Level: All Levels
Recommended Duration: Hold for 5–15 minutes, adjusting to your comfort and practice length to maximize the integration of physical and mental benefits.
Corpse Pose is the ultimate restorative posture that gently integrates the benefits of a yoga practice by encouraging full-body surrender and mindfulness. It activates the parasympathetic (“rest-and-digest”) response, enabling deep relaxation and mental clarity.
Highlights:
Savasana, also known as “Corpse Pose” or “Dead Man’s Pose,” is often the final resting posture of a yoga practice. To the untrained eye, it might just look like lying on the floor—but any seasoned yogi will tell you there’s much more to it than meets the eye. Savasana is a very transformative asana, not just physically but emotionally and mentally too.
The name “Savasana” comes from the Sanskrit words sava meaning “corpse” and asana meaning “pose” or “posture.” In Savasana, the body lies completely still, resembling a corpse—motionless, relaxed, and surrendered.
But this name is not meant to be morbid. In fact, it symbolizes deep yogic philosophy. Savasana represents a symbolic death—a letting go of ego, tension, and effort. It’s a moment of integration and stillness, where all the benefits of your physical practice settle in, and the mind is given space to become quiet and receptive.
This final posture is a gesture of trust and release. Just as a corpse no longer resists or struggles, we learn to surrender fully—body, breath, and mind.
Savasana offers profound benefits, many of which extend far beyond the yoga mat. Here’s why I encourage my students to never skip it:
Savasana triggers the parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and digest” mode of the body. It slows your heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and helps your entire system unwind.
Through conscious stillness and breath awareness, Savasana helps reduce stress hormones like cortisol. It’s an excellent practice for those dealing with anxiety, burnout, or emotional overwhelm.
Physically, Savasana gives your muscles time to recover. Energetically, it allows your body to absorb and integrate the shifts that occurred during your yoga session.
When you allow your thoughts to slow down in Savasana, the mental chatter begins to quiet. This pause can lead to increased clarity, creativity, and even problem-solving once you return to your day.
Many students find that regular practice of Savasana leads to improved sleep quality. It’s an excellent technique to learn if you have trouble winding down at night.
For many, Savasana is a meditative state—a chance to tune into something deeper than the mind or body. It can be a doorway to inner stillness, awareness, and presence.
While Savasana may look like just lying down, doing it well requires mindful intention. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you drop into the pose fully:
Find a quiet, comfortable space. Lie flat on your back on your mat. Make sure you’re warm enough—use a blanket if needed. Dim the lights or cover your eyes with an eye pillow for deeper relaxation.
Let your feet fall naturally out to the sides, and rest your arms alongside your body with palms facing upward. Gently draw your shoulder blades down and away from your ears. Keep the natural space between the base of the neck and the mat, then close your eyes.
Begin to scan your body from head to toe. With each exhale, allow each part of your body to soften. Relax your jaw, your shoulders, your belly, your legs—until the entire body feels heavy and grounded.
Let your breath become effortless. There’s no need to control it—just allow it to flow naturally. Feel the subtle rhythm of your inhalation and exhalation like waves on a shore.
Your mind may wander—that’s normal. When it does, gently bring your attention back to your breath or to the feeling of your body resting on the earth. Some people find it helpful to silently repeat a mantra like “I am still” or “I am safe.”
Give yourself enough time to truly settle in. The longer you stay (up to 20 minutes), the deeper the benefits.
When you’re ready to come out of Savasana, start by deepening your breath and wiggling your fingers and toes. Roll to your right side in a fetal position, pause, and gently press yourself up to a seated position. Keep your eyes closed if possible, and move slowly.
Ah, the paradox of Savasana. While it requires no strength, balance, or flexibility, it often challenges us the most.
Here’s why:
In our go-go-go culture, stillness feels unnatural—even uncomfortable. Many people find it hard to “do nothing” and instead get caught in racing thoughts or to-do lists.
Lying quietly can bring buried emotions to the surface. This is especially true after an intense yoga practice that stirs up energy in the body.
Savasana is an act of complete surrender—and surrender can feel vulnerable. Whether it’s letting go of control, performance, or identity, many of us struggle with the idea of simply being.
Physical discomforts like back pain or tight hips can arise during stillness. This teaches us to explore softness and compassion rather than tension or resistance.
Some students skip Savasana altogether, thinking it’s not as important as the “real” poses. But it’s in this final pose that the real magic of yoga often unfolds.
Not everybody is the same, and sometimes Savasana needs a little extra support. Here are a few teacher-approved props and tips to help you melt into the pose:
Keep in mind that Savasana (corpse pose) should feel safe and nurturing. Adjust freely and always honor what your body needs at the moment.
While traditionally done at the end of a yoga session, the dead man’s pose can be a beautiful standalone practice. Here’s when you might consider rolling out your mat just for corpse pose:
Just 10 to 15 minutes of Savasana can feel like a deep reset for your nervous system.
From a yogic perspective, the corpse pose mirrors the cycle of life. Each yoga practice is a journey—beginning with birth (the opening poses), moving through the flow of life (standing and seated poses), and ending in symbolic death (Savasana), followed by rebirth (rising again, renewed).
This symbolic death gives one a chance to release old patterns, beliefs, or burdens we don’t need anymore. Every dead man’s pose is a gentle invitation to return to your true self—clear, calm, and aware.
Despite its simplicity, Savasana is often misunderstood. Let’s address some of the most common misconceptions I often hear as a teacher:
While the dead pose can be deeply restful, it’s not meant to be a nap. You’re not checking out—you’re tuning in. In a dead man’s pose, we’re cultivating a conscious rest, where the body is relaxed, but the awareness remains alert. It’s a subtle practice of presence and surrender, not sleep.
Actually, the opposite is true. The more advanced your yoga practice becomes, the more you recognize the importance of integration. Even the most experienced practitioners rely on dead pose to recalibrate and return to the center. It’s a vital part of the full yogic experience, no matter your level.
I totally get it—life gets busy. But skipping this final resting pose is like cooking a nourishing meal and leaving it on the stove without tasting it. After a dynamic vinyasa practice, even five minutes of stillness can make a difference. If you’re short on time, shorten your asana practice a bit—but try to keep the Savasana pose intact.
Many people ask me whether the dead man’s pose and meditation are the same thing. While they share similarities—stillness, presence, inner awareness—they have different intentions and techniques.
You’re lying down, allowing everything to settle. The goal isn’t to direct the mind as much as to release effort and observe. It’s about letting go completely and surrendering to the moment without trying to control it.
Even in a seated stillness, meditation involves focus. You may follow the breath, repeat a mantra, observe thoughts, or visualize. There’s an intention to stay aware, and you may gently guide the mind back when it wanders.
That said, this resting pose often leads to meditative states, which is why it is also regarded as a “meditation savasana.” In fact, many students who struggle with seated meditation find Savasana a gentle and effective entry point.
If you’re curious about developing a meditation practice, you can enter Savasana and allow it to evolve naturally. The more familiar you become with your inner world in stillness, the easier it is to sit in that space with ease and clarity.
So lie down, let go, and allow yourself to dissolve into the stillness. In a Savasana practice (the final relaxation), you die a little—not in body, but in ego, in tension, in everything you no longer need. And when you rise, it’s not just to sit up from your mat… it’s to return to life lighter, clearer, and more fully awake.
This is the quiet revolution of Corpse Pose—where doing nothing becomes the most healing thing of all. In this death of striving, you are reborn into presence. And maybe, just maybe, this is the kind of resurrection we all need more often.
