Yoga Exercise - Final Corpse

Your Yoga Practice will help you be more in touch with your body. It gives you the ability to recognize tension and relaxation, thus you'd also be able to bring them under your conscious control. At the end of a Yoga Session, you should spend at least ten minutes in Final Relaxation. During this time, you relax each part of your body. But in order to experience Relaxation, you must first experience tension. Working up from the feet, as shown below, you first tense and lift each part, then drop (don't place) it down. Now, let your mind travel throughout the body, commanding each part to relax. Let yourself go. Sink deep into the quiet pool of the mind. To bring your consciousness back to your body, gently move your fingers and toes, take a deep breath and sit up as you exhale.

Doing the Final Corpse Pose

	Feet and Legs Lift your right foot just an inch off the floor. Tense the leg, hold, then let it drop. Repeat on the other side.
	Hands and Arms Raise your right hand an inch off the floor. Make a fist, tense the arm, then let it drop. Repeat on the other side. Relax.
	Buttocks Clench your buttocks tightly together, lift the hips a little way off the floor and hold. Relax and drop them down
	Chest Tense and lift up the back and chest, keeping your hips and head on the floor. Relax and drop them down.
	Shoulders Lift your shoulders and hunch them up tight around your neck. Let them drop, relaxed. Now pull each arm, in turn, down alongside the body, and relax.
	Head Tuck in your chin slightly and roll the head gently from side to side. Find a comfortable position in the center for the head to lie, and then relax.

Suggestions in Doing the Final Corpse Pose

After practicing the sequence shown, visualize your body in your mind's eye, and repeat this simple formula mentally: "I relax the toes, I relax the toes. The toes are relaxed. I relax the calves, I relax the calves. The calves are relaxed." Continue on up the body, applying the formula to each part along the way - the stomach, lungs, heart, jaw, scalp, brain, and so on. Feel a wave of relaxation rising up your body as you guide your awareness through each part. Each time you inhale, feel a wave of oxygen flowing down to your feet; each time you exhale, feel the tension flowing out of your body, leaving your mind like a deep, still lake, without a ripple. Now dive deep into the center of this lake, deep within yourself, and experience your true nature.

This article was contributed by: www.cyberastro.com and www.movingintostillness.com.

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