Savasana

SAVA - CORPSE
ASANA - POSE

SAVASANA

This is the one pose that you can 100% guarantee will be in your practice.

Your final resting pose of Savasana, also sometimes called Corpse Pose, always comes at the end of your class. Sometimes you might also start the class in Savasana or Constructive Rest (a variation of Savasana) or it might come in between the standing and floor sections of practice.

When you bring your body to be still, all the benefits of your practice start to settle into your body and integrate into your heart and mind. When you complete your rest, you have a new beginning.

In Savasana, you are asked to do nothing at all: bringing the body, and the mind, to stillness. For that reason it can be the hardest pose of all.

How to get into the pose:

• Lie on your back and straighten your legs. Bring your feet as wide as your mat. Let your legs relax and your feet turn out to the side.

• Bring your arms to the side of the body with your palms facing upwards. Let your shoulder blades drop towards the mat.

• Lengthen the crown of the head away from your tailbone.

• Let everything soften and relax. Let go of any controlled breathing such as ujjayi. Relax the muscles of your face and all your sensory organs such as your tongue and your eyes.

• Your rest should be conscious and active. Don’t fall asleep!

• To come out of Savasana, start to bring movement back into the body slowly. Roll over to your right side and use your left hand to help you to come back up to seated.

Remember to create the balance between effort and ease in your pose.

How long to stay in the pose:

• A minimum of five minutes per hour of practice

Gaze (Drishti)

• Close your eyes if that feels comfortable

Modifications you can take to make this pose more accessible:

• If you feel strain in your back, bend your knees (Constructive Rest) and perhaps bring your knees to touch.