Please do not be shocked at my revelation here: There is no actual yoga asana called “legs on the couch.” However, I’m not referring to lying any old way on a sofa — though that has its place in life too.
Rather, I’m talking about my very favorite way to take savasana. Though now that I think about it, it’s more like a combination of mountain brook pose and legs up the wall.
Basically, it involves scooting my hips and thighs up near the base of my couch, resting my lower legs on the couch, and reclining with my upper body. It ends up looking a lot like this except with, you know, a couch instead of a chair. Unlike legs up the wall, my thighs aren’t vertical in this pose, but I think that’s primarily a function of leg length and couch height and will vary for different people.
I like two things about this pose especially. One is that my legs feel more supported than they do either in legs up the wall or in constructive rest (with knees bent and feet flat on the floor), so it’s easier to relax that part of my body. The other is that my lower back feels more supported than it does in a traditional savasana, so it’s easier to relax that part of my body. Also my upper back is supported — which happens in other poses but is still a big deal to me since it’s a place where I carry a lot of tension.
For those reasons, not only do I like legs on the couch as a final relaxation pose — but I also like it any time I have five minutes and need to relax.
