Corpse Pose and Practice of Appreciation

Corpse Pose

After doing the ten forms we will do the Corpse Pose to store energy and rejuvenate our body. This practice takes about 15-20 minutes.

• Relaxation Procedure:

1. Remove your eyeglasses, your wrist watch and turn off your cell phone.
2. Lay flat, eyes closed. Spread your arms out 45 degree from your body with palms facing up. Legs apart with toes pointing outward.
3. Starting from the top of the head, focus on each part of the body and relax it
4. Move down to the forehead and let go the tension of your eyebrows.
5. Relax your eyes by closing your eyelids with pupils gazing down, relax the muscles around the eyes.
6. Relax the facial muscles.
7. Focus on your lips and relax them.
8. Withdraw your tongue a little and relax it.
9. Let your lower jaw dropped down naturally.
10. Relax your neck.
11. Move down to the shoulders and relax them.
12. Move your attention down along the arms and relax them. Next relax the fingers.
13. Focus on the chest, relax your chest, then your belly, breath slowly and gently
14. Relax your thighs, your knees, then move down and relax your calves, your ankle, and lastly your feet and toes.
15. Scan the body from head to toe, let go of any residual tensions in the body. Your body is now completely relaxed and still.
16. Now your body will feel heavier and heavier. Heaviness is a part of relaxation. The more you relax, the more you would feel heavy. Your body should sink deeper and deeper into the ground and merge with the earth.
17. The unhealthy organs or parts of the body are sinking and disintegrating into the earth. Then, upon hearing the bell, they would be healthy and revitalized with new energy.

• Waking up:

1. (May start with a sound of the bell) As you wake up, remain still and relaxed. Scan your body from the head down to the toes and acknowledge this relaxed state of your body and mind.
2. (May start with another sound of the bell) Now slowly open your eyes and look up and down a few times. Look to the left and to the right a few times. Move your eyeballs around a few times and then in reverse.
3. Blink your eyes.
4. Move your tongue around inside your mouth.
5. Slowly wiggle your toes.
6. Move your fingers.
7. Rotate your ankles and your wrists.
8. Shrug your shoulders.
9. Turn your head from one side to side.
10. Slowly bend up your knees.
11. Start twisting your body by keeping your palms and your shoulders on the ground, and then drop your knees as far as possible to the left while your head is turned to the right.
12. Do the reverse: your knees turn to the right and your head turns to the left.
13. Move your knees back to the center. Next, bring your knees up to the chest and embrace them with your arms. Hold them close to your chest and rock from side to side.
14. Put your knees down. Turn to the side facing to the stage (or to the instructor). Use your hands and elbow to push yourself into a sitting position.

---

[edit] Practice of Appreciation

Appreciation helps to nurture a heart of gratitude and respect towards all things around us. The practice of appreciation after meditation can also create a wonderful bridge from stillness to movement, from the world of transcendence to the mundane world.

• Procedure:

1. Sit quietly in meditation posture for a few minutes.
2. Keep your eyes closed, with pupils gazing down.
3. Then lay two hands on the knees with palms open up.
4. Try to find three beautiful things, events, or people that you encounter today.
5. Appreciate the existence of these beauties.
6. Feel grateful for what they have done for our world.
7. Then join your palms together, place them in front of your heart to bring these beautiful images and goodness into your heart.