Relaxed Staff Pose
शिथिल दण्डासन
Śithila Daṇḍāsana — a beginner restorative pose that works the hamstrings, calves.
How to do Relaxed Staff Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Lie on your back and place a bolster or a firmly rolled blanket under both calves, close to the knees.
Let the heels hang just past the far edge of the bolster so nothing presses into the Achilles.
Slide a thin folded blanket under the head so the chin is level with the forehead.
Let the feet fall out to the sides and rest the arms wide, palms up.
Stay for the whole hold and let the legs be completely heavy on the prop.
Hold: 5–15 minutes. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Relaxed Staff Pose does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Supports the legs from below so the hip flexors and thighs have nothing to hold.
- Keeps a soft bend at the knees, which lets the lower back settle towards the floor.
- Provides a long supported hold in a position most people can take without any mobility at all.
Relaxed Staff Pose is one of 21 restorative poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Supported, low-effort poses held long, where the point is to stop working rather than to work.
Who should skip Relaxed Staff Pose, or change it
- Pregnancy after the first trimester — swap to a side-lying rest.
- Reflux or breathlessness lying flat, where a propped incline is more comfortable.
- Calf tenderness or a known clot risk in the legs, where firm pressure under the calves is not appropriate.
- Low back discomfort: move the bolster higher so the knees bend more.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Relaxed Staff Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeBolster placed under the ankles so the knees lock straight.
FixMove it up under the calves near the knees so the legs have a soft bend.
MistakeHeels pressing hard into the prop.
FixLet the heels overhang the far edge so nothing digs in.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Relaxed Staff Pose is mapped to the nearest published code — 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), 2 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 25 | 49 | 74 | 110 | 147 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Relaxed Staff Pose?
Lie on your back and place a bolster or a firmly rolled blanket under both calves, close to the knees. Let the heels hang just past the far edge of the bolster so nothing presses into the Achilles. Slide a thin folded blanket under the head so the chin is level with the forehead. Let the feet fall out to the sides and rest the arms wide, palms up. Stay for the whole hold and let the legs be completely heavy on the prop. Hold for 5–15 minutes.
What does Relaxed Staff Pose work?
Primarily the hamstrings, calves, with the lower back, glutes, neck assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: supports the legs from below so the hip flexors and thighs have nothing to hold.
Who should not do Relaxed Staff Pose?
Pregnancy after the first trimester — swap to a side-lying rest. Reflux or breathlessness lying flat, where a propped incline is more comfortable. Calf tenderness or a known clot risk in the legs, where firm pressure under the calves is not appropriate. Low back discomfort: move the bolster higher so the knees bend more. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Relaxed Staff Pose suitable for beginners?
Yes. Relaxed Staff Pose is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Relaxed Staff Pose burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Relaxed Staff Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), at 2 MET — about 74 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Sequences that use Relaxed Staff Pose
Related poses
More restorative poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.