I’ve been dealing with a knee injury (my own clumsy fault) for the past 2 weeks, which gave me time stay off the pavement and get back into the yoga room yesterday.

Towards the end of class the instructor let us know that we had ended a few minutes early and encouraged us to stay in savasana a few extra minutes. In this pose, you lie on your back with your palms up, completely still, eyes closed. Its called corpse pose for a reason. This final relaxation pose is actually the entire purpose of yoga. After 90 minutes of sweating, moving, working, stretching, stregthening — you finally get to this pose of final rest and relaxation. The body is tired but the mind is not.

Its amazing how active our minds are. At the end of this class yesterday, my body was spent. I hadn’t done Bikram yoga in a while, and I was in that post-yoga high, feeling deliciously relaxed. My mind, however, was already processing everything I needed to accomplish the rest of the day.

Before the instructor left the room she said, “Don’t let anything steal your peace.” I needed to hear that. I took this to mean, don’t let anything pull you out of savasana sooner than needed, or sooner than you’re ready. This is your time. The rest of the world can wait 3 minutes for you to get off of the floor, and out of this meditation. I also applied this message to my life off the yoga mat. Life can be crazy with deadlines, responsibilities, expectations – but we can remain utterly peaceful inside. Our inner peace can be protected, treasured, and honored – no matter what is happening around us.