Featured Pose: Relaxation pose (Savasana)

by Nina and Baxter

This powerful pose provides deep physical rest, allowing you to completely relax your musculoskeletal system in an anatomically neutral position. And if you practice it with a mental focus—which we hope you will—this pose triggers the relaxation response, reducing your stress levels and allowing you to spend time in the Rest and Digest state. For those who can’t meditate in a seated position (or who prefer not to), you can use this pose for any form of meditation (as long as you don’t fall asleep). 

Baxter prescribes this pose for: 

• Resting at the end of a yoga practice, after other physical activity, or when fatigued 
• Stress reduction 
• Insomnia 
• Meditation 
• Minor digestive problems 
• Mild low back pain (versions 3 and 4)

Timing: For all practitioners, stay in the pose for 5-10 minutes (to trigger the Relaxation Response, aim for 10 minutes). If it is challenging for you to lie still for that long, start with 3 minutes and work up to longer holds.  

Cautions: People with low back pain should try version 4 first, then version 3, and work towards version 1. If you still cannot get comfortable, try version 4 of Legs Up the Wall pose instead. Pregnant women the second and third trimester should do version 2 of Reclined Cobbler’s pose, version 2 or rest on their left side. And if you find that lying on your back causes anxiety, you can try a prone position (lying on your belly), such as Child’s pose.

1. Classic Version 

The classic version with no props is suitable only for people who are completely comfortable in this version and who can keep their heads in a neutral position (chin pointing slightly down toward your chest, not tipping back). All others should try versions 2, 3, or 4. 

Start by lying on your back with bent knees. Then straighten your legs and position them eight to ten inches apart. Turn your arms out so your palms face up and your hands are six to eight inches from your body. And position your head perfectly between your two shoulders, with your eyes about equal distance from the ceiling. Adjust your body so it is as symmetrical as possible and your weight is even on both sides. Now make a commitment to stay still, and turn your awareness inward. The focus for your mind can be your breath, the gradual relaxation of your body (sometimes called a body scan), or a peaceful image. Rather than simply letting your thoughts wander as they would if you were lying on the grass, intentionally keep your mind focused as in meditation.

To come out of the pose, take each step slowly. Bend your knees and place the soles of your feet on the ground, and then turn over onto your right side. Then use your hands to push yourself up to a seated position, allowing your head to release downward until you are upright. Finally, when you are seated upright, lift your head. Take a few breaths in the seated position before moving on. 

For more information on practicing this pose, see LINK. 

2. Head Support 

This version is for those who need support to keep their heads in a neutral position in Relaxation pose. It is also beneficial for those with head forward syndrome or neck pain. 

To set up for the pose, place a folded blanket near the end of your mat where your head will be. (You may need to experiment with the thickness of the folded blanket to find the support that suits you best.) You can include this head support for any other version of Relaxation pose as well as any other reclined pose. 

When you come into the pose, make sure that only your head is supported by the prop (not your neck), and that your shoulders are resting comfortably on the ground. Follow the instructions in the classic pose for aligning yourself and for finding a mental focus. 

To come out of the pose, follow the instructions for the classic version.  

3. Leg Over Bolster

 This version provides a comfortable alternative for people feel lower back discomfort when lying flat on the floor. It is also a better way to rest your entire back than the classic version, especially as a counter-pose after practicing backbends, twists, or forward bends. 

To set up for the pose, place a bolster crosswise on your mat where you estimate your knees will be. Add a blanket for your head if desired. To come into the pose, lie on your back, with your buttocks on the floor in front of the bolster and the backs of your knees on top of the bolster. Follow the instructions in the classic pose for aligning yourself, moving the bolster if needed so it comfortably supports your legs. From there, follow the instructions for the classic version for finding a mental focus. 

To come out of the pose, follow the instructions for the classic version, moving your bolster to one side as you come up to sitting.  

4. Constructive Rest 

This version provides a second alternative for people who experience discomfort lying flat on the floor. It is also excellent way to rest your entire back, so if you have back problems or soreness or need a counter-pose after a backbend practice, give this version a try. 

To come into the pose, lie on your back with your knees bent and soles of the feet on the floor. Position your feet so they are hips-distance apart and far enough away from your sitting bones so your shins can be perpendicular to the floor (not slanting back towards your pelvis) or even slanting away from your pelvis. Let your knees to fall toward each other, so the back of your pelvis widens. To allow complete relaxation, you loosely bind your legs together just above the with a strap. Add a blanket for your head if desired. From there, follow the instructions for the classic version for finding a mental focus. 

To come out of the pose, follow the instructions for the classic version, starting by rolling onto your right side. 

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How to Prepare for and Practice Savasana

by Nina

Savasana certainly gets short shrift these days! It is often just an afterthought for many of us, especially in public classes, where we quickly wrap up a practice by “lying down” for just a few minutes.

