Watch the end of any yoga class. The teacher says it’s time for Savasana, and someone at the back quietly rolls up their mat and leaves for the parking lot.
Fair enough. You came to work, and the work seems to be over. Why stay to lie on the floor?
Because lying there and actually doing nothing is harder than it looks. Plenty of people can hold a plank for a minute. Far fewer can lie still for five without mentally rewriting their grocery list.
The name doesn’t sugarcoat it either. Shava means corpse. Savasana is corpse pose. There’s something very direct about a tradition that closes each practice by asking you to rehearse being gone.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a text from around the fifteenth century, describes it simply: lie flat on your back like a corpse. It says this removes fatigue and brings rest to the mind. That’s about as short as instructions get, and centuries of students have struggled with it anyway.
How to do it
Lie on your back. Let your feet fall open and put your arms a little away from your sides, palms up.
Then go through a short list:
- Let the back of your head get heavy
- Unclench your jaw, and let your tongue drop from the roof of your mouth
- Soften the skin around your eyes
- Let your shoulders sink
- Let your belly move with your breath, with no help from you
Stay for five minutes after a short practice, and ten after a long one. Set a soft timer, so that you’re not holding part of your attention in reserve to watch the clock.
When it doesn’t feel good
If your lower back complains, slide a rolled blanket under your knees. If you get cold, and you probably will, put on socks or use a blanket. Your body cools down fast once it stops moving.
If lying flat isn’t comfortable, because of pregnancy, reflux, or anything else, lie on your side with a pillow between your knees, or use a recliner. If your doctor has given you advice about lying flat, follow it. Nobody awards extra credit for the classic version.
Some people find lying still with their eyes closed unsettling, particularly if they’ve lived through something hard. Keep your eyes open, or lay a hand on your chest. You’re allowed to do that.
“But I fall asleep”
Most of us are short on sleep, so that’s no sin. If you want to stay awake, try it earlier in the day, or bend your knees with your feet on the floor.
The aim, though, isn’t sleep. It’s staying present while doing nothing at all, and that’s a rarer skill than any handstand. For most of the day your body is being asked to do something. Here’s one moment when it isn’t.
So tomorrow, stay on the mat. The parking lot will still be there.
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