Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
This deceptively simple pose is the foundation for all yoga standing poses and helps develop good posture.
How to do it
Stand with the feet hip distance apart. The feet should be parallel (neither turned out nor turned in) – this will vary from person to person – either the big toes should be parallel or the second toes. The point is that the feet and therefore the knees are pointing straight forward. The weight is evenly distributed over the bottom of the feet – the big toes, balls of the feet, outside of the feet and the heels. Sway back and forward a few times to get a feel for the equal distribution of weight.
With the arms and hands relaxed by the sides of the body, focus on your spine and feel its natural curves. The lower back curves towards the front of the body – make sure the curve is neither too pronounced (buttocks sticking out) nor too flattened. In the absence of a live teacher who can assess your physical shape, this is a matter of trial and error, seeing how it feels in your own body. One way to do it is to put one hand on the lower back and one on the belly below the navel and sway your pelvis back and forth a few times, finding a mid point that feels balanced. The pubic bone and two hip bones should line up so that if they were all touching a piece of paper, that paper would be exactly vertical to the ground, neither slanting backwards nor forwards. The upper back, where the ribcage is attached, naturally curves away from the front of the body. Again, this curve should be neither too pronounced (chest caving in) nor too flattened (chest thrust out unnaturally). Relax the shoulder blades down the back and towards the spine, without tensing the muscles nor pulling the chest too far forwards. There should be a gentle lifting of the breastbone up to the sky. The neck curves towards the front of the body, neither curving too much nor too little. The head is balanced effortlessly on top of the spine, with the chin and forehead in a vertical alignment with each other – the chin neither jutting forward nor pulling back into the neck. Bringing the ears over the shoulders helps ensure good alignment in the neck and head. If you stand against a wall, the parts of the body that touch the wall are the backs of the heels, the hips and part of the lower spine, the backs of the ribs and shoulderblades and the back of the head. This can also be a good way to check and practise good alignment. Holding all this together, see if you can feel a lifting and lengthening of the spine all the way up through the centre and back of the head, and a simultaneous grounding down through the tailbone, legs and feet. Lengthening of the spine does not mean a flattening of its natural curves. Gaze at a fixed point directly in front or on the ground in front of you and breathe slowly, deeply and evenly. How does this feel compared to your habitual posture? Feel the solid rock foundation of the mountain and the light airy peak in the sky. |
Variations
There are many arm positions possible in Tadasana, for example,
In Ashtanga Yoga, this position is referred to as Samasthitih (Equal standing posture) and is practised with the feet together instead of hip distance apart. Also, check out the two dynamic versions of Tadasana which form part of the Shankhaprakshalana asana series. |
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