But Savasana can be a powerful practice. Practiced with a mental focus, it is one of several ways you can trigger the Relaxation Response, switching your nervous system from Fight or Flight to Rest and Digest (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga). It addition to quieting your nervous system, Savasana allows you to relax your musculoskeletal system in an anatomically neutral position, which provides deep rest for your entire body. And as a form of reclined meditation, Savasana can teach you about the way your mind works, just as seated meditation does.

Recently, we’ve had several interesting posts about Savasana that explored the benefits of practicing Savasana, including interviews with Richard Rosen (The Value of Not Doing), Tias Little (see The Practice of Savasana, Part 1 and Part 2), and Roger Cole (The Mind Coming into Equilibrium and Drawing Inside and Quieting). I’m hoping all this material has piqued your interest in giving this ancient practice more serious attention. So today, I’m going to write a bit about how to actually approach this pose as an intentional practice. 

Preparing to Practice

Typically, although Savasana can be practiced on its own, we do Savasana at the end of an asana practice. That’s because it is often hard for us to lie still for a long period of time if we haven’t exercised much. I have written a sequence to help you prepare for Savasana (see Featured Sequence: Preparing for Savasana), but I also realize that what you should practice before Savasana depends on the time of day and what you have already been doing or not doing.

If you want to practice first thing in the morning or if you have had a sedentary day, you should prepare for Savasana with an active practice. This will tire you out and allow you to rest more comfortably. Strength building sequences with challenging poses or long holds or agility sequences where you move in and out of poses with your breath will be helpful at this time. Examples are Featured Sequence: Lower Body Strength Practice and Featured Sequence: Agility Practice.

On the other hand, if you have had a strenuous day physically, either due to physical labor or standing on your feet all day, a practice focused on gentle stretching is a good way to release held tension from your body. For example, try sequences such as Featured Sequence: Upper Body Flexibility. If you are really exhausted, it may be that a restorative practice is what you need (see Mini Restorative Practice).

Finally, if you are very stressed out, calming your nervous system is your priority, otherwise, it will definitely be hard to lie still. In this case, practicing supported inverted poses will help calm you down enough so that you can lie still. See Featured Sequence: Easy Supported Inverted Poses for a practice. 

In general, before practicing, take some time to consider what feels right to you at that moment and follow your intuition.

Choosing a Version

Most people cannot be truly comfortable lying flat on the floor with no support. So the next step is to choose the right version of Savasana for your body and for the particular day and time. Here are our four recommendation versions:

Classic Version. The classic version of Savasana is good for people who are completely comfortable in the pose and who can keep their heads in a neutral position in the pose (so the chin is pointing slightly down toward the chest, not tipping into a backbend). 

Head Support. If you can’t keep your head in a neutral position without support, use a folded blanket or towel under your head. Make sure that only your head is supported by the prop (not your neck) and that your shoulders are resting comfortably on the ground. Head support can be combined with any other type of support you might choose to add, such as for your legs.

Leg Support. Many people have discomfort in the lower back when lying flat on the floor. In this case, use a bolster or blanket roll behind your knees to support your legs. This option also works well if you have been practicing a lot of backbends, twists, or forward bends and want to rest your entire back more completely.

Constructive Rest. This version is extremely restful for your back, so if you have back problems or soreness, give it a try. Simply bend your knees and place your feet hips-distance apart and far enough away from your sitting bones so your shins can be perpendicular to the floor (not slanting back towards your pelvis). Allow your knees to fall toward each other, so the back of your pelvis widens. If you want to relax without thinking about holding your legs up, you can use a strap just above the knees to loosely bind your legs together.

If you can’t get comfortable on your back or shouldn’t be lying on your back (for example, because you are pregnant), you can try a side-lying position instead. And if you find that lying on your back causes anxiety, you can try a prone position (lying on your belly) such as Makrasana. See Savasana Variations for photos and information on these alternatives.

Practicing Savasana

To practice receive the full benefits of Savasana, you need to practice the pose with intention as you would any pose (rather than just collapsing onto the floor). To do this, commit to:

Aligning your body. Place your legs eight to ten inches apart, turn your arms out so your palms face up and your hands are six to eight inches from the body, and position your head perfectly between your two shoulders, with your eyes about equal distance from the ceiling. None of us are completely symmetrical, but you can adjust your body so it’s as symmetrical as possible and the weight is even on both sides of your body. Now your alignment is close to what medical books call “anatomical neutral,” the position your body naturally assumes when no muscles are being activated. And when you are in this neutral position, you can begin to relax your body completely. 

Remaining still. After aligning your body, make a commitment to stay still. When your body becomes motionless, external stimulation is reduced to a minimum, allowing your nervous system to cool down and your mind to quiet.

Using a mental focus. After you've aligned and quieted your body, turn your awareness inward. Typically the focus for your mind in Savasana is your breath, the gradual relaxation of specific parts of your body (sometimes called a body scan), or a peaceful image (for example, you might imagine your mind is the surface of a lake whose ripples are slowly subsiding). Rather than simply letting your thoughts wander as they would if you were lying on the grass in a park, intentionally keep your mind focused on your object of choice. When you notice your attention wandering, gently return it to that object.

