Weighing In - On Stress, Spiders and Savasana
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 @ 04:40 PM
We do, do, do and finish what we are doing so we can start doing what we need to do next.
What happens when we stop doing for a moment and make time for just Being?
This is spider season in Sausalito, CA and webs are everywhere. From porch railings to shrubs, tree branches to lawn furniture, spiders cast their intricate webs which glisten in the sunshine and get caught in your face and hair. There are three large webs beneath the landing of my front steps and three thimble sized spiders hanging there in the Center of the Universes they have spun for themselves.
A lot of work went into their webs. The strands are too numerous to count, woven around and through, and attached to points far and wide, way beyond the Center where the spiders just wait. It occurs to me that their survival depends on their just Being there, now. Spin, spin, spin, spin, wait. Hang out. Literally. From elsewhere in the Universe, the food will come.
I took note of these particular spiders when I came home from yoga today. In yoga, we move and pose, twist, turn and pose again, stretch, balance, breathe and bend... and every teacher that I have ever had has told me the the same thing. The most important pose of the entire class is the final one. Corpse pose.
Savasana.
In this pose, lying flat on your back with eyes closed, palms resting at your sides toward the ceiling, the object is to imitate a corpse, to still the body and the mind and allow space for conscious relaxation. Some people fall asleep, although Being Fully Awake is the goal. Some people jump ahead to the chores of the day, or think about going back to work, or make a grocery list. I have done all these things in Savasana. It is incredibly difficult to lie perfectly still, and not fidget, calculate, plan, organize, judge, or snooze. For 10 to 20 minutes!
In Savasana you can breathe open the door to a place of pure Being. All the hard work is done. The web you have spun is strong enough to hold you in the Center of the Universe. There is no where to go and nothing to do.
As I practice Savasana I begin to understand the power of just Being. When I quiet my mind and body I make space to experience possibility and connectedness. When I practice, I am reminded that this place of pure Being is a place that I can access any time I choose. A place in the Center of my Universe where I can Not-do, Un-do... just Be and Breathe.
In Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyenger says, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which Savasana is the best antidote."
My spiders will spring into action when a bug gets caught or an unsuspecting pedestrian tears through their web. And we are called into doing by our responsibilities and our jobs and our people and our goals. But just Being - in the space between doing - can be a source of infinite peace, joy, light and love. Allow yourself Savasana. Just hang out in the Center of your Universe and breathe. Your nourishment will come.