Here’s Why I walked out of Savasana

Savasana was something I had never done before. I took yoga classes in the university gym, but at the end of the course, we would do some seated forward folding stretching and perhaps a seated twist before calling it a night. Imagine my surprise when, for the first class I attended at the YMCA, they asked me to lie down on the floor and be quiet and still.

I left because I wouldn’t say I liked it. I was in the middle of Savasana. (My older yogi selves admonish me. What a rude person! You might ask yourself, “Why would anyone do that?” To answer your question, let’s look at some of the reasons I walked out of Savasana and left class on that particular day.

It was not part of “workout”.

I thought of myself as an athlete or at least athletic, so lying down on the floor did not feel like exercising. I thought this part of the class was useless and didn’t need to be there. Looking at the clock, I could not believe that the class had “ended” 10 minutes earlier just to lay on the floor.

I was interested in what other people thought about the class.

My boyfriend would make fun of me if he saw me lying on the floor as we met at the end of our workout. Non-yogis still seem to have this idea of what yoga is: lying on the floor and stretching in the darkness.

It makes me physically uncomfortable.

I was in extreme pain, and my lower back was arching off the floor. I had no idea how to relieve the pain and discomfort.

My overactive brain was triggered.

I’m an avid thinker, and lying down sent my brain into a tailspin. I was a science teacher in high school at the time. I’m sure I was replaying my day, thinking about my students, planning dinner, deciding what to teach the following day, etc.

Savasana is a yoga pose that I had never heard of.

No one ever explained the purpose of that pose, its importance, or its power. If the instructor had given a brief, quick explanation as to why we were “just laying on the floor,” I’m sure I would have stayed.

Listen to Me Now…

As a student of yoga, I quickly realized my mistake and the importance of Savasana. It is the final pose of a class. My biggest pet peeve now is when a class member leaves the room during Savasana. It’s ironic because I did the same thing many years ago.

As a yoga teacher, I try to remember the feelings of discomfort and confusion that I felt during my first Savasanas. To this day, I use those feelings and experiences in order to show my yoga students how important and joyful the pose is.