Maintaining your awareness as you come out of the pose. Stay in the pose for at least 10 minutes (it takes 7 or 8 minutes to trigger the Relaxation Response). When you are ready to come out, open your eyes to passively receive the light of the room. Then let your body know you’re ready to begin moving by gently moving just fingers and toes or simply take a couple of deep soft breaths. Next, slowly bend your knees and place the soles of your feet on the ground, and then slowly turn over onto your right side and rest there for a couple of breaths. Then slowly use your hands to push yourself up to a seated position, allowing your head to release downward until you are completely upright. Finally, when you are seated upright, slowly lift your head.

See Savasana (Corpse Pose) for more information on these aspects of practicing Savasana.

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Drawing Inside and Quieting: Roger Cole on Savasana, Part 2

Drawing Inside by Melina Meza

Here is the second excerpt from the interview that Leslie Howard did in 2008 with yoga teacher Roger Cole. In this excerpt he talks about his own practice of Savasana, compares seated meditation with Savasana, and gives his recommendations for setting up and practicing the pose.

And speaking of Savasana, this will be our only post this week, as we're  on vacation. Even bloggers need to take a rest. —Nina 

 Leslie: Have you had any special experiences with the pose, either in your own practice or with students?  

Roger: Not really. There isn’t one that stands out for me. Restorative asana experiences—Ssavasana being one of them—many times I have had resting poses or Savasana in which I just really feel like this is exactly what I need and what everyone needs—everyone needs to do this sometime. Take the time when you would not ordinarily be sleeping, and lie down and just stop. It is different from seated meditation. Seated mediastion is wonderful in its own way. In Savasana and the other more reclining poses, the brain just shuts off. In the seated pose you are very, very alert. Seated meditation is really good for this deep realization in which you you see the connection between things. In Savasana it is more like you are drawing inside and quieting, and you are observing the quietness. There is a lot less activity in Savasana.  

Leslie: Do you always practice Savasana in your own practice?

Roger: Ideally, yes but in reality no.  

Leslie: When you take the time to do it, what is your preferred method?

Roger: First of all, I am very big on restorative poses and sometimes I will substitute a restorative pose for Savasana. Now ideally Savasana is the last pose because it is the most neutral; no part of the body is elevated over the other, nothing is particularly stretching, especially if you support the arms and stuff. So if I had the ideal Savasana, I would be almost completely neutral, with maybe a little elbow flexion so I could stay longer, maybe padding under the head not to lift the head but to make it not hurt. I personally don’t need padding under the knees but padding under the heels so that the heels don’t hurt. So I make it comfortable. 

The other thing that a lot of people don’t realize about Savasana and other restorative poses is that temperature is extremely important. You get cold. And if you get cold it is just not a relaxing experience. So I am very conscious of the room temperature, and if you need to be covered with a blanket in Savasana and other restorative poses, you need to cover the hands and feet. Don’t just cover the trunk and have the hands and feet sticking out. So in my practice of Savasana ideally it would be the last pose even if I do a lot of other restorative poses. But in reality there is a time limit so if I end up staying in another pose longer well than Savasana gets shortened. Same thing when I am teaching; ideally I would like to put it at the end of every class but sometimes I just run out of time.  

Leslie: Are there any special circumstances or conditions for which you think Savasana is particularly valuable? 

Roger: One of things is that Savasana is the quickest, most generic pose. When it comes time to relax, just lie down. You can do it on a bed, which is actually very important. Bedrooms are set up with a bed so you can lie on them. Of course they have blankets and such, but the availability of having a space to do it is extremely important. If you just lie down on a dirty floor you might not relax, or if its cold or too light or in a traffic area, the bed takes care of all that. Of course, it is a little soft but its there and its available. 

In a yoga class situation, with students that have never done yoga you don’t what to do some strange thing with them in Savasana, maybe with support under the knees because that is very non threatening and it’s very intuitive. So, it’s got a lot of benefit. It doesn’t have a lot of the problems of being uncomfortable or they can’t hold it or their knees hurt or whatever. But if you are going to put people in it a long time, you are going to have to prop them up. So I think it would be particularly valuable for quick relaxation. Also, some kind of relaxation is valuable, but it doesn’t always have to be specifically Savasana. 

You asked me if there were times Savasana should be avoided. So with some kinds of back pain, such as when people have a facet joint injury, it’s too much back bend, but you can modify the pose. Generally it is a pretty easy pose to do. Also if the nose is congested, prop them up and it can be used to drain the nose. 

What about emotionally? Emotionally if someone has had a trauma, like after an earthquake or something like that or a terrorist attack, people are often afraid to close their eyes, to lie there with their eyes closed is very frightening. Also I have had a couple of deaf students and they don’t like to close their eyes because once they close their eyes in Savasana, they don’t know what is going on in the world, although they will do it. They can hear enough through their hearing aid to know when there is shuffling around, but it’s a little tricky. 

