Stonehenge: back pain relief – Hugger Mugger

            This message was posted on February 17, 2026 by Charlotte Bell.            </p><div>
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Savasana (relaxation pose) is a welcome change, the well-deserved dessert after your asana practice. It is a time of rest and integration, the time when you can lie still and absorb the benefits of your asana practice.

But for some people it’s actually not that relaxing. I often see students lie down on the floor, then fidget, bend their knees, place a roller under the lumbar spine, etc. That’s when I know they need support, not under their back, but instead under their lower legs. When I place support under their legs, relief from back pain is almost always immediate.

Why does leg support relieve back pain?

When your legs are extended on the floor, the hip flexors extend. When shortened hip flexors passively extend, as in Savasana, the low back is pulled into hyperextension. That’s where back problems come from. Shortened hip flexors are quite common in our culture. Due to our widespread cultural habit of sitting in a marathon chair, many people end up with shortened hip flexors. This is because sitting puts all our joints in a flexed position. Over time, the muscles shorten.

That’s one reason why asana practices are so important. There are many postures that work against our normally flexed joints. As we actively exercise, we expect to feel a sense of stretch. It’s part of the process. The feeling of stretch in the hip flexors, together with the extension of the low back, therefore feels normal in most postures. It is usually only when we lie passively in Savasana that we actually feel our chronic hip flexors – in the low back.

Savasana is most effective when we can relax completely. If we feel restless and uncomfortable, our nervous systems will continue to feel agitated. We will not feel the calm sense of ease that characterizes a deep Savasana. The good news is that relief is easy to find.

Stonehenge: Back Pain Relief in Savasana – and More

There are many ways to support the legs in Savasana. On Hugger Mugger’s blog you will find many articles describing options for strengthening the legs. These options include the use of Standard, Round, Junior and Pranayama yoga bolsters, and combinations thereof. I learned about Stonehenge many years ago during a Restorative Yoga teacher training at Judith Hanson Lasater. Several of my students find Stonehenge to be the most effective way to find back pain relief in Savasana, and they have done this in every class.

Stonehenge has some characteristics of a very mild inversion. The pose can be a good substitute for poses such as Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall) or even Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) for people for whom full inversions are contraindicated. This also applies to people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, detached retina, heavy periods or glaucoma. So instead of simply putting these people in the standard go-to, Balasana (Child’s Pose), set them up in Stonehenge, which will give them some of the benefits of inversion without the risks.

How to set Stonehenge

1. Gather your props: a yoga mat, two 4-inch yoga blocks, and a standard yoga bolster. Do not use 3-inch yoga blocks for this pose. They are more likely to fall over than the wider 10 cm blocks.
2. Place your blocks in the tallest dimension at the foot of your mat. Position them so that they are about the same width as your hips. This width is important because the blocks are too close together. The weight of your legs can cause the cushion to sink down on either side, which can destabilize the blocks. The same applies if the blocks are too far apart; the pillow may sag in the middle. So you want the blocks to sit right under your legs for the best support.
3. Place your pillow widthwise on your blocks, so that it lies crosswise on your mat.
4. Lie on your mat with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Bend your knees toward your chest, then place your calves on the pillow. You may need to adjust your hips toward or away from the pillow to find your most comfortable position.
5. Relax and enjoy.

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            <strong class="author-name">About Charlotte Bell</strong>




                Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and began teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is titled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner's Guide to Protecting the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly column for CATALYST Magazine and is an editor for Yoga U Online. Charlotte is a founding member of GreenTREE Yoga, a nonprofit organization that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and folk sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.                
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