Erich: I've been trying to include more Savasana in these classes. We did it the other day. It's been on my mind to do more of it. But, in lieu of that, as a homework, maybe get yourself to do Savasana at home, deliberately, if not every day, then maybe once a week.

Savasana is the Deep Relaxation Pose. You simply lie down and relax, and let yourself become wide open, and pay attention to the experience you are having...

I have a friend. His main practice is Savasana every afternoon. He has a favorite selection of music, Bach or Beethoven, something classical, a 20-minute piece. And the best part of his day is to just lie down in the living room, put the music on, nice volume, and just whoosh, go for it.

Good homework!

It's a good practice, learning to be wide open. Most people agree it's a good idea to be open, rather than shielded. But, man, how many of us are actually doing it? Because, I know when I am really doing it, I'm different from how I am most of the time. You know what I mean?

And it's interesting when you start feeling the difference.

That's one of the benefits of doing a regular Savasana practice, or asana practice, or meditation practice. You start feeling the difference between how you feel when you are doing the practice and how you feel when you are not doing the practice. There's a contrast. There's a difference in the mind-state that you're in.

The more familiar you get with the open feeling, then what used to feel normal starts feeling small and uptight and not quite so comfortable. And, at first, when you start feeling uncomfortable and tight once again, the tendency is to think, "Well, what's going wrong? I'm doing all these practices. I thought I was supposed to be more open."

But, you're feeling the contrast.

Before, there was no contrast. You were just your normal uptight self, and that was just the way it was. But, once you start having moments of more openness and more expanded consciousness, it just doesn't feel right to get squished down again. The fact that you start feeling squished down and tight again is actually a good sign, however, even though it sucks — because it alerts you to the fact of, "Oh wow, I'm closing down again. It used to seem normal, but now it doesn't feel so good."

When you start cracking out of the egg, your shell, you can't go back in. You can't go back into the safety of the shell. You've grown.

So, I'm voting, do it at home, more Savasana. Homework, if it occurs to you, if it seems attractive to you, is do Savasana, a serious Savasana practice.

And, especially if you are a teacher, watch how it happens. As a teacher, part of the deal is you learn to "report the news." The way the news is happening is, there's an organic sequence to the events. Usually you go to classes and teacher trainings and you learn how to say the correct words. But, what you should really learn is how to watch your own practice, your own experience, more closely. Watch the natural sequence of events, and learn to report the news.

I'm saying this because I know a lot of you are teachers. Once you start watching your own practice more closely, your own practice will get more interesting! The more interesting it gets, the easier it is to get into it. And if you are not getting into your practice, then what are you teaching? You know, you don't want to just report somebody else's news. You want to be in touch with Life, live, and be able to voice it, to the best of your ability.

So, when you lie down, what are you doing? What were you doing just before you laid down? Watch how it happens. Something is happening. You're doing something.

OK.

With Love and Pranams,
From Erich

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