So in those instances Savasana with eyes open is a good pose and if their eyes close, apparently they have gotten over it. 

Leslie Howard is an Oakland-based yoga teacher, specializing in all things pelvic. She leads workshops and trainings nationally and internationally, and is the director of the 200 hour Deep Yoga program at Piedmont Yoga. With a state certification in massage, she also practices cranial sacral therapy. To learn more about Leslie, visit: www.lesliehowardyoga.com.  

Roger Cole, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized, certified Iyengar yoga teacher trained at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes in San Francisco and Pune, India. He is also an accomplished scientist educated at Stanford University and the University of California, with specialties in the science of relaxation, sleep, and circadian rhythms. Roger has taught yoga since 1975. He has authored dozens of articles on yoga teaching, practice, biology and therapeutics, including Yoga Journal's Anatomy Column, Master Class Column and Ask Our Expert Column, Yoga International's Asana Solutions Column, and special feature articles on the prevention of yoga injuries, the physiology of stress, relief from back pain, and the science of keeping your balance. He has trained thousands of yoga teachers and taught yoga as a healing art to physicians, physical therapists, medical students and patients. He offers weekly classes in Del Mar, California, and conducts workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad. His specialties include yoga teacher training, yoga anatomy, yoga physiology, restorative yoga, and promotion of better sleep. See rogercoleyoga.com for more information.

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The Mind Coming Into Equilibrium: Roger Cole on Savasana

Circle of Light by Melina Meza

This week and next I'll be posting excerpts from yet another interview from the never-written book on Savasana that I was—at one time—working on with my friend yoga teacher Leslie Howard. Back in 2008, Leslie did a good long interview with one of my favorite teachers, Roger Cole,. Let’s start today with their conversation about the benefits and importance of Savasana.

And speaking of Savasana, this will be our only post this week, as we're on vacation. Even bloggers need to take a rest. —Nina 

Leslie: What is Savasana and how does it differ from just lying down? 

Roger: The first difference is intention. When you lie down, you intend to be conscious, be aware, and be present. Lying down the mind tends to drift. So with your intention in Savasana comes the alignment—you get your physical body set up so you can be still and consciously observe your thoughts. Your intention is a type of meditation.

Leslie: What are the benefits of Savasana and why is it such an important pose?

 Roger: Part of it is physical and part of it is mental. But let’s just talk about what happens in your brain. You are processing impressions—the mind is doing things, observing things, or observing the results of your doing things, or memories are already in the mind while minimizing new input or effort. When you are in Savasana, we actively stop actively working in the world muscularly, and if our mind is set right, we can observe what is in the mind. It’s not that we stop processing—the mind is always going—but it’s going in a way that doesn’t require this executive function in the brain (the part of you that says, now I must do this , now I must do that). It doesn’t involve “I” at all. It’s an egoless watching, and with that I think what happens physiologically is that information gets processed—connections between nerve cells that need to be strengthened, connections that aren’t used much tend to diminish—so we actually change the brain patterns or they change or reorganize themselves.

I like to think of the impression of a forest, an ancient forest. It has been there for so long—holding still for so long—that everything is sort of coming into its own balance without anyone directing it. And so our own mind—if we just leave it alone—will come into its own equilibrium. We stop pushing it around, adding things to it. So a lot of the benefit of Savsasana is allowing the time to for the process to take place. 

It's also restful for the body; you give your heart and your muscles a chance to recover. Internal recovery function is analogous to what is happening in the brain—think of cells healing themselves as an information process. The brain is organizing proteins, reestablishing them, getting rid of waste. So it’s a rest period for the body and a reorganization period for the body.  

Leslie: Is there an ideal time of day and duration for Savasana?  

Roger: If I had to give a number I would say 15 minutes AT LEAST, and I think longer is actually better. If you stay in classical Savasana for say more than 20 minutes, things start to get uncomfortable, the back of your head gets uncomfortable, your arms by being straight get uncomfortable and possibly also the back, depending on how tight your hip flexors are. It tends to arch the back.. Judith Lasater will set up Savasana with the arms bent, support behind the head, knees slightly flexed, and leave you there for an hour. If you can stay in Savasana for an hour, that takes you to a whole other level. Which is a wonderful thing to have happen. Now, we should talk about sleep because I am a sleep scientist. So I have my particular point of view on sleep in Savasana. Regardless of the intention to stay awake, people do drift off to sleep. If the conditions are set up for sleep, people will fall asleep. The primary condition we all suffer from is not enough sleep in our daily lives. So we are all running around in a “sleep debt.” It’s like if you are hungry, you are going to eat, and when you are sleepy, you are going to sleep. It is an involuntary process. Almost any adult that is put into a dark room and told to lie in bed for 40 minutes and stay awake will fall asleep. I think a lot of sleeping goes on in Savasana, so even a small amount of sleep refreshes them enough so that they can actually practice the Savasana well. Of course, it’s also possible to go completely out.  

