Savasana (Corpse Pose): How to Do It Step by Step

Savasana (Corpse Pose) is the yoga pose in which you lie flat on your back, arms and legs relaxed, and stay still and awake for several minutes. It usually closes a yoga class, and it is also used between poses for rest. The body does almost nothing. The work is to let every muscle go without falling asleep.

Pose type: supine, relaxation. Level: beginner, open to everyone. Props: none needed; a blanket, a bolster under the knees and something over the eyes help.

What Savasana means

The name joins two Sanskrit words: shava (शव), corpse, and asana, seat or posture. That is why you see it spelled both Savasana and Shavasana. It is the same pose; the "sh" is closer to how the Sanskrit is said. The Gheranda Samhita calls it Mritasana, from mrita, dead, which is where the English names Corpse Pose and Dead Body Pose come from.

It is an old pose. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century) describes it in one line: lie on the ground on your back like a corpse. The text says it takes away tiredness and rests the mind. That is still a fair summary of what people come to it for.

How to do Savasana, step by step

1. Take off anything tight, like a belt or a watch, and put on a layer. You cool down fast when you lie still.
2. Sit in the middle of your mat with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Lower yourself onto your forearms, then down onto your back, one part of the spine at a time.
3. Lift your hips a little and draw the flesh of your buttocks toward your heels with your hands. Set the pelvis down so the back of the waist is long.
4. Straighten one leg, then the other. Let the legs lie about hip-width apart and let the feet fall open to the sides. Do not push the little toes toward the floor.
5. Move your arms away from your body, roughly 15-20 degrees from the sides, palms turned up. Let the shoulder blades settle wide on the floor.
6. Check that you lie straight: head, breastbone and pubic bone on one line, weight even on both buttocks and both shoulders. Tuck your chin slightly so the back of the neck is long.
7. Close your eyes. Let the tongue rest on the floor of the mouth and the jaw go slack, with the teeth apart.
8. Let the breath do what it wants. You are not doing a breathing exercise. Notice the belly rising and falling.
9. Relax the body in parts: the backs of the legs, the back, the arms, the neck. Then the front: belly, chest, throat, face, and the small muscles around the eyes.
10. Stay for 5-10 minutes, or longer after a long practice. To come out, deepen the breath, move the fingers and toes, bend the knees and roll onto one side. Rest there for a few breaths, then press up to sitting with your head coming up last.

Set a quiet timer if you practise alone. An alarm that jolts you out undoes a good part of the rest. In a group class, the teacher often closes with a short seated moment and namaste, a greeting that means "I bow to you".

The traditional form

B.K.S. Iyengar taught Savasana in far more detail than most classes do today. In Light on Pranayama he has the heels and knees together, the eyelids drawn down without squeezing, and the attention moving from stilling the body, to quieting the breath, to quieting the mind. He describes that path through the five koshas, the layers of the person in yoga philosophy, from the physical body to the innermost self, the Atman. This is Iyengar's teaching and the tradition speaking. What most people can use from it is the order: body first, breath next, mind last.

Benefits of Savasana

What Savasana gives you is a few minutes of lying still after effort, with the attention on the body. That is simple, and it does something.

• Rest after practice: heart rate and breathing slow down after active poses, and the muscles you worked stop holding.
• A calmer nervous system: slow, easy breathing and stillness shift the body toward its rest state. Small studies of Savasana and similar lying relaxation have found short-term drops in heart rate and blood pressure.
• Practice in paying attention: noticing where you hold tension, in the jaw, the shoulders, the belly, and letting it go, is the same skill that meditation builds.

Some claims go further. You will read that Savasana resets your brain waves, lowers cortisol or lets the body "absorb" the practice. Relaxation research points in that direction, but the studies are small, and none of it shows that a class without Savasana is wasted. Take the claim you can feel: you get up calmer than you lay down.

