Resting
Following Utpluthih, jump through and lay down on your back. There is no particular technique to follow here: just rest, this is not an asana. Do not try to control your breathing or bandha. Relax your feet and let them splay out to the side, let your palms face upward. Close your eyes. Beyond this, just lay there and enjoy the residue (shesha) of practice. Stay in rest for as long as you want. At minimum, allow for 5-10 minutes of rest. If circumstances allow, 20-30+ minutes can be very therapeutic. Beyond the simple harmony offered by laying around doing nothing, laying flat on the ground can provide therapeutic benefit to the alignment of the spine.
Alternatives & Solutions
If laying flat on the ground isn’t comfortable, trying one or more of the following ideas:
- Blanket beneath the pelvis
- Blanket beneath the head
- Block or bolster beneath one or both knees
Sometimes it is very uncomfortable to lay still. If this is due to emotional discord or a hyperactive mind, start small but slowly increase the amount of time spent. There is no need to try and clear your mind or feel blissful and tranquil. Just observe and hold your experience. It’s okay for it to be unsettling or uneasy. Yoga cannot occur while avoiding or rejecting experience, emotion, or thought.
Hi Griffin,
First of all I congratulated to you for your explanations; I am interested in yoga and in particular about alignment during poses.
This aspect is often underestimated. For this reason I am andressing to you. Do on- line courses on alignment? How can I deepen these knowledge? Can you recommended books on these topics?
I apologize for grammatical mistakes of this email. Thank you for your understanding.
I hope to hear from you soon
Buona giornata
Luisa