Reclining Yoga Poses

Savasana

Lie flat, let everything go, and do nothing on purpose for several minutes. Corpse Pose is the simplest shape in yoga and often the hardest to actually settle into.

Ananda Balasana

On your back, knees drawn wide toward your armpits, hands holding the outsides of your feet. A playful, grounding hip opener that keeps the spine safe on the floor.

Pavanamuktasana

Hug one or both knees into your chest while lying on your back. A simple, honest pose: it compresses the belly, releases the lower back, and the name means what you think it means.

Supta Baddha Konasana

Lie back, bring the soles of your feet together, and let your knees fall open. With a bolster under the spine this is one of the most restful shapes in yoga.

Supta Padangusthasana

Lying on your back, you extend one leg to the ceiling and hold the big toe or a strap around the foot. All the hamstring stretch of a standing fold, with none of the balance work — the floor does the stabilizing.

Bananasana

A Yin favorite: lying on your back, you curve your whole body into a crescent — feet to one side, shoulders and arms to the same side — and stay a while. A long, lazy stretch for the entire side body.

Supta Kapotasana

Lying on your back, you cross one ankle over the opposite thigh and draw the legs in, stretching the outer hip. All the benefit of Pigeon Pose with the spine resting safely on the floor.

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A core staple of Kundalini yoga: lying on your back, you lift your head and heels a few inches, point your fingers toward your toes, and hold — usually with Breath of Fire. Simple to describe, demanding to hold.

Supta Virasana

From kneeling between your heels, you recline back toward the floor, stretching the front thighs, hip flexors, and ankles. Known as Fixed Firm in Bikram and Saddle in Yin — and in every tradition, a pose to enter gradually.

Supta Konasana

A wide-legged relative of Plow Pose from the Ashtanga finishing sequence: legs sweep overhead and apart, hands holding the big toes. It stretches the whole back body and the inner thighs at once.

Matsyasana

Lying on your back, you arch your chest toward the ceiling and rest lightly on the crown of your head, forearms bearing most of the weight. The classic counterpose to Shoulderstand and Plow.

Uttana Padasana

Fish Pose with the legs and arms lifted to about 45 degrees, palms pressed together. It appears in the Ashtanga finishing sequence and demands strong legs, an open chest, and a careful neck all at once.