Tadasana
Tadasana (tah-DAHS-ah-nah), also known as Mountain Pose, is a foundational standing posture in yoga. It is often the starting and finishing point for other poses and sequences, such as Sun Salutations, and serves as a transition or resting pose between more dynamic movements.
The name comes from the Sanskrit words “tada,” meaning “mountain,” and “asana,” meaning “posture” or “seat.” While it may seem like a simple act of standing, Tadasana is a conscious and active pose that engages the entire body.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet together or hip-width apart. In some traditions, the big toes touch with the heels slightly apart, while others prefer the feet to be parallel and hip-width apart for a more stable base.
- Distribute your weight evenly. Ground down through all four corners of your feet: the ball of your big toe, the ball of your pinky toe, and the inner and outer sides of your heels.
- Engage your leg muscles. Lift your kneecaps to engage your quadriceps and lift your inner arches.
- Tuck your tailbone slightly. This helps to bring your pelvis into a neutral position and lengthen your lower back. Avoid tilting your pelvis too far forward or back.
- Draw your navel in and up to engage your core muscles, providing support for your spine.
- Broaden your chest and roll your shoulders back and down away from your ears.
- Let your arms hang naturally at your sides, with your palms facing forward.
- Lengthen your neck and keep your head balanced over your shoulders, with your chin parallel to the floor.
- Close your eyes or find a soft gaze straight ahead to focus on your balance.
Benefits:
Tadasana is a powerful pose despite its simplicity. By focusing on alignment and conscious engagement, it offers a variety of benefits for both the body and mind.
- Improves Posture: It teaches proper alignment of the spine, shoulders, and hips, which can help correct poor posture and alleviate back and neck pain.
- Strengthens and Tones: It strengthens the feet, ankles, knees, thighs, and core muscles.
- Enhances Balance and Stability: By requiring you to distribute your weight evenly and stand still, Tadasana improves your sense of balance and proprioception (your body’s awareness in space).
- Promotes Mindfulness: The pose encourages you to become more aware of your body, your breath, and the present moment.
- Energizes and Calms: It can be both an energizing pose, as it requires conscious engagement, and a calming one, as it encourages stillness and focused breathing.
- Grounding: Symbolically and physically, Tadasana connects you to the earth, helping to reduce stress and anxiety and cultivate a sense of rootedness and stability.