Savasana, or shavasana is the Sanskrit name for an important restorative asana. It is a key component of asana practice in almost every yoga tradition, and is most commonly used at the end of a sequence as a means of relaxation and integration. Some schools also use it to calm the body and mind at the start of a class, and in both Sivananda and Yoga Therapy it is sometimes practiced between postures in order to calm the nervous system.

The term is derived from two Sanskrit roots; shava, meaning “corpse”, and asana meaning “seat” or “posture”. The first written record of savasana is found in classic 15th-century yoga text, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which says: “Lying down on the ground, like a corpse, is called savasana. It removes fatigue and gives rest to the mind”