What's the point of Savasana?

That weird bit at the end of yoga when you just lie there. Bit pointless? Actually it's the whole point of the practice.

I don't want to piss anyone off but most of the yoga we do in class is a really just a side-note in traditional yoga practice. The real yoga is the bit that comes at the end - y'know, the bit where we lie there thinking about what we've got to do later, or whether we're going to fart. That's the real yoga.

In our competitive, fitness focused world, the physical yoga practice has become the focus, but that hasn't always been the case. Traditionally, yoga asana (movement) was a tool to soothe nervous energy, aches and pains, to allow students to clear the mind for meditation - a.k.a. the real practice. But somewhere along the way the balance shifted and now Savasana is sometimes skipped completely. So sad.

So us yoga teaching lot are just tricking you into meditating? Urm...yeah, kind of.

It's quite clever if you think about it. Most people shy away from meditation - classes are notoriously difficult to fill - but they'll kind of accept a few minutes of stillness at the end of class.

So whether you love the rest or find it hard to switch off, use those precious minutes where your yoga teacher holds space for you to be still. You might not think you're meditating, but that's the magic of Savasana.