The Transformative Power of Yoga, Its Meaning and Our Journey-Challenge and Reward of Savasana July 12 2026

Yoga Journey India 2019

My blog posts are usually inspired by something I am thinking about or working through in my own life, my own practice. This week I have been thinking about what yoga has meant to me over the 25 years that I have been practicing. My practice started as a way for me to improve flexibility, in fact, I used to tell people, “Yes, I am trying yoga, but I take off before that little rest at the end”.  My practice has certainly evolved!

While I still find savasana challenging, I embrace it for all that it represents: the culmination of our physical practice and its nurturing powers. Savasana is a time to let our practice set, for our mind and muscles absorb the work. I suffer from monkey mind and compulsive list making, but when I can truly find savasana, I experience a feeling of gratitude, joy and wonder at the pose’s power.

My yoga practice has indeed improved my flexibility and physical strength. It has provided me with tools for improving my physical stamina and mental health. Most importantly, yoga has enhanced my sense of community by gifting me with students to teach and fellow instructors to learn from and yogis to practice with. It has taught me acceptance, grace and certainly enhanced my sense of humor!

In one of my earliest blogs from 2021, I recounted an article I had read in Yoga Journal about savasana. One of my favorite quotes was from Eoin Finn, yoga teacher and founder of Blissology Yoga. “Missing Savasana is like taking the time to mix a cake batter but not stick it in the oven to bake. This small chunk of time completely changes the mental and physical benefits of the practice. This is when we have energy restored instead of energy being drained”.

This week I am simply expressing gratitude for finding my yoga practice and its accompanying joy of community and wellbeing. I am encouraging all yogis to consider the impact that their yoga practice has had on their life and all that it means to them.

Our Practice - Savasana

Gong Bath Savasana

If we believe that yoga is about calming the mind (Sutra 1.2 again), then savasana is really the peak pose of our practice, what we are working up to!  We press through the asanas readying our body for the meditative and restorative benefits of savasana.  While I certainly recognize that we all practice for different reasons, I do believe that most of us are working toward that harmony of mind, body and breath.

I have found a few helpful tools for savasana. First, find a very comfortable position. If lying in corpse does not allow you to feel relaxed and comfortable, find a pose that does. You could be seated or lying on your side.  There is no rule that says you must lie flat. Use props. I use a bolster under my knees or blocks under each calf which allows my back to flatten and feel good. Feel free to adjust or move around a bit to feel comfortable. Focus on your breath. This could be just listening to the sound of your breath moving in and out gently. You could practice gentle pranayama techniques, maybe lengthen your exhale or try box breath. Another option is breathing gently in through the nose and gently out through pursed lips – this is golden thread breath. Any relaxing breath that you give focus to is perfectly fine. Finally, and most importantly, do not get discouraged. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath and relax.  

Meditation - What is Yoga?

Sutra 1.2 tells us the meaning of yoga. The translation of the Sanskrit is the “restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is yoga”.  Simply put, if we learn to control our mind (through meditation, breath, asanas, contemplation) we will achieve the goal of yoga

Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self." ~  The Bhagavad Gita

"Yoga is the golden key that unlocks the door to peace, tranquility, and joy." ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

 “The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.”  ~ TKV Desikachar  

See you on the mat!

Namaste,

Julia Anne