Leslie: When you have a student that is sleeping do you let them sleep, and if you have to wake them up how do you do it? 

Roger: My feeling is they need to sleep. Sleep first, then do your Savasana. To avoid this, firstly, get enough sleep or take a nap and then do Savasana. Don’t do Savasana right after getting up due to sleep inertia (left over sleepiness). Usually 10 or 11 in the morning is an alert time a day for most people where they haven’t been awake long enough to really get sleepy.

If you want an alert Savasana practice it in the morning; if you want to fall asleep in Savasana do it in the afternoon. In the evening it is a mixed bag because on the one hand you have been awake all day. On the other hand you have been awake all day and your body’s clock is alerting you. So your body clock has its strongest alerting effect in the evening, and if you have had enough sleep that usually overcomes the sleepiness and you are wide awake at 8 or 9 o’clock in the evening. But if you have a sleep debt, then you are going to fall asleep. The evening is a mixed bag but mid-afternoon most people will fall asleep in their Savasana. So if someone falls asleep in a class situation, and they are not snoring or disturbing everyone, I just leave them. If they are disturbing the class then I will have them rollover and do something face down or a forward bending posture because people are less likely to sleep in one of those positions. 

Leslie: When you are approaching someone that is disturbing the class, how do you wake them up without startling them?  

Roger: I try not to startle people. The first thing I do is walk past their head and often they hear me walking. That sound is a subtle noise and that often wakes them up. If that doesn’t work I might try just tugging their blanket. I try whatever I can not to jar them. 

Leslie: Do you always talk your students through Savasana?  

Roger: No, I usually don’t. I usually put people in the pose and then let the pose do the talking. Now I do have a story about that. I had a student once that came up to me and said I’m fine in Savasana until you stop talking and then I essentially start to freak out. When you are talking I go along and relax, but when you stop talking then I go to a place in my mind that I really don’t like and it’s very disturbing. So probably if one person told me that there are likely others that have had that experience and haven’t told me. But I am pretty non-directive. My whole approach with asana and Savasana is the postures are designed to create an effect. And if you do the postures well, the breathing that you need to do comes in the posture and the Savasana just comes naturally. So my ideal savasana doesn’t need any instruction.  

Leslie: Is that presupposing that the student is more advanced? 

Roger: No, it's not. It is not presupposing anything about the student except that they are human, because my belief is if you get the right sequence of postures for that person at that time, the right posture set up the right way. The intention is still there. So I say we are going to lie still now with initial instruction. Or, if the people have been coming to my class for a while, I may not even give instructions because they know my instruction intention is that they are going to lie there and be awake and very, very relaxed and whatever happens happens. And you are free, your mind is free to think of whatever you want without anyone’s directions. The only thing that makes it this practice is that you are going to stay there in the pose.  
Leslie Howard is an Oakland-based yoga teacher, specializing in all things pelvic. She leads workshops and trainings nationally and internationally, and is the director of the 200 hour Deep Yoga program at Piedmont Yoga. With a state certification in massage, she also practices cranial sacral therapy. To learn more about Leslie, visit: www.lesliehowardyoga.com.  

Roger Cole, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized, certified Iyengar yoga teacher trained at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes in San Francisco and Pune, India. He is also an accomplished scientist educated at Stanford University and the University of California, with specialties in the science of relaxation, sleep, and circadian rhythms. Roger has taught yoga since 1975. He has authored dozens of articles on yoga teaching, practice, biology and therapeutics, including Yoga Journal's Anatomy Column, Master Class Column and Ask Our Expert Column, Yoga International's Asana Solutions Column, and special feature articles on the prevention of yoga injuries, the physiology of stress, relief from back pain, and the science of keeping your balance. He has trained thousands of yoga teachers and taught yoga as a healing art to physicians, physical therapists, medical students and patients. He offers weekly classes in Del Mar, California, and conducts workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad. His specialties include yoga teacher training, yoga anatomy, yoga physiology, restorative yoga, and promotion of better sleep. See rogercoleyoga.com for more information.

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Savasana Variations (Rerun)

by Nina

My post Savasana (Corpse Pose) describes in detail how to practice Savasana (there is so much more to it than just lying down!) This post shows some alternative positions you can for Savasana take if lying flat on your back in uncomfortable or even if you just want to rest in a position that’s a bit cushier and self indulgent.

The first Savasana variation is the simple addition of support under your head, a position that is good for people who are tight in the shoulders or chest and find it hard to rest their heads comfortably on the ground. Most people benefit from a bit of support under their heads, so check it out. Just make sure the support under your head is firm (not soft) and that your shoulders are touching the ground (not the support). Ideally in Savasana, your chin should be pointing slighting down toward your chest (not tipping back away from it).

