Bethania Bacigalupe

The following is part of a series on Restorative Poses. Over the next weeks and months I will be posting some sketches highlighting restorative poses you can do at home. Each sketch will focus on a pose, action, or sensation. Please leave any questions below!

Grounded Savasana or Grounding Corpse or Final Relaxation Pose

Savasana literally means “Corpse Pose”. This pose is used at the end (or beginning!) of a yoga class or practice to relax deeply. By pausing at the end of your practice in savasana you enable the physical and subtle bodies to integrate the work you have done.

I love this variation of savasana. It is incredibly grounding and the sensation and experience it provides is most exquisite.

I discovered it accidentally after a practice where I had made heavy use of the wall. Once I finally lay down my body was too close to the wall. My legs were straight but the soles of my feet connected into the wall. My first instinct was to move away by pushing off, but the curiosity in my mind said “why not stay?”

So I did.

And let me tell you, this was the most incredible savasana. No, it’s not the same as the usual, no-wall-middle-of-the-room savasana. Its different. It has a different flavor. It tastes different. It’s like discovering a new blend of coffee or tea–familiar yet layers of complexity revealing themselves as you smell, taste, and sit with the warm cup in your hand and on your tongue.

There is a depth to this variation.

For me, the depth is not immediate. In fact, most times I use this grounded savasana variation I start out all excited about how great it’s going to be, only to be confused by how weird it feels at first. The first initial connection of my feet to the wall feel kind of strange. Your feet bones, ankles, femurs, pelvis all have to adjust–they’re standing on the floor, but not.

But once I settle and give it a bit of time, this savasana variation just feels so charged. It feels like you are charging up from the earth; it’s really connecting, really grounding. I feel super connected and integrated; solid and secure. And when we are grounded and integrated there is an incredible lightness and gaiety.

Basically, it feels amazing.

I encourage you to try it out. Give it a little time once you are in the pose. Let the complexity of sensation build up and play out. Try out subtle variations. Leave comments below–I’m curious how it goes for you!

Benefits of Grounded Savasana

Savasana is beneficial for everyone.

This grounded variation may be particularly beneficial when you are feeling:

• anxiety
• nervous
• spacey
• flakey
• out of place
• Vata-disorder (Ayurveda)
• overwhelmed
• pulled in many directions;
• stressed
• after lots of back bends
• after lots of inversions

How to set up the pose (more…)