Shavasana: the crown jewel of yoga class, the ultimate relaxation after the mental and physical effort of practice. Its name translates to Corpse Pose, and the idea is the death of the ego and total union into bliss. As a yogi, one of my favorite treats of taking yoga classes is the occasional special addition to the end of practice: a moment of caring touch from my teacher that deepens my relaxation and gives me all the good yummy feelings. As a yoga teacher, this is one of my favorite things to offer my students. I can't count how many grateful remarks I've received over the years related to this one offering. I recently taught a workshop in Yoga Teacher Training on how to offer these Shavasana Assists and I'd like to share my tips for any of my readers who are yoga teachers or aspiring to be one.
Here's some tips for giving great hands-on assists during Shavasana:
Before you Start:
Check your Energy: After you've verbally guided the students into shavasana, sit for a moment on your mat. Take a few deep breaths to clear your energy. Check in and decide if you are energetically in a good place and feel open and ready for giving. If you are feeling irritable, withdrawn, tired, and especially if you have any chance of being sick, skip it this time! Energy is shared between people, especially in close proximity, so if you're not energetically feeling great, don't risk passing on your vibes to your students.
Encourage them to relax: Let them know this is for their pleasure, not because they are doing anything wrong. You can mention before giving , such as "For those you that want to be touched, I'll be offering some massage to help you relax in Shavasana." Some students will try to help you, (ie, lift their head when you are lifting it). Encourage them to relax by saying something simple like "Just relax."
Getting permission: Make sure your students want to be touched and know you are coming to touch them. Otherwise, the loving touch you intend to give could have the opposite effect. Some ways to get permission:
· ask in the beginning
· know your students
· have Yes/No cards
· Ask to lay hands face up, or two hands on the belly if they WANT touch during Shavasana, or to place one hand on belly if they would rather not
· If unsure, ask before touching
If needed, blow your nose first! Tie up your hair, remove or tuck in a long mala.
How to Give Hands-On Assists During Shavasana:
Take care of yourself: find a good body position. Usually, I squat in the yogic pose Malasana for touches on their shoulders and head.
Approaching: Rub your palms together as you approach so they aren't surprised by your presence or touch.
Pay attention to your student: If they flinch, hold or shorten their breath, or scrunch their face, it is likely a sign they are uncomfortable. If they breathe deeply, feel relaxed, and even smile, it's a good sign they are happy and truly enjoying your offering.
Optional: Mild Essential Oils, such as Lavender, Frankincense, Sweet Orange, or a blend. Be aware that some people are very sensitive to smells, while others love this. If you're going to use them, apply diluted oils to your wrists.
The Good Stuff:
Here are some specific ideas for actually touching your students. These are just some of the ways I have been touched and have touched over the years, there are plenty of other things you could do! I don't do all of these things to every student- unless it's a private class. I usually focus on the shoulders and head, but sometimes do legs and arms instead. I wouldn't suggest doing feet AND head in the same class- most students would not want someone else's foot sweat making its way to their face!
Shoulders: A classic shavasana touch is to place the base of your thumb and inner heel of your hand into the indentation that's found just inside their should and under their collarbone. Do this standing with your knees bent. Lean your upper body weight down. Pay attention to your student to gauge the amount of pressure. Muscular people can take and usually want a lot of pressure here, less muscular people prefer light pressure. From there, if you know your student well, you can move your hands one at a time slowly towards the midline, following the depression under the collarbone. I would caution male students to be sensitive with this one! From there, if time allows, you could shift your hands to their trapezius muscles to the sides of their neck and use your thumb and fingers to squeeze tension out these tight places.
Head and Neck: One of my favorites to give and receive is neck massage and elongation. You can pull your fingers once or several times up from the base of the neck to the nape. Then, hook your fingers under the occipital ridge at the base of the skull. Pick up the head and gently pull it towards you to traction the cervical spine. After gently setting it down, you can shift your thumbs to the middle of the forehead close to the eyebrows. Apply gentle pressure, then spread the skin apart by pressing your thumbs towards the temples along the skin above the eyebrows. This is a lovely way to release tension out of the face. Some circles at the temples are nice here to finish up, or gently tugging the earlobes.
Legs and Feet: Standing with legs wider than hip-distance and knees bent, lift up their ankles. Lean back and gently sway from side to side as you pull their legs towards you, giving traction to the spine. Set them down gently, and, moving to a squat or to your knees, you could now give some loving foot massage. Something I like is to press the top of toes down to stretch the top of the foot, then, give pressure with my thumbs in the middle of the foot as I press the soles open.
Arms and Hands: As with the legs, a nice assist is to lift the arms, one at a time, and gently pull and sway to open the chest and shoulder. Set it down gently, then give some massage to the hand. The base of the thumb can take a bit more pressure than other parts of the hand and usually feels really good! Then using thumb and forefinger, you can squeeze from the base of each finger to the fingertip, giving a little pull to lengthen.
To finish: Pull away slowly but surely. Energetically send blessings or gratitude, thanking your student for being in your class. When moving on to the next person, I rub my palms along my thighs to energetically release the last person AND wipe away any sweat. (: