Savasana (Corpse Pose): How to Do It and Why It's Hard

Savasana, also spelled shavasana and called corpse pose, is the lying-down rest at the end of most yoga classes. It takes no strength and no flexibility, and Yoga Journal says teachers often call it the hardest pose for Western students. To do it, you lie on your back, stop making any effort, and stay still and awake for a few minutes.

Staying still is the hard part. Below you'll find the steps, how long to stay, what the name means, why lying still is so hard, and how to practise it at home. This is general information, not medical advice.

Find somewhere warm and quiet, with a blanket nearby in case you get cold. Then:

1. Lie on your back on a mat or a rug.
2. Let your legs rest a little apart, and let your feet fall open to the sides.
3. Move your arms a short way from your body and turn your palms up.
4. If your forehead sits lower than your chin, slide a folded blanket under your head.
5. Close your eyes. Breathe through your nose at whatever pace it wants to go.
6. Let your body get heavy. Each time you breathe out, let a little more of your weight sink into the floor.
7. Stay for the time you chose.
8. To come out, start with small movements in your fingers and toes. Bend your knees, roll onto your right side and rest there for a minute or so. Then use your arms to push up to sitting, keeping your head relaxed.

Two small changes can make it more comfortable. If your lower back aches when you lie flat, put a rolled blanket or bolster under your knees, or rest your lower legs on the seat of a chair. If your shoulders feel tight with your arms out, rest your hands on your belly instead.

There's no research answer to this. It's teacher guidance. Yoga Journal's guide to savasana (republished 17 March 2026) suggests five to 10 minutes, and says two minutes is better than skipping it. On a day when you feel worn out, it suggests staying for 20. Modo Yoga's teachers ask students to stay as long as they can, rather than getting up the moment class ends.

At home, set a timer so you aren't checking the clock. Five minutes is a good start. And you can't get it wrong. If you lay down and stayed there, you did savasana.

The name comes from Sanskrit. Śava means corpse and āsana means posture, so savasana means corpse pose. Savasana and shavasana are two spellings of the same word, and "corpse pose" is its English name. All three describe one posture.

A written description appears in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a hatha yoga manual usually dated to the 15th century. In Srinivasa Iyangar's translation (first published 1893), chapter 1, verse 32 describes lying on your back on the ground "at full length like a corpse". It says the pose takes away the tiredness the other postures leave behind and makes the mind calm. Other editions number the verse differently (34 in Pancham Sinh's translation).

The name doesn't sound restful. Modo Yoga reads it as being about stillness, a body and mind that have stopped doing anything at all, and calls savasana the easiest pose physically and the most challenging mentally.

In every other pose you have something to do. In savasana nothing is happening, so your mind fills the gap. Your nose itches. You remember an email. You wonder how long it's been.

Yoga Journal's explanation is that students find it hard because in the quiet, restful space of practice they notice how much their mind is thinking, worrying and planning. It adds that people who say they have no time for relaxation are the ones who need it most.

A wandering mind is normal. In a 2010 Harvard study, researchers sent questions to 2,250 adults through an iPhone app at random moments in their day. Their minds were on something other than what they were doing in 46.9% of the samples. That study had nothing to do with yoga, but it tells you that a wandering mind is common, not a sign you're doing savasana badly.

What to try when it's hard:

• Count your first few breaths. Count each out-breath up to ten, then start again. When you lose count, which you will, go back to one.
• Scan your body once. Move your attention slowly from your feet up to the top of your head, letting each part go heavy as you pass it.
• Let thoughts come and go. You don't have to stop thinking. When you notice you've drifted, come back to the feeling of your body on the floor. Yoga Journal's advice is that you can't force relaxation. You let it happen.

If you'd rather someone talk you through it, a guided session does the counting and the scanning for you.

"Why do I cry during savasana?" is a question people ask search engines about the pose. Modo Yoga's teachers describe the stillness of savasana as a time when feelings can come up, and point out that being still and quiet with yourself is hard, which is part of why people keep busy. Beyond that, we found no study that explains crying in savasana. A PubMed search on 3 November 2026 for savasana, shavasana or corpse pose in titles and abstracts returned 36 records, and none of them was about crying.

So we won't offer you a theory. If it happens and it feels like a release, that's fine. If it feels like too much, stop. If stillness or a body scan brings up distress, stop, open your eyes and take a break. You can leave a session at any time. Savasana is not therapy, and if something keeps coming up, a therapist can help. If you're struggling, talk to your GP. UK: Samaritans 116 123. US: 988.

