Śavāsana, the corpse pose

Sanskrit

शवासनŚavāsana

Meaning of the name

Corpse pose: śava, corpse, and āsana, posture; also called mṛtāsana, the pose of the dead

Level

Beginner

Family

Rest and relaxation

In the texts

Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.34 (Pancham Sinh, 1914); Gheranda Samhita 2.19 (Vasu)

It looks like the easiest posture of all, and teachers often call it the hardest: lying still, without falling asleep, without fidgeting, without planning the rest of the day. Śavāsana closes every session because the body needs a moment to absorb the movements and the breath to settle. Both great hatha manuals describe it, in almost the same words.

Steps

1. Lie on your back on a mat or a folded blanket.
2. Let the feet fall open, about hip-width apart.
3. Place the arms a little away from the body, palms turned up.
4. Lengthen the back of the neck by tucking the chin very slightly.
5. Close the eyes. Let the breath become natural, through the nose.
6. Relax the body part by part, from the feet to the face.
7. Stay five to ten minutes. To come out, bend the knees, roll onto your right side and sit up slowly.

Alignment

• The head is in line with the spine, neither tilted back nor turned.
• The shoulders rest on the floor, away from the ears.
• The legs and arms are symmetrical; nothing is held.

Variations

• Knees bent with the feet flat, or a cushion under the knees, if the lower back is tight.
• A folded blanket under the head if the chin points upward.
• Covered: the body cools quickly when still; a light blanket helps you relax.
• On the left side, with a cushion between the knees, during pregnancy, as advised by your midwife or doctor.
• Eyes covered with a soft cloth if the light keeps the mind busy.

Contraindications

• Lying flat on the back for long periods is not advised from the second half of pregnancy: practise on the side instead.
• Reflux or breathing difficulty lying down: raise the upper body with a bolster.
• If lying still brings up anxiety, keep the eyes open and the session short.

In the texts

Śavāsana is classical. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika gives it one verse:

उत्तानं शववद्भूमौ शयनं तच्छवासनम् । शवासनं श्रान्तिहरं चित्तविश्रान्तिकारकम् ॥

uttānaṃ śavavad bhūmau śayanaṃ tac chavāsanam | śavāsanaṃ śrānti-haraṃ citta-viśrānti-kārakam ||

Lying on the ground face up, like a corpse: that is śavāsana. Śavāsana removes fatigue and brings rest to the mind.

The Gheranda Samhita repeats it almost word for word (2.19): "Lying on the ground face up like a corpse is śavāsana; śavāsana takes away weariness and is the cause of the mind's rest." In its list of postures (2.4) the same text calls it mṛtāsana, "the pose of the dead", and Vasu's 1914-1915 translation keeps that name: "Lying flat on the ground like a corpse is called the Mritasana." Note what the texts claim, and only that: rest from fatigue, rest for the mind.

Related postures

Śavāsana follows every sequence: after the sun salutation, after the bridge or the shoulderstand, at the end of the basic poses for beginners. It is also the usual position for yoga nidrā. All the cards: the asanas chapter.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (Allahabad, Panini Office, 1914), Internet Archive checked October 16, 2026
2. The Gheranda Samhita, translated by Srisa Chandra Vasu (Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. XV, Panini Office, 1914-1915), Internet Archive checked October 16, 2026
3. Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā, Sanskrit text, chapter 2 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026

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