by Leslie Howard
Most of us spend our days trying to extend our lives, i.e. looking both ways before crossing a street, putting our seatbelt on and checking expiration dates on our food. Nonetheless, nothing we do, not even yoga, can help us escape life’s inevitable end. But Yoga can help prepare us to face our fear of the inevitable, and maybe even embrace it so that we come to appreciate the preciousness of each day we are alive.
I have always been interested in the subject of death, and even as a child I read every book i could on Near Death Experiences. I think it is a natural thing to do if one is reflective. What happens? Where do we go? Having been a yogi for over thirty years, I’ve been drawn to the books of yoga and of samadhi, including the samadi that is supposed to be assumed by a holy person or yogi at their death.
Last year, a long time student was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer and I found myself thinking about what I could do to assist her. And so i took two different end of life trainings totaling sixty hours and found out about Death Cafes. Now I run monthly Death Cafes in Oakland and Sea Ranch, CA. Death cafe is a concept of getting together with other folks that are interested in having authentic conversations about anything pertaining to our own finitude. I know to some of you that doesn’t sound like fun but i can assure you it is always a mixture of laughter and tears.
At the same time, I have been working with the indomitable Richard Rosen on a book about savasana. (Richard is the author of many yoga books, most notably two on pranayama.) We are doing an examination of the savasana pose, its history and how it relates to our actual acceptance of death and dying. This in turn got me thinking about how to apply all that i am learning about death and how to weave this together in a way that can best serve others.
Yoga is meant to bring us more awareness and give us tools to manage the challenges of being human. to manage the anxiety we all have around dying and to be more comfortable with these types of conversations. Ever since I began teaching, I’ve always wanted to be able to answer the questions that people asked me and to help them. And now, I’ve developed this workshop on Savasana.
Join Leslie for The Last Savasana: Yoga, Breathwork & Inquiry to Help Prepare You for the Final Exit on Saturday, May 18 @ 1:30 – 5:00 pm PDT, Online & in-person
Leslie Howard is an Oakland-based yoga teacher, specializing in all things pelvic. She leads workshops and trainings nationally and has written a book about caring for the female pelvis, Pelvic Liberation. In 2022, after losing a long time student, she took a deep dive into the subject of death. She has 60 hours of Death Doula training, runs a regular Death Café (a place to come and talk about death) and is volunteering in hospice for Kaiser Oakland. Her teaching is informed by over 3500 hours of yoga study with senior Iyengar yoga teachers. She considers Ramanand Patel her most important influence and mentor. She has designed two very successful studies for UCSF on how to use yoga to alleviate incontinence and pelvic pain. To learn more about Leslie or for some online education opportunities visit: www.lesliehowardyoga.com