Savasana with Head Support

The second of Savasana variation provides support behind your knees, a position that is good for people who have lower back problems or who simply want to rest their backs comfortably on the ground. Use a bolster (as shown below) or a rolled blanket behind your knees.

Savasana with Knee Support

The third variation of Savasana uses a chair to support your calves, which provides excellent rest for your lower back. It also creates a sight inversion (your legs are higher than your torso), which will help enhance your ability to relax (inverted poses is a topic I will address in a future post). Make sure that your legs drop comfortably onto the chair seat (if you are tall, you might have to stack blankets on the chair to make the surface high enough). If you can’t get your legs through the back of the chair, try turning the chair sideways instead.

Savasana with Legs on a Chair

The fourth and fifth variations are restorative versions of Savasana, with support under your torso and head. One version uses a bolster under your torso, and the other a stack of two folded blankets. This may be easier for you than lying flat on the floor or even deliciously comfy, and can help you breathe more freely in the pose as the support helps open your chest. When you do either of these versions, make sure that you sit on the floor (not on the bolster or blankets) before you lay back. The support should be under your torso, but not under your buttocks (a typical mistake I see beginners make!).

Restorative Savasana (Bolster Supporting Torso)

Restorative Savasana (Blankets Supporting Torso)

The sixth version is a Side-Lying Savasana, which is good for anyone who, for medical or other reasons, cannot lie on their backs (as well as for pregnant women). Notice there is support under your head, between your legs and between your arms—super comfy! You can use folded blankets or pillows, or any combination of the two.

Side-Lying Savasana

The last version is Crocodile pose (Makrasana), which is helpful for people who feel anxious or vulnerable lying on their backs and need the comfort of having their front bodies protected. If this pose is hard on your lower back, trying placing a folded blanket under your lower belly (below your navel) so your lower back doesn’t arch as deeply.

Crocodile Pose (Makrasana)

That’s it for now, but feel free to come up with your own variations to these basic versions or to use a version you learned in class or from a book. If you’re not comfortable in the pose, you won’t be able to relax, so take the time to set yourself up with whatever props you like. You can even get creative. I used to teach yoga in a room that had couches in it (don’t ask), and had my students do a pose I called “Legs on the Couch,” which was a variation of Savasana with legs on a chair. My students, who were busy graduate students or mothers of young children, absolutely loved it. (By the way, if you don’t have a yoga bolster, I recommend going ahead and splurging on one. You’ll be amazed at how much use and enjoyment you’ll get from it for years to come.) 

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Featured Sequence: Preparing for Savasana

by Nina

You probably got the message by now that we strongly feel that one of the best ways to reduce chronic stress is to practice conscious relaxation (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga). But with the exception of Supported Inverted Poses, all the other techniques for practicing relaxation that yoga provides require that you either lie or sit still for an extended period of time. And when you’re feeling stressed out or anxious, sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is staying still!

With that in mind, I’ve created this sequence to help prepare you for Savasana. This active, balanced practice will help release held physical tension from your body, allowing you to physically relax when you finally lie down. And by practicing strong standing poses, which you hold for long periods of time, you will hopefully tire yourself out enough so that by the time Savasana comes around, you’ll be glad to lie down!

If you want to practice for a longer period of time, you could really tire yourself out by practicing all the standing poses two times.

Preparing for Savasana

1. Upward Bound Hands (Urdva Baddha Hastasana), 1 minute per side. Start by standing in Mountain pose, with your feet about hips-width apart. Now, interlace your fingers and turn your palms toward your feet. Strengthen your legs, pressing from your hips into your feet. Then, on an inhalation, bring your arms forward and up. Lengthen your spine and lift your collarbones as your lift your shoulder blades. Move your arms toward a vertical position, keeping your head in a neutral position. Once you encounter resistance in your shoulders or upper back, resist the impulse to take your arms further back. To come out of pose, lower your arms forward and down before releasing the clasp of your hands.

To repeat on the second side, change the interlacing of your fingers your habitual, comfortable position to the “other side.” Then repeat the instructions above. See Featured Pose: Upward Bound Hands for more information on the pose and for alternatives.

2. Warrior 2 Pose, 1 to 2 minutes per side. From Mountain pose, step your feet wide apart. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees, then, pivoting on the ball of your back foot, shift your left heel back an inch or two to your left so the foot is slightly turned in.

Next, inhale and raise your arms up so they are parallel to the floor, with your palms facing down toward the floor. Keep your shoulder blades relaxed and moving down your back (not sliding up toward your ears) as you raise your arms. Then, on an exhalation, bend your right knee directly over your right ankle while keeping your torso centered over your pelvis (not leaning over your front leg). Allow your hips to rotate slightly toward your right knee but rotate your chest away from your right knee so your chest faces directly forward. Finally, allow your head and neck to turn so you gaze over your right hand.

