Being Radical: A Love Letter to Shavasana

After teaching Svaroopa® yoga for more than 25 years—hundreds upon hundreds of classes, thousands of students—one truth continues to deepen in me with each passing year: there is no yoga pose more powerful than Shavasana.

Often dismissed as "just rest" or a cool-down, Shavasana is much more. In truth, it is the most advanced pose, the gateway to the Self, the practice of pure awareness. It is the still point where the activities of body, mind, and emotions settle, and something very profound arises.

Every class I teach opens and closes in Shavasana. Sounds radical in this go-go-go world, doesn't it?

Did you know that the noun radical comes from the Latin radix meaning "root," and in fact, radical and root are synonymous as technical terms?

So yes, Shavasana at the beginning and end of yoga class is radical.... its the root of the entire practice....the root of grace. Before we move a single limb, we learn to listen inward, to be with what is, to feel the truth of our embodiment.

In the stillness of Shavasana, your body unwinds, your breath deepens, your nervous system recalibrates, and most importantly—your own awareness awakens deeply.

You are not doing this pose. You're simply being, vibrating, awakening.

And in that state of being, truth reveals itself—not as a concept, but as a living presence- a quiet intelligence beneath the noise.- whole, untouched, and eternal.

Everything I teach is actually a path back to Shavasana. Back to the source. Back to you.

So, today, I offer this poem. A love poem, not just to the pose, but to presence within...the Self that waits beneath the surface of our breath, body and thoughts. I hope it reminds you of the sacredness of the stillness we can sometimes overlook so easily.

Love Poem to Shavasana

To the One who waits in Stillness

You are the silence that opens the door, not to emptiness, but to everything.

To the breath I forgot I was breathing, to the truth I've always known.

You meet me where I am—between the inhale and the exhale, between letting go and becoming.

No asana is more powerful than the one that asks for nothing but my presence.

Layer by layer, I soften. Toes, feet, ankles, legs… All the doing dissolves, until only being remains.

And there, in the greatness of my body, I hear the message: I am That.

Shavasana, you are the first pose and the last, the alpha and the returning home.

Not a rest, but a resurrection.

In your quiet reprieve, I remember that I am the same energy that has formed galaxies. And I am in awe.

I give myself to you, Shavasana.

I discover my true Self, thats always been and always will be. And I discover the bliss of eternity again and again.

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Ready to experience this kind of rest for yourself? Join me in my Svaroopa®️ yoga classes under a cozy blanket, and supported by props. Allow Shavasana do what it does best: bring you back to yourself.

Whether you’re brand new to yoga or have been practicing for years, there’s always more to discover in the stillness.

Svaroopa®️ Yoga classes:

Monday 9:00am-10:00 am

Wednesday 9:30am-11:00am

Thursday 4:00-5:30pm

Sunday 12:00pm-1:30pm