Corpse Pose

Muscles worked by the Corpse Pose

Primary

Lower BackErector Spinae

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Corpse Pose

1. Lie on your back with the legs a comfortable distance apart and the feet falling open.
2. Rest the arms slightly away from the body with the palms facing up.
3. Let the whole body soften into the floor, including the jaw, the eyes and the hands.
4. Stay for the prescribed time, breathing naturally without controlling the breath.
5. Bend the knees and roll to one side before sitting up slowly.

Form tips

• Place a bolster under the knees if the lower back does not settle.
• Cover yourself with a blanket; the body cools quickly once it stops moving.
• This pose is meant to require no effort at all — resist the urge to adjust constantly.

At a glance

Corpse Pose in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Back Lever
• Mountain Pose

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "savasana",
  "name_en": "Corpse Pose",
  "name_de": "Totenstellung",
  "name_es": "Postura del Cadáver",
  "description_en": "The closing rest of a practice: lying flat on the back with the body completely passive, letting the effects of the session settle.",
  "description_de": "Die Schlussentspannung einer Praxis: flach auf dem Rücken liegen, der Körper vollkommen passiv, damit sich die Wirkung der Einheit setzen kann.",
  "description_es": "El descanso final de una práctica: tumbado boca arriba con el cuerpo completamente pasivo, dejando que los efectos de la sesión se asienten.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "full_body",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back with the legs a comfortable distance apart and the feet falling open.",
    "Rest the arms slightly away from the body with the palms facing up.",
    "Let the whole body soften into the floor, including the jaw, the eyes and the hands.",
    "Stay for the prescribed time, breathing naturally without controlling the breath.",
    "Bend the knees and roll to one side before sitting up slowly."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf den Rücken, die Beine angenehm auseinander, die Füße fallen nach außen.",
    "Leg die Arme etwas vom Körper entfernt ab, die Handflächen nach oben.",
    "Lass den ganzen Körper in den Boden sinken, auch Kiefer, Augen und Hände.",
    "Bleib für die vorgegebene Zeit und atme natürlich, ohne den Atem zu steuern.",
    "Beug die Knie und roll dich zur Seite, bevor du dich langsam aufsetzt."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con las piernas cómodamente separadas y los pies cayendo hacia fuera.",
    "Deja los brazos algo separados del cuerpo con las palmas hacia arriba.",
    "Permite que todo el cuerpo se ablande contra el suelo, incluidos la mandíbula, los ojos y las manos.",
    "Permanece durante el tiempo indicado, respirando con naturalidad y sin controlar la respiración.",
    "Flexiona las rodillas y rueda hacia un lado antes de incorporarte despacio."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Place a bolster under the knees if the lower back does not settle.",
    "Cover yourself with a blanket; the body cools quickly once it stops moving.",
    "This pose is meant to require no effort at all — resist the urge to adjust constantly."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Leg ein Bolster unter die Knie, wenn der untere Rücken nicht zur Ruhe kommt.",
    "Deck dich mit einer Decke zu - der Körper kühlt schnell aus, sobald er sich nicht mehr bewegt.",
    "Diese Haltung soll überhaupt keine Anstrengung kosten - widersteh dem Drang, ständig nachzujustieren."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Coloca un bolster bajo las rodillas si la zona lumbar no termina de asentarse.",
    "Cúbrete con una manta; el cuerpo se enfría rápido en cuanto deja de moverse.",
    "Esta postura no debe costar ningún esfuerzo: resiste el impulso de reajustarte constantemente."
  ],
  "met": 1.3,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/savasana-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "savasana");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.