To come out of the pose, straighten your front leg and turn your feet to parallel while keeping your arms raised. Repeat on the other side. For more information, see Featured Pose: Warrior 2 Pose

3. Tree Pose (Vrksanasana), 1 to 2 minutes per side. Start in Mountain Pose with your feet a bit closer together than usual. Shift your weight onto your left leg and bend your right knee a bit, coming onto the big toe of your right foot. Swing your right knee out to the right about 45 degrees. Then lift your right foot off the ground, and use your right hand to bring the sole of your right foot against your upper, inner left thigh, keeping your right knee turned out. Press your right foot firmly into your left thigh as you press your inner thigh firmly toward your foot your foot. Lengthen your spine up away from the press of your bottom foot into the floor, and see if you can then take your arms out to your sides parallel with the floor. Keep your gaze relaxed and on the horizon in front of you. If you are still feeling steady, take your arms overhead.

To come out of the pose, release your arms and then bring your right foot back into Mountain Pose. Repeat on second side. If this pose is not accessible to you, see Easy Balance Practice for an easier version of this pose.

4. Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana), 1 to 3 minutes per side. From Mountain Pose, step your feet wide apart, about the length of your legs. Then turn your right foot out about 90 degrees and your left foot in slightly, so the pinky edge of your left foot lines up with the long edge of your yoga mat. Inhale and extend your arms out to your sides.

Exhale and bend your right knee toward 90 degrees, making sure your right knee is aligned with the middle toe of your right foot. Then, keeping your front knee directly over your front ankle, side-bend your torso out over your front thigh, and place your right hand on the floor to the outside of the front foot or on a block that is up against your right shin. Try to keep the right and left sides of your chest even with each other.

Keeping your hips stable, rotate your upper belly and chest slightly up away from your right leg. Bring your left arm overhead in line with your back leg and the side of your chest. Then, turn your head and gaze up to look under your left armpit, look straight ahead, or look down at your right foot.

To come out of the pose, inhale as you straighten your right leg and use your left arm to swing your torso back to center, with your arms out to the side. Then, on exhalation, release your arms and turn your feet to parallel. Repeat the pose on your left side. For more information, see Featured Pose: Extended Side Angle.

5. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana), 1 to 2 minutes. From Mountain pose, place your hands on your hips and, on an exhalation, begin to bend forward from your hip joints. When your pelvis won’t rotate over your upper leg bones any more, allow your spine to round gently into a full forward bend, as you release your arms toward the floor. If your hands easily make it to the floor, walk your fingers back toward your toes, bringing them in line with your toes if possible. But if your hands fall shy of the floor, don’t force them down; instead place your hands on opposite elbows. Bend your knees a little bit if your lower back or hips feel strain or pain.

6. Triangle (Trikonasana), 1 to 3 minutes per side. From Mountain pose, step your feet wide apart, about the length of your legs. Spinning on your right heel pad, turn your right foot and leg out 90 degrees toward the right short edge of your mat. Next, pivoting on the ball of your left foot’s big toe, kick back your left heel an inch or two towards the left short edge of your mat. After you’ve established your feet, inhale and take your arms up and out to your sides, parallel with the floor. As you exhale, lift up and over your right hip joint to reach your right arm straight out over your front leg. Then, keeping your legs strong, side-bend as you bring your right hand to the floor or to a prop, depending on your flexibility.

Keeping your hips in their new location (don’t let them spin up!), rotate your upper belly and chest around the axis of your spine toward the long edge of the mat and possibly a bit more skyward, as you bring your top arm in line with your bottom arm.

To come out of the pose, keep the strong, grounded feeling in your legs, and then on an inhalation, pivot your hips and torso back to vertical as you use your top arm to lift yourself up and out of the pose. Release your arms to your sides and bring your feet back to parallel.

See Featured Pose: Triangle Pose for more detailed instructions on moving into, being in, and coming out this pose.  

7. Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)1 to 3 minutes. Wish we had some instructions on this pose! But at least I can rest assured this pose is so commonly taught, most of you will have some idea of how to do it. So, for now, from hands and knees position, come up into the classic Downward-Facing Dog pose. If the classic version of the pose is not accessible to you due to injuries or other problems, see Downward-Facing Dog Variations for variations.

8. Warrior 1 Pose (Virabrdarasana 1), 1 to 2 minutes. Starting in Mountain pose, step your feet about three feet apart and place your hands on your hips. Spin your right foot out 90 degrees. Then lift your back heel, pivot on the ball of your foot, and spin your back heel back about four or five inches. Next, rotate your hips and chest in the same direction as your right foot. Don’t force your hips to square with the wall you are facing. Instead, allow your left hip to turn slightly toward your back leg, but square your head and your torso, from the navel on up, with your front foot. Maintain a straight strong back leg throughout.

Now, release your arms to your sides and turn your palms to face each other. Keeping your palms facing each other, inhale your arms forward and up. If your shoulders are tight, don’t worry about your arms being exactly vertical. But do keep your arms parallel—don’t try to bring your hands together. On your next exhale, bend your front knee so it is directly over your ankle joint. Do not lean forward or back, but keep your torso directly over your pelvis.

