This is the whole point of my retreats – to get people to the point that they can be a starfish.

Yes, I know. It sounds like complete madness, but let me explain….

In traditional yoga, it is known as “Savasana”, or “corpse pose”, the position we hold when we are dead.

This never really resonated with me. I don’t want to be dead. I just want that moment of bliss when my body is completed relaxed and my mind is almost empty, except for just soaking up the positive feelings from feeling at one with my body and the Earth beneath me.

I’m also not a huge fan of using the Sanskrit words in classes where it’s only the teacher who understands the meaning, and most of the students have no clue what is being said and why. I prefer to use examples from the natural world, and bring some real-life meaning into what we are doing.

The inspiration for the Starfish came from a magical village called Molunat, which is just 30 minutes south of Cavtat in Southern Dalmatia. Croatia, of course.

One of my favourite places on the planet was a diving centre there called Sea Star Diving. I would past it every day, and even ended up teaching some yoga classes there with the owner Klara, a force of nature in her early twenties.

It was Klara who told me that it was named after a specific type of starfish which was found in the area called the Sea Star. It could be identified by its bright red/orange colour, which just happened to perfectly contrast with the clear turquoise waters of the sea there.

When trying to describe Savasana to my Croatian students, I realised it was difficult. I was trying to say “just let yourself go floppy”, but it didn’t quite hit the spot. Then, one day after seeing a Starfish curled up over a rock, barely moving, looking super relaxed and at one with it’s environment, I realised that it was this that I was trying to describe.

It made perfect sense at last. The corpse is rigid. The starfish is a living, breathing, bio-intelligent organism, just like us.

I tried it out with my students, and they got it immediately. It wasn’t overly complicated to explain like Savasana, and what’s more, it automatically became more accessible, as I explained that you could fidget, adapt, make it work with your body and the environment you find yourself in.

In yoga, and movement practices, we often get so obsessed in achieving a certain pose, we lose connection to our own bodies and our interoception. It’s not about what it looks like, it should be a sensory experience, and we can only listen to our own bodies to find what works for us.

Once you get the hang of it, you realise you can do it anywhere. I practise it on long bus journeys and I find myself being able to sleep anywhere. Last week I slept through one of Croatia’s massive electric storms, a fact which has left my friends incredulous. It’s a gift, really.

Interesting, the shape of Starfish in its standard form would look at little like the Vitruvian Man, Leonardo Da Vinci’s depiction of the human form in perfect ratio and anatomy.

This is a great shape to aim for.

To be able to lie flat on the floor, arms and legs outstretched like a star, in a relaxed state, is something that many modern bodies struggle with, because we have moved so far away from our natural state due to sitting for too long, or not staying mobile.

We can only really achieve Starfish when we have freedom of movement. Although even without an arm or leg, this is possible. As long as we are able to relax go floppy, and just let go.

When this isn’t possible, I like to take people into the sea to try it. An additional benefit to this is that it seems to intensify the feelings of bliss.

It’s something more than just the physical shape. It’s the moment of surrender, of accepting what is, and where you find yourself right now.

That moment in time when what has been before doesn’t matter, and what is still to come is still a mystery, but in this space in between, you are open and fully present.

Right here, right now.