I feel it. Missing a few days of home practice or classes leaves me feeling stiff and sort of creaky (and cranky!).
But I also miss the presence of my fellow students. There is something motivating about being with others in the same room (or zoom room) at the same time, practicing together.
When practicing Savasana at the end of my home practice, my mind doesn’t settle the same way as in class. I lie there in Corpse Pose trying to relax, but I’m thinking about all the things I could be doing instead of this quiet lying-down pose.
At class I feel the presence of the others — all of us lying on our individual mats in the quiet. My urge to get up and go out the door is not there. In fact, most times I feel settled and quiet with no effort.
When I am in class, the teacher is watching so I have to “stay” in the pose. It’s easier to stay the course when I am with others.
In class, practicing the standing poses, back extensions, hip openers and inversions with a group can be fun and uplifting — and sometimes even joyful. Practicing Savasana — resting in the quiet with everyone in the room quiet and calm is uplifting in a different way.
Life is noisy. There is mental noise. There is the “noise” of all the things going on around us these days.
It is in Savasana, in class, where I feel the most quiet. I savor that.