Total Body Stillness (Kaya Sthairyam) is a mindfulness practice taught and practiced by the Yogis for centuries.

To practice this technique, all you need to do is lie down and not move. Yes, that’s really all! But don’t be fooled, this practice can be harder than it sounds.

While the practice is simple, it’s the application of it that can feel a little difficult at first.

You will almost definitely feel an itch or have an urge to move or stretch your body in some way. You may have strong thoughts (citta-vritti’s) and emotions that arise. This is exactly what we want!

When these things arise (body sensations, thoughts or emotions), you now have the opportunity to stay present with your practice - noticing the sensation, feeling and accepting it as it is, and choosing to remain still through it.

Resisting the urge to move in these moments IS the practice!

Some examples of things that may come up during your Kaya Sthairyam practice:

You may start to think “Did I set my alarm correctly, has it passed the time I set for my stillness practice and I just didn’t realise?”

Or, someone may walk into the room and your automatic reaction may be to want to open your eyes to see what they want.

Maybe you feel such a strong itch in your left foot that all you want to do is to scratch it!

Or you may feel strong emotions or thoughts that are uncomfortable to you, and you just want to stop the practice in order to avoid them.

Remember that in these moments, you are being gifted a golden opportunity to strengthen your focus and deepen your capacity for mindfulness and an opportunity to learn how to resist your compulsions.

Doing so can have some profound positive impact on your consciousness, mind and body. Leaving you with more room within yourself to show up as the best version of you in every moment.

The Benefits of Total Body Stillness

Relaxation. Through this practice, you are gifting yourself the time and space to just “be.” In our regular lives, we are often keeping ourselves very busy, and the world we live in can be quite over-stimulating. It’s not often that we make space for ourselves to just be in stillness. When we do so, our body and mind truly thank us for it! You will usually feel very relaxed after this practice, and with regular practice (daily is ideal!) you will notice that your level of relaxation is sustainable and begins to permeate your entire life and state of being.
Making space in the mind - This mindfulness practice helps to clear space in the mind. One of the first principles of mindfulness is that the mind gets full. Usually, in the modern world, our minds are easily filled up with external stimuli - television, the news, work, family issues, and so much more. With this practice of Kaya Sthairyam, we remove as much external stimuli as possible in order to create more space in our minds. This helps to prevent overwhelm, mental fatigue, brain fog… giving you more clarity, focus and peace of mind.
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system -After around 10 minutes of this practice, your brain actually goes into a more relaxed state and your breath will begin to soften and deepen as well. Your biochemistry literally changes when you do this practice, giving you a greater sense of calm, reducing stress and opening you up to experiencing more peace and presence throughout your day.
Re-programs your mind (in positive ways!) - By keeping your body in a totally relaxed state (by not moving), you are sending signals to your brain that “everything is okay.” You are essentially retraining yourself not to react impulsively to stimuli, but to remain calm and centered no matter what is going on around or within you. This is based on the following principle: when the body doesn’t move, eventually the mind will stop moving as well. When laying in stillness, thoughts, emotions, memories and physical sensations will arise. By staying continuously in stillness through these experiences, we are literally reprogramming ourselves to be less reactive to these stimuli through the act of remaining physically still.
Strengthens your (positive) personal identity - Through the practice of Kaya Sthairyam, we are detaching from the external world of form, and giving space for ourselves to connect inwardly to the world of the soul. By practicing non-attachment or non-reaction to the stimuli we experience (external noises, internal thoughts or physical sensations), we are sending a signal to our subconscious that we CAN in fact be more detached from these things. Through this, we are learning not to identify with these stimuli and not to attach to them as a part of our personal identity. By detaching from these things, we can begin to deepen into a greater awareness of ourselves as a spiritual being or soul; outside of and beyond the world of stimuli.

How to practice Kaya Sthairyam (total body stillness):

The main principle of this practice is to keep your body completely still for the duration of the time.

We recommend that you find yourself a comfortable position laying down on the floor or mat, ensuring that your back is straight.

You can place a bolster under your knees and grab some blankets or pillows to make yourself more comfortable, as you will not be able to move once the practice begins.

You should lay your palms on the ground beside you, facing upwards. You can also connect your thumb with your index finger to hold the jnana mudra, which helps keep you attentive and avoid falling into a deep sleep.

Once you’re in position and comfortable, all you need to do is close your eyes and stay still. Completely still, for the duration.

11 minutes of stillness activates your parasympathetic nervous system.
40 minutes brings you to a theta brain wave state.
1 hour allows you to sit in the theta state for at least 20 minutes.

You can set yourself an alarm to help bring you out of the practice - just make sure it's not too loud and startling!

Repetition is key

Studies show that after an 8 week period of repeating mindfulness practices participants were able to regulate their emotions and experience emotions selectively, rather than reactively¹. Studies like these show that repeating practices in mindfulness over time can make real and impactful changes that change the way a person perceives reality in the most positive of ways.

This is done through the neuroplasticity of the mind - as we repeat an action regularly over time, new neural pathways begin to form in the brain that create observable changes to its structure, literally shrinking the amygdala² (our emotional regulation centre that triggers fight or flight responses) and expanding the grey matter³ in other areas of the brain such as the frontal cortex, which is in charge of decision making and memory; and the left hippocampus, which manages emotional regulation and learning - meaning there is literally more room for processing and also reversing ageing in the brain, which experience shrinkage of grey matter over time.

Blog post written by Sophie, a previous resident at Govinda Valley

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