Lower back, neck, hips, knees and ankles
Savasana: Short
A shorter deep-relaxation rest in a neutral lying position, letting your body and nervous system settle even when practice time is limited.
How to do it
- 1
Set a timer for one to three minutes
Deciding the length up front is what lets you actually stop. Put the phone out of reach once it is set.
- 2
Lie on your back, legs long, arms slightly away
Feet fall out to the sides, palms turn up. A cushion under the head keeps the chin from tipping upwards.
- 3
Give each breath out a little more time
With only a minute or two, one simple focus works better than trying to settle everything at once.
- 4
Stay until the timer, then roll onto your side
If your lower back is not happy lying flat, put a bolster or rolled blanket under the knees straight away rather than cutting the rest short.
What to watch for
Treating a short rest as the optional part of the practice and stopping it after 20 seconds. It only does anything if you stay for the whole time you set.
Ways to adjust it
- Bolster under knees
- Blanket under lumbar
- Pillow under head
- Rolled blanket under neck
- Blanket under ankles
- Feet wider apart
If this one is too much today
Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.
Other ways to do this movement
Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits.
Before you try it
Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.
Also part of sessions for
Each of those explains what the condition is, what the published guidance recommends, and where this movement fits.
One movement is a start. A session is the thing.
A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.
Start your first sessionFrom the clinically authored Vinys movement library.