or Savasana?
When we have moments of quiet, I find we are better able to focus on being more mindful.
We are able to bring our attention inward and focus more on the present moment and not the “what comes next” mentality.
The asana doesn’t change, no matter how we prepare for it. What changes is our perception of it. Another of those “ah ha” moments in training.
During the time Judith taught our restorative immersion she stressed the benefits of being able to be “still, quiet, dark and warm”.
One more important detail, savasana should be 20 minutes long, at least. This is her recipe for a proper Restorative Yoga class.
I totally get it. I respect it.
I am doing it!
Wait!! What? 20 whole minutes?
As yogis, how do we teach this?
Are we afraid our students won’t like the quiet?
Don’t panic, take a long deep inhale in through the nose and exhale out.
Judith answered this question telling us we have to be clever as yoga teachers.
Don’t tell your fellow yogis you are not going to play music during savasana, or how long it is going to be, just change it gradually. Ya know, like a Yogi Ninja. Ahhhhh see what I did there?
5 or 10 minutes isn’t enough time for the body to fully shift into savasana. It takes at least that long for someone to settle in and for the body to kick into the “The Relaxtation Response” which is also based on Dr. Herbert Benson‘s book.
Once you are there, you’ve already put forth the effort, so why not take it all in and just enjoy it? Savasana is not sleeping. As humans, we are so sleep deprived. We don’t get enough rest. Falling asleep means your body is in need of rest and savasana is an active state of stillness. Beginning to bring awareness back into your body, you will truly feel rested and relaxed.
Still find it a daunting task?
Remove the music after your yoga practice.
Put yourself into savasana and start off with 10 minutes working your way up to 30.
Grab some props and set yourself up.
Find a quiet spot.
Make yourself comfy and warm.
Cover your eyes with an eye pillow so it is dark and dim.
Be still…
Savasana.
Shellini “Shelli” Spencer (RYT 200) After leaving the corporate IT world, she became a wife and mother. She spent 6 years volunteering in the Matawan / Aberdeen School District, before becoming a homeschooling mother of 2 awesome children. Her first experience with yoga was in the late summer of 2013 at Tula Yoga and she was hooked. Interested in teacher training, she wanted to offer family yoga classes to promote holistic health, wellness and family bonding to the local community. Shelli received her 200 YTT at Tula Yoga in Jan 2017 and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. While in training, she enjoyed all types of yoga, and quickly discovered her passion for Restorative, Yin Yoga, Hatha, Meditation and Reiki. She is grateful to have learned from some of the most amazing teachers, while having the utmost support and enthusiasm from her family and friends. She is a Reiki Master Teacher and loves to incorporate the use of essential oils, temple massages, Reiki and even a little Native American Flute and Steel Tongue Drum playing into her classes. She firmly believes, it’s ok to laugh and have fun while doing Yoga. She believes in the healing abilities Yoga has to offer the mind, body and soul. She wishes to pass along that sense of calmness and mindfulness to her students when they leave her class, so they may take that feeling with them for the rest of the day and into their lives. Her style of teaching comes from the heart and a place of happiness and deep relaxation. Additional Scheduled and Completed Yoga Trainings / Certifications for 2017-2018 Barre Teacher Certified – September 2017 FPY SUP Fitness / Yoga Certified – Aug 25-27 – Completed Restorative Teacher Training @ Kripalu w/ Judith Lasater – Nov 3-10 – Completed Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (300 hour) – Oct 13 thru June 9 – Scheduled
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