Less Stress, More Savasana

Heard the one about the yoga teacher who’s tired and wired?

Whilst chatting with a friend after our morning run, I burst into tears, out of the blue. I joked that I was just tired and emotional. Surprised? I shouldn’t have been. Yoga teachers get stressed too.

Those tears were a sign that I’d not been giving enough time to myself. On top of this I’d been finding it harder to wind-down without guilt, as there always seemed to be more ‘to-do’.

Yoga teachers who teach full-time will most likely have been there at one time or another and relate. I’ve found this to be a recurring theme and it’s not so strange when you think about it – we give a lot of our energy to others whilst teaching and if we don’t take enough time to replenish then it is only a matter of time before a slump comes. It’s the same for any of us in a life or work situation where we give a lot of ourselves. We all need to recharge. And it’s not selfish. Filling up our own cup enables us to give our best to the people, work and causes we care most about.

“You need a holiday,” was my friend’s advice. I knew a holiday anytime soon was not on the cards, but when I got home I did what I could in that moment – I lay down for twenty minutes. Yep, that’s right, Savasana, plain and simple. And you know what? I felt a lot better for it – no longer tired or emotional, my perspective had shifted. “I should do this more”. While I make an effort to get on my yoga mat each day, I admittedly don’t take Savasana every day. Why not when it has the capacity to make such a difference? Last month I wrote about slowing down and I find myself still thinking about that this month off the back of a busy, albeit exciting period. So, I’ve decided to embark on 365 days of Savasana – the easiest pose to do, yet the hardest to master. Everybody (yoga teachers included!) needs more Savasana in their lives. If you’d like to join me then come on over to www.ucanyoga.co.uk and click on the 365 Savasana tab. I’d love to have some company on the journey. Let’s see what we learn about ourselves on the way.

This article was originally published in the September 2014 issue OM Yoga Magazine. You can read a selection of my past columns and a FREE preview of the current issue of the magazine by clicking here. And find out more about the 365 Savasana Project here.