Tadasana: Step-by-Step
- Kirk Crider
- Jun 11, 2015
- 2 min read
Tada-Mountain Asana-posture
Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, is the foundation and a great starting pose for all standing yoga
poses. A good understanding of Tadasana will transform the rest of your practice. Although it may seem simple, there is a vast difference between an engaged Tadasana and just standing there.
Here are step-by-step instructions to engae Tadasana:
Stand with the big toes slightly touching one another, the heels apart. Lift and spread the toes. Place them gently and evenly on the floor. Be mindful of both feet in their entirety during this process. Feel the arches as they naturally lift up.
Lift the ankles and knee caps. Keep the thighs firm. Line up the ankles, knees and hips.
Lengthen the tailbone to the floor (careful not to tuck it under) while lifting the pubis toward the navel area.
Visualize a line of energy running from the ground, through the feet & ankles all the way up to the crown of the head.
Gently lengthen the spine toward the sky.
Let the shoulder blades drop back and down. Relax.
Lift the sternum and let the arms hang softly.
Balance your head over the pelvis. Keep the chin parallel to the floor. Keep the eyes, Jaw and throat soft.
Maintain awareness of your entire body. Focus on the grounding action from the feet through to the pelvis and the lengthening of the spine.
Tadasana can be practiced alone as a pose, holding the pose for up 1 minute. It is usually the base position for all other standing poses.
You can deepen the experience by practicing this pose with your eyes closed. Learn to balance without any reference to the external environment.
Try to recreate the balanced sensation of Tadasana in all standing yoga poses.
Benefits of Tadasana:
Improved posture
Strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles
Firms the abdomen and buttocks
Relieves sciatica
Helps with flat feet
Variations:
You can alter the position of your arms in a number of ways; for example: stretch the arms upward, perpendicular to the floor and parallel with each other, with the palms facing inward, interlace the fingers, extend the arms straight in front of your torso, turn the palms away, then stretch the arms upward so the palms face the ceiling, feel the stretch through your torso and spine; cross the arms behind your back, holding each elbow (or forearm) with the opposite-side hand (be sure to reverse the cross of the arms and repeat for an equal length of time).
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