Lying flat on the back like a corpse is śavāsana; it removes fatigue and gives the mind rest.

The corpse pose

Verse 1.38 describes śavāsana (corpse pose): uttānaṃ śava-rūpaṃ tad śavāsanaṃ, śrānti-haraṃ citta-viśrānti-kārakam — "lying flat on the back like a corpse is śavāsana; it removes fatigue and gives the mind rest." Śava means "corpse," and the posture is named for its resemblance to a body lying completely still and released of tension, on its back, limbs relaxed. Śrānti-haram describes its traditional effect of relieving fatigue (śrānti), and citta-viśrānti-kārakam describes it as producing rest (viśrānti) for the mind (citta).

Its place among the Hatha Yoga Pradipika's postures

Śavāsana appears within the sequence of postures the Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes in its first chapter, alongside more physically engaged postures. Its inclusion reflects the text's practical, embodied understanding of practice: rest and stillness are treated as a genuine posture in their own right, deserving explicit mention and instruction, rather than as a mere absence of practice or a gap between more active postures. Traditional commentary treats this small but significant detail as characteristic of hatha yoga's broader attentiveness to the body's actual condition — recognizing that a body carrying unaddressed fatigue cannot sustain the steadier, more demanding practices of breath regulation and meditation the text describes in later chapters.

Traditional and modern commentary

Swami Satyananda's commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, along with modern teachers such as Iyengar who have written extensively on the therapeutic and restorative role of this posture within broader practice, both emphasize that the stillness of śavāsana is understood traditionally as an active, attentive stillness rather than passive collapse or falling asleep — the practitioner remains aware while the body is fully released, distinguishing this posture from ordinary rest or sleep even though its outward appearance resembles simple lying down.

A genuinely restorative practice

Śavāsana's practical value lies precisely in its apparent simplicity: it asks for nothing more than lying still, yet doing this attentively — remaining aware rather than drifting into sleep or distraction — is its own discipline. It is commonly placed at the close of a posture practice, allowing the body to integrate the effects of preceding postures, and can equally be used on its own as a short restorative practice at any point in the day.

A short practice

1. Lie flat on your back on a comfortable, supportive surface, arms resting slightly away from the body, palms facing upward, legs relaxed and slightly apart.
2. Close your eyes and take a few slow, natural breaths, allowing the exhale to lengthen slightly each time.
3. Mentally scan from the feet upward — ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hips, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, and face — consciously releasing tension at each area without forcing relaxation.
4. Once the body scan is complete, simply rest, remaining lightly aware of the breath, for five to ten minutes.
5. To finish, deepen the breath slightly, gently wiggle fingers and toes, and take your time returning to a seated position rather than rising abruptly.

Its role in a fuller practice

Traditional sequencing places śavāsana at the close of a session of more active postures, allowing the nervous system to settle before the practitioner moves on to seated breath or meditation work, or simply returns to daily activity. Some practitioners also use a brief version of this posture — even a minute or two — as a reset during a demanding day, consistent with the verse's own description of its purpose: relieving fatigue and giving the mind genuine rest.

Mistaking it for simply falling asleep

The most common misreading treats śavāsana as an invitation to nap, given its passive, prone appearance. Traditional commentary is clear that the posture is meant to combine physical stillness with continued mental awareness — the practitioner rests the body fully while remaining lightly attentive, rather than losing consciousness. Falling asleep during śavāsana is common and not harmful, but it represents a departure from the posture's fuller traditional intent as a state of conscious, restful stillness.

Treating it as unimportant or optional filler

Because śavāsana requires no visible effort or skill, it is sometimes dismissed by newer practitioners as a minor closing formality rather than a genuine posture worth practicing attentively. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika's own explicit naming and description of this posture, with a clearly stated purpose (relieving fatigue, resting the mind), indicates that it was regarded by the tradition as a substantive practice in its own right, not a throwaway pause between more demanding postures.

Assuming stillness alone, without attention, produces the described benefit

Some practitioners lie still in this posture while the mind remains fully engaged in unrelated thought, assuming that physical stillness alone fulfills the posture's purpose. The verse specifically names citta-viśrānti, mental rest, as part of the intended outcome, suggesting that some degree of settled attention — even simply following the breath — is part of what distinguishes this posture from merely lying on the floor without any particular awareness.