Who should skip or modify Savasana

• Pregnancy: from the middle of pregnancy, lying flat on the back for a long time can press on the large vein that returns blood to the heart. Lie on your left side with a pillow between the knees, or raise the upper body on a bolster.
• Lower back pain: put a bolster or rolled blanket under the knees, or keep the knees bent with the feet on the floor, so the lower back can rest.
• Reflux, a cold or difficult breathing: raise the head and chest on a bolster or folded blankets.
• Anxiety or trauma: lying still with the eyes closed can feel unsafe. Keep the eyes open and rest the gaze on the ceiling, keep a hand on the belly, or rest on your side. You can stay in control of the pose.
• Neck discomfort: a thin folded blanket under the head lets the chin drop slightly and the neck lengthen.

Common mistakes

• Skipping it. Rolling up the mat as the rest begins is a common habit. Even three minutes counts.
• Lying crooked. One hip higher or the head turned to one side keeps muscles working. Take a moment to line up before you let go.
• Getting cold. A cold body stays tense. Cover yourself before you lie down.
• Controlling the breath. Savasana comes after pranayama, not during it. Let the breath find its own pace.
• Fidgeting. Make one adjustment early, then stay put. Most itches fade if you watch them.
• Jumping up. Sitting up straight from the back after deep rest can leave you dizzy. Roll to the side first.

Preparatory poses

Savasana is easier when the body has already moved. These gentle poses settle the back and hips before you lie still:

• Pavanamuktasana (Wind-Relieving Pose): knees hugged to the chest, which releases the lower back.
• Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana): opens the hips and lets the sacrum settle on the floor.
• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose): a light backbend that is often the last active pose before rest.
• Balasana (Child's Pose): a resting pose on the front of the body.

Follow-up poses

• Side-lying rest: the pause on your side on the way up, knees bent, head on the lower arm.
• Sukhasana (Easy Pose): a simple cross-legged seat for a few breaths before you stand, or for meditation.

Savasana is also a good doorway into sitting practice. Our beginner's guide to meditation picks up where the pose leaves off.

Savasana variations

• Supported Savasana: a bolster under the knees and a folded blanket under the head. The version most restorative yoga classes use.
• Legs on a chair: calves resting on a chair seat, knees and hips at right angles. Kind to a tired lower back.
• Side-lying Savasana: on the left side with pillows between the knees and under the head. The standard choice in pregnancy.
• Weighted Savasana: a folded blanket or sandbag over the thighs, or an eye pillow. Many people find the weight helps the legs settle.
• Yoga Nidra: Savasana with a guided voice leading your attention through the body. See our Yoga Nidra classes.

Sofia Soori's 20-minute guided Yoga Nidra is Savasana with a voice to follow, a good way to practise staying awake while the body rests.

Frequently asked questions

What is Savasana in yoga?

Savasana, or Corpse Pose, is a relaxation pose done lying on the back with the arms and legs relaxed and the eyes closed. It usually ends a yoga class. The aim is to rest the whole body while staying awake and aware.

What is the difference between Savasana and Shavasana?

There is none. Both are spellings of the same Sanskrit word, from shava, corpse, and asana, posture. Shavasana is closer to the Sanskrit pronunciation. Savasana is the spelling you see most often in English.

How long should you stay in Savasana?

In most classes 5-10 minutes. A common teacher's guideline is about five minutes for every half hour of practice, so a longer session earns a longer rest. On its own, 10-15 minutes works well. Even three minutes is better than none.

Why is Savasana called the hardest pose?

Because the shape is easy and the stillness is not. Lying without moving, without drifting into planning, and without falling asleep takes practice. B.K.S. Iyengar wrote that Savasana is among the hardest poses to master for that reason.

Why do I cry during Savasana?

It is common and nothing is wrong. After an active practice the body relaxes, the attention is no longer busy, and feelings you have kept at a distance can come up. Let it happen, or open your eyes and roll to your side if you would like to come back. The idea that specific emotions are stored in the hips or other tissues is popular, but it has no solid evidence behind it.

Is it okay to fall asleep in Savasana?

Now and then, yes. It usually means you are short on sleep. The practice is to rest while staying awake, so if you fall asleep often, try keeping the eyes slightly open or placing the palms on the belly to follow the breath.

Why do you roll to the right side after Savasana?

Many teachers ask for the right side, and you will hear reasons about the heart or the digestion. None of them is well supported. Rolling to either side before you sit up protects the back and gives the blood pressure a moment to adjust. In pregnancy, the left side is the usual advice.