You are lying down, face up on a hard floor in a public place. You have completed your yoga practice which required attention and vigilance. You trained yourself to stay alert. You are used to watching out for yourself more than watching into yourself so it was a beautiful effort.
When you are asked to transition from that effort to effortless relaxation your nerves grasp and rush for a place to rest that is not immediately obvious. The mind is still scanning the horizon as is its habit.
Savasana:
Place a blanket with no more than an inch or so of height under the head with the edge touching the tops of the shoulders but not under the shoulders. You are connecting your head to your trunk for the sake of the nervous system which can stand down.
(If your chin is jutted to the ceiling and you cannot lengthen your neck you may add height until the throat recedes below the Adams Apple. You may alternately bend your knees and rest a bolster under your thighs to soften the tight back line of the spine, pelvis or legs.)
Turn the palms up and let no part of the arm touch the trunk but no farther than this necessitates.
You are now un-tethered.
Let the upper eyelid drop rather than squeezing the lower lid and upper lid together to close the eyes.
You are more un-tethered, disconnecting one part of your skin to another.
Boundaries fade and the lightness that comes may feel disorienting.
You may find you need an anchor.
Place something with weight on your chest or from your sternum to your pubic bone or on your upper thighs and hips.
(A bolster, blankets or a sandbag is ideal.)
Where you need grounding is the seat of this anxiety at this time. It is not always so. Allow yourself to calm it.
Reset your pose and listen:
Here is your breath, quiet like a sleeping child’s.
Your mind is watching you rest: watches over you like a nanny.
You are sheltered under her loving gaze.
She guards your rest and your resting place.
Her breath and heartbeat find the rhythm of your own.
Lull in space gentled by the breath.
Let your internal guard stand down.
You are protected.