Yoga Asana: Corpse or Savasana

Savasana might be the most “known” yoga posture, one that is sometimes even equated with yoga itself. Yet, how much do we really “know” about it? Each posture has a Sanskrit name ending in asana. Asana means seat or posture. Sava or the first half of the Savasana means corpse. Another less known term for savasana is: mrtasana. Mrt means death. Savasana is a posture that represents a corpse and symbolizes death. The first written record of this posture dates all the way back to the 15th century in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Savasana is practiced in most practices, schools, and lineages of yoga for it introduces the importance of attaining the skill of stillness.

This brings us to the why behind savasana. It might be helpful to first note a few misperceptions about the posture. Savasana is not sleep. Savasana is not solely relaxation, however relaxation is required to experience the state of savasana. So why do we do it? Why is it considered essential to our asana practice? Our asana or physical practice is required to prepare our bodies and our minds for meditation. Meditation is required to reach samadhi or liberation according to Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga. Savasana stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system and physiologically speaking slows our heart rate, our breathing, and lowers our blood pressure. All of this aids in our healing, immunity, and growth or as I like to say, our “ok-ness.” It takes about 15 minutes to reach this state of relaxation. Savasana takes place after we have reached relaxation. This means that a proper savasana “should” be at least 20 minutes.

Judith Lasater describes Savasana as having 3 levels or phases, the first being physiological, the 2nd being sense withdrawal (pratyahara or the 5th limb) and the third being asunya or a place that is neither here nor there, disconnected from ego, a place only understood when you come back from it. Regardless of wether you are interested in samadhi, care about pratyahara, or want to know the Sanskrit definitions, quite simply, savasana helps us feel better and be better. Yet, as with any other posture that requires muscle engagement, balance, and alignment of limbs, savasana requires practice. So while the pose might be simple, it certainly is not easy. It is only with consistent, intentional practice, that we will reap the rewards of this pose.

Savasana also holds symbolic, metaphoric, and meaningful significance to our own personal why’s. We are all here on this magical planet earth, sharing this crazy roller coaster of experiencing ourselves as a human being. We know that this experience is limited and absolutely has an expiration date, regardless of our own personal beliefs on what happens after our physical bodies expire. Savasana is an epic reminder that we are going to die. That is a helpful reminder in how it is that we want to LIVE, on what we decide and what we make important, and on how we will spend our ever fleeting now moments. Each day we are one day closer to death, each savasana is one savasana closer to our expiration, let us not dwell on death in sadness, but dwell in its remembrance of the life we get to live today.

How to do savasana:

Lie down on your back, spread your legs about mats’ width distance, feet splayed out to the sides. Arrange your arms about 6” off the sides of your body, palms face up.

Modifications

Low Back Support:

1. Place a bolster or blanket underneath your knees.

2. Bend your knees, feet on the floor, knock your knees inward.

3. Bend your knees and place your lower legs on the seat of a chair.

Head/Neck Support:

Place a folded blanket under head and neck until your chin is slightly above your forehead.

Abdomen:

Place a sandbag or heavy blanket horizontally across the lower abdomen.

Eyes and mind:

Place an eye pillow over your eyes or use a piece of clothing (like the arm of a sweatshirt to wrap around like a scarf), the pressure and blocking the light can help the eyes and mind relax.

***Permission to modify in anyway that provides you with a feeling of safety & ease

Useful Props:

Blocks, bolsters, blankets, chair, sandbags, eye pillow

Thank you Dear Reader,

As always, I am so grateful to journey this yoga journey together. I appreciate your time and consideration in delving in these yoga studies with me. Know that my understanding is limited and I always encourage you to be the authority in your practice and life, yet it is my intention to be of inspiration to continue studying for all of your lifetimes!

Blessings,

Andrea Dawn