Ending Your Practice with Intention

Like any proper ceremony, there is a beginning and there is an end. A set of words spoken, a song to indicate commencement or conclusion, a gesture of some sort that guides an audience to be seated or to rise. As humans, we value clues that help us know what to do and so is the case in our yoga practice.

There is much discussion on whether or not Yoga is a religion, a philosophy, or simply a form of exercise for our body and mind, perhaps it can be all of the above. When we consider a spiritual gathering in church or any group ritual, there may be a set of instructions in how we are to begin and end such assemblies, a protocol of words and actions to better connect us to each other and to the spiritual experience of our intention. I believe this following of rules is a way in which we give ourself permission to participate in the activity of our choice. On a psychological level, when we partake in a shared “Om” at the beginning of a yoga class, we are opening our mind to a connection and to a presence in the practice, it feels logical and orderly to “begin” and just so, we must have an “end” to signify the closing of the practice and a conclusion of the intended moment.

Not every teacher may follow a particular process of beginning and ending their classes, however, I do, it was simply what I was taught by my teachers and I have found that a proper beginning and ending to a practice helps guide intention throughout the whole experience. Whenever I have jumped into a warmup without first breathing and grounding body and mind, it feels chaotic, my students need a moment to sync up to me and I to them, the same could be said about an equally abrupt ending. We move through our practice together for an hour, sometimes two, and after we rest, we may be in a sensitive state, so to avoid a feeling of being “cut off”, I find it’s important to have a clear ending to our practice.

I’ll share with you what I was taught and what I do to conclude every class I lead, if it interests you, you can try it at the end of your next practice and see how you feel.

I spent two months training in Nepal and each of my teachers used this style of ending, with some small variation according to the individual. Reawakening from Savasana, we were instructed to bring small movement back into our fingers and toes, taking care to observe the subtle sensations with a quiet and curious mind, as if feeling these sensations for the very first time. This presence of mind and body from such a restful state, can be quite supportive to a deepened sense of overall awareness. Slowly, we invite larger movements into the hands and feet, opening and closing the palms, flexing and pointing the feet, and eventually, when we’re ready, reaching our arms overhead for a full body, morning stretch. This full body activation, combined with breath revitalizes the body and mind. After a moment, we draw our heels back toward our hips, bending the knees, keeping the right arm extended, we are guided to roll onto our right side and use the extended arm to support our head. We rest here with eyes closed, no sudden movements, no rushing to rise, only a slow transition for our body and mind. Maintaining eyes closed, using our upper hand and our inhalation, we push ourselves back up and into our seated position. Once returned to our seat, we meet as we began, with legs crossed, eyes closed, and hands at heart center. From here, we may take a few breaths, feel into the physical and energetic state of our body, recall any intentions set at the beginning of our practice (this is something I personally like to include), then we chant our final Om and/or mantra. In its simplest form, we end with a shortened Om followed by “Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthii”, however, one of my teachers preferred to end his classes with a mantra of peace before reciting “Om Shanthii” — “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” - “May all beings everywhere be happy and free”.

Now this final part is of some particular significance to me. I have done this hundreds of times and at many of those times, I have been moved to such emotion that the idea of excluding this portion of finale just simply cannot be. I will do my best to share some of the insights I have gained through this final inclusion and maybe as you practice it yourself, you may discover some of your own.

Finally, when our chants have resided into silence again, we were instructed to rub our hands together, creating warmth between the two, then to place our warm hands over our closed eyes, allowing the heat to absorb and to gaze into the darkness behind closed eyes. I see this moment as dually symbolic. In one sense, the Universe itself, life itself sprang forth from darkness, an introduction of energy, of heat into the void of all possibilities, and from this, all life could was created and the truth of Being exhumed. As I redirect this experience inward, I recognize the darkness as Ignorance and the inability to see with open eyes. Of course, there are many philosophical perspectives to take upon Darkness, which is part of why this practice is so interesting to me.

We then open our eyes into our hands, little bits of light begin to come through the cracks, we observe the changes, the new, yet limited perspective is formed. The beginning of Truth, Awareness, Illumination.

Finally, we remove our hands back to heart center. The veil is lifted and we can now gaze unobstructed, with fresh eyes and sharpened Awareness. It is at this moment we conclude the final portion of our practice. With hands at heart center, we look to one another, meeting each other’s gaze and saluting Namaste ~ “The Divine in me honors the Divine in you”.