Although I am fairly new to my practice I have to admit that I am having the toughest time with the final resting pose (savasana). There are times when I am able to relax completely and let my mind wander and other times when I’m extremely fidgety and can’t seem to control my thoughts.
Any advice?
This is very common. Try resting your head on a flat block or folded towel. Often if your head tilts back, your brain becomes stimulated.
Also, don’t try to stop your thoughts from flowing. Think of them like pesky wasps or mosquitoes. The more you swat at them, the more they are agitated. View your thoughts as an outside observer and watch them floating around, in and out of your head. Eventually you will be aware of fewer of them.
Love the wasps/mosquito analogy! Thank you so much.
Savasana is the culmination of the practice that precedes it. It is the required close to the asana practice which shifts the nervous system into a parasympathetic state. When the nervous system is extremely agitated from the preceding practice or when the preceding practice is not well-crafted the student can have nervous system issues in Savasana.
There is no mind wandering as part of the design of Savasana. Ergo the two states you mention are both “okay” but neither is desirable. Again the practice that precedes should dictate and facilitate the nature of Savasana. Without knowing the practice when the student is agitated in Savasana and the one where the student is mentally wandering (and relaxed) it would be impossible to do more than guess.
It is possible that you feel exposed when you do Savasana and those pesky thoughts are trying to bring this to your attention. If so you could practise Advasana, the downward facing corpse with the arms stretching along the floor either side of the head, or Jyestikasana (again, face down) with the hands placed under the forehead or joined over the back of the neck.
You may find that with your soft underside protected by the floor you are better able to relax.
Try starting your shavasana with 10 deep breaths and follow the breaths gently with your awareness. I do that myself sometimes when I have trouble settling into the relaxation and usually before I even get to the 10th breath, I drift off to yogic sleep and my mind becomes blank. Hope it helps you as well! 