in defense of rest

What do you think of when I say “rest”?

The last pose in a yoga practice is usually savasana. In Sanskrit, it means “corpse pose,” which always gives me a little chuckle when I’m taking a yoga class, & then I pretend to be a corpse, which turns out to be pretty relaxing most of the time. If I let myself, I can sometimes imagine not having any life in any of my muscles, so that they all droop towards the floor. But I know a lot of people who dread this last pose after an energetic yoga class, and some people even get up and leave while the rest of the participants are still in savasana. I guess they think it’s not important, a waste of time. Or maybe they’d rather die than be still.

In a Trauma Sensitive practice, we call it “rest” instead of savasana, and it’s probably THE most important shape of the entire yoga practice. I believe that’s true in any version of yoga, but especially in TSY.

When I was a young high school teacher, I learned that it’s easier to store a new concept in long-term memory when we take a few minutes to reflect on it. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate verbal processing of new information into their lessons. Some teachers end class with a short time of discussing & reacting to the new information: “What do you think about this info?” “Is the concept easy or challenging for you?” “Does it remind you of anything?” Thinking along these lines locks in new info. To reinforce new information, teachers can also begin class with a few minutes of review. Recalling and thinking about what you just thought about is a way we consolidate & remember important things. We’re creating new neural pathways, and to make paths more permanent you have to use them over & over. In this way, an ideal lesson includes bookends of reflection: “What did we learn last time?” at the beginning, and “What do you think about what we just learned?” at the end.

That time of reflection, the opportunity to lock in new discoveries, is what savasana provides for you after a yoga session. Your body has just done some things. Maybe you made some choices with your body, and perhaps you noticed sensation within your body as you did so. Perhaps your movements and choices brought up emotions or memories, whether subtle or intense, conscious or subconscious. You might even have an insight that you want to remember during yoga! If you finish your yoga session & go about the rest of your day without reflection, you’ll probably forget anything your body learned during the session. We tend to spend most of our time in our heads, separating thought from our bodies, but that’s just not healthy. Our bodies hold a lot of important information which is often more pure than what’s in our minds, which can be influenced by the external world. Your intuition comes from your body: your gut! If you allow your mind to race from one task to the next, & never slow down enough to hear what your body says, you might lose out on a lot of wisdom.

And the beautiful part of yoga is that, unlike in a schoolroom, none of this processing needs to be conscious. Your muscles and nerves have memories and patterned responses that supersede language or even conscious thought. Intentional rest gives your cells time to integrate new information & create new neural pathways, whether or not thoughts are involved. You may just lay on your yoga mat & listen to the music, or stretch gently, but all the while, your neurons and tissues are busy re-organizing your mind, and your mind and body are getting closer and closer to integration, the wholeness we were meant to experience.

For people facing the effects of traumatic experiences, it’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of fight/flight/freeze, when everything feels life or death and they seldom feel safe. If you’re walking around in a state of constant activation, you might consider (gently) re-teaching your body to receive cues of safety. In Restorative Yoga, the entire practice is dedicated to rest. Every pose is a savasana ! If you’re at a point where you can tolerate a 5 -10 minute waking rest (you might practice this at home), you could think about signing up for a Restorative Yoga class. These sessions usually include fewer shapes, sometimes as few as 4 or 5 in a one hour session. Each shape is usually floor-based, and you stay in those forms for anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. The idea is to practice letting go of effort and notice what it feels like for your body to be held. We often use props to support your body in different forms so that you can try to expend as little energy as possible. Judith Lasater, the creator of Restorative Yoga (who studied with B.K.S. Iyengar & also worked as a PT assistant), says that Restorative Yoga is about opening the body. Once it’s opened, your mind & body can integrate.

Another form of yoga that focuses on rest is Yoga Nidra, or “yogic sleep.” In a typical Yoga Nidra session, you would set yourself up in the supported shape of your choice (usually on the floor) and remain in the same pose for the entire session. The facilitator usually offers a meditation that guides your attention through each part of your body. You might think of it as mental yoga; moving your mind around your body instead of moving your body.

On the subject of acute trauma, let me give a word of caution. Extended periods of stillness or rest can sometimes bring up intense & unsettling emotions or memories, especially if you have PTSD. If this happens to you, first of all give yourself compassion. It’s a perfectly normal response to traumatic experiences. Secondly, remember that you’re in control of the situation: you can open your eyes, sit up, even leave the room. Please take one of these actions if you want to. Find your way to a felt-sense of safety. Third, contain the overwhelming feeling, thought or memory in some way. Maybe you write it down to get it out of your head. Maybe you tell someone you trust & let them hold it for you. You can choose to put it on a metaphorical shelf and come back to it later when you’re regulated or with a professional, or forget it forever. If you need to, there is absolutely no shame in calling a hotline: in Louisiana, you can call 988 any time for crisis support.

Even if you haven’t experienced trauma, regular life stressors can make savasana really challenging; that’s why some have called rest-based yogas such as Restorative & Nidra the most difficult forms yoga. It takes guts to sit with yourself, without distractions. Our culture surely values movement and “getting things done” more than introspection, which might be partly why we’re starved for wholeness! So give yourself a pat on the back for accomplishing ANY amount of savasana, even if you can only tolerate a few minutes at a time. Andrew Huberman, after reviewing research on the matter, got so excited about the healing potential of this kind of deliberate rest that he coined his own term: Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR). Studies have indicated that intentional rest can result in better sleep, memory, mood, emotional regulation, and even brain connectivity. https://www.hubermanlab.com/nsdr#learn-about-the-science-of-nsdr It turns out that people who consistently and deliberately rest and allow their bodies to integrate their experiences are more resilient: mentally and physically.

Rest is not for the weak-at-heart. How does this information land for you? You might take a few minutes to mention your reaction to a friend, just to lock in that new neural pathway. :)