As you breathe in the pose, encourage your outer outer shoulder blades to lift with your arms, while keeping the upper inner corners of your shoulder blade moving down your back (so the sides of your neck are relaxed and long). Keep your arms active and bring your awareness to your elbows, making sure they are not bent, and reach through both sides of your elbow joints. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds and gradually work up to longer periods of time.

To come out of the pose, inhale and straighten your front leg. Then exhale and release your arms to your sides. Pivoting on the balls of your feet, bring your feet back to neutral as your turn your head and torso to face the long end of your mat. (See Featured Pose: Warrior 3 for more information.)

9. Reverse Namaste (Pashchima Namaskarasana), 1 to 2 minutes. For version 1, start by standing in Mountain pose, with your feet hips-distance apart. Bring your palms together into Prayer position (Namaste) in front of your chest, and press your palms together firmly. Take a moment to assess how flexible your wrists are in this position.

Now bring your arms behind your back, with your fingertips pointing toward the floor and elbows slightly bent. Then move your hands a few inches away from your lower back and spin your fingertips up toward the ceiling. Allow the pinky side of your hands to lightly touch your lower back. At this point your elbows are bent and your upper arm bones are turning in quite a bit. Carefully wiggle and wriggle your hands up along the line of your spine as high as you can comfortably go or until your palms come completely together. If your palms can come together, try to bring the thumb sides of your hands closer to each other (as they tend to get pulled apart).

Stay in the pose for approximately 30 seconds, working up to 2 minutes. To come out of the pose, carefully wiggle your hands down your back at least six inches or so before you release your hands down by your sides.

If you attempt version 1 and are unable to turn your fingertips up and keep them together, there may be too much tightness or tension anywhere from your shoulders to your wrists that prevents you from doing this safely. Choose version 2 instead (see Featured Pose: Reverse Namaste ).  

10. Bridge Pose (Setubanda Sarvangasana), 30 seconds to 1 minute. From Constructive Rest position (on your back with knees bent and heels about four inches from your hips), establish the normal, slightly arched shape of your lumbar spine. Then lift your hips straight up as you push down into your feet, like an elevator going up a few floors, maintaining the neutral arch of the lower back. Once in Bridge pose, bring some focus to your arms. Press the upper back of your upper arms (right where your arms meets the shoulders) down into the floor firmly while actively lifting the lower tip of your breast bone up to the sky. Then press your arms, which are lengthening towards your feet, down firmly into the floor as well. This will begin to encourage extension of your shoulder joints. To come down, lower your hips straight down, like an elevator returning to the lobby floor. Rest for a moment in Constructive Rest position, and repeat one more time.

11. Upward Plank Pose (Purvottanasana), 30 seconds to 1 minute. See Featured Pose: Upward Plank for instructions on how to practice this pose.

Rest briefly in Constructive Rest pose (on your back, with knees bent, soles of the feet on the floor about hip-width apart, and knees dropping in toward each other) and then repeat the pose.

12. Lord of the Fishes Pose (Ardha Matseyendrasana), 1 minute per side. Although this twist is one of the most complex to get into, I’m including it in this sequence because from my experience it’s one of the most effective all-over twists I’ve ever practiced. Yes, it just feels so good!

We don’t yet have full instructions on how to practice this pose, so for now I’ll just be brief. But I will say that the best way to get into this pose is to break it down into two phases: first, set up your leg position and, second, move into the twist.

Unless you are very flexible, sit on the edge of a folded blanket or another support, and then bend your knees and place the soles of your feet on the floor. Now bending your left leg even more, bring your left foot as close as possible to your right sitting bone. Then step your right foot over your left knee, with the toes of your right foot a few inches in front of your left knee.

Now get ready to twist to your right. Inhale and lengthen your spine, from sitting bones to the crown of your head. Then, instead of moving from your head, initiate the twist from your lower spine and the portion your abdomen that is just above your navel, while keeping your lower abdomen relaxed. As you move into the twist, bring your left arm either around your right knee or bring your left armpit over your right knee and move your left forearm and hand into an upright position. Allow your neck and head to complete the twist only if that feels comfortable for your neck.

To come out of the pose, release the twist and bring your torso and head back to center. Then, one at a time, step your feet back into your starting position and repeat the pose on the other side.

13. Relaxation Pose (Savasana), 10 to 20 minutes. Practice any form of Savasana you like, either the classic version flat on the floor or any supported variation (see Savasana Variations). The important thing is to be entirely comfortable, so discomfort or pain doesn’t distract you from being able to relax completely. Then chose a mental focus for the practice. A mental focus is crucial because if you just lie there and fret about the past or worry about the future, you won’t trigger the Relaxation Response (and besides a mental focus is what makes Savasana, Savasana and not just lying there). See Savasana (Corpse Pose)for complete information on how to practice Savasana.

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