If lying flat doesn't suit you

Savasana should be comfortable. If lying on your back is painful for you, change it: put a bolster under your knees or rest your lower legs on a chair. You can also skip it and rest sitting up. If you're unsure whether lying flat is right for you, ask your GP or a qualified yoga teacher.

If you've done yoga nidra or NSDR, you've already done savasana. Yoga nidra is often practised lying in savasana, and NSDR uses the same position.

Yoga nidra is the older yoga practice of guided, lying-down rest. NSDR is a close modern relative with less traditional language. NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) is guided rest. You lie still with your eyes closed, stay awake, and follow a voice that moves your attention through your body and slows your breathing.

The difference from plain savasana is the voice. In savasana you're on your own with your thoughts. In a guided session, someone gives your attention somewhere to go. The research on both is early. Four small trials have tested NSDR itself, with mixed results. A 2026 review of 73 yoga nidra studies found significant benefits for stress and anxiety, but its authors say the low study quality means those effects likely reflect inflated estimates.

Our guides explain what yoga nidra is and how it works and what non-sleep deep rest is.

You don't need a class. Three easy ways to fit it in:

• After exercise. A run, a gym session or ten minutes of stretching. Lie down on the floor straight after and stay for five minutes before you get up.
• In the evening. Lie on the floor or on top of your bed for a few minutes as a pause between the day and the night. Yoga Journal's guide frames savasana as something to do awake, so use it as a rest, not as a way to fall asleep.
• With a guided session. If silence is the hard part, put on a recording and let it lead you through.

Savasana is one kind of physical rest. If you're curious about the others, our guide to the 7 types of rest covers them.

What is the purpose of savasana?

Yoga Journal describes savasana as time to absorb and integrate the poses you've practised, and Modo Yoga describes it as rest for the body after practice. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says much the same thing: it takes away the tiredness from the other postures and calms the mind.

Is savasana the same as shavasana?

Yes. Savasana and shavasana are two spellings of the same Sanskrit word, and both mean corpse pose.

Is savasana the same as meditation?

They're related but not the same. Savasana is a posture you rest in. Meditation is a way of training your attention, and you can do it sitting, walking or lying in savasana. Our guide compares NSDR, meditation and yoga nidra.

Can you fall asleep in savasana?

It happens. Yoga Journal's guide says that if you fall asleep in corpse pose you miss a chance to practise letting go (pratyahara), so it frames savasana as something to do awake. NSDR also asks you to stay awake. If you keep dropping off, try it earlier in the day.

Is corpse pose dangerous?

Savasana asks very little of your body. You lie still on your back. If it's uncomfortable or painful, use a bolster or a chair, or skip it. If you're not sure it suits you, ask your GP or a qualified yoga teacher.

This is general information, not medical advice. NSDR is not a treatment for any condition.

• Kaplan Herring B (2026). Savasana Is One of the Hardest Yoga Poses to Practice. Yoga Journal (first published December 2002; republished 17 March 2026). https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/savasana-explainer/
• Jobe A (2015, updated 2026). What is 'savasana' and why do we all need it? Modo Yoga. https://modoyoga.com/savasana/
• Svatmarama. Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 1, verse 32 (Iyangar's numbering; verse 34 in Sinh's). Translated by Srinivasa Iyangar (1893; 3rd edition 1949). Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar. https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.238374
• Svatmarama. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Translated by Pancham Sinh (1914), verse 1.34, for the alternative numbering and the 15th-century dating. https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/hatha-yoga-pradipika-english/d/doc7974.html
• Killingsworth MA, Gilbert DT (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science 330(6006):932. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21071660/
• PubMed search: savasana[tiab] OR shavasana[tiab] OR "corpse pose"[tiab], alone and combined with crying, tears, weeping and emotion terms, run 3 November 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
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• Wrzeciono A, Cieślik B, Kiper P, Szczepańska-Gieracha J, Gajda R (2024). Non-sleep deep rest relaxation and virtual reality therapy for psychological outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39685636/
• Boukhris O, Suppiah H, Kerkeni M, Holt A, Driller M (2026). Time course of perceptual, cognitive, physical and physiological responses to a single non-sleep deep rest session in physically active young adults. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 18(4):e70180. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42383502/
• Boukhris O, Suppiah H, Driller M (2026). Comparing the effects of a short nap and non-sleep deep rest on perceptual, cognitive, and physical performance in active adults. Clocks & Sleep 8(3):52. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42783005/
• Ghai S, Odyniec P, Ghai I (2026). Effects of yoga nidra on stress, anxiety, and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1556(1):e70149. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41327816/