Tadasana: Mountain Pose

POSE: Mountain Pose

SANSKRIT NAME: Tadasana

While this pose may look easy, there is a lot going on here! You may be surprised by how challenging it can be to stand still for thirty seconds…one minute…two minutes. It is as much an exercise of the mind as it is of the body.

Tadasana is a yoga pose that is easy to incorporate into your daily life. I like to check in with my posture throughout the day and find my Tadasana when I’m at work, when I’m doing the dishes, when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store…

BENEFITS: Improves balance, improves posture, strengthens leg and foot muscles, balances the root chakra

HOW TO: Press into the four corners of the feet while lifting through the arches, refrain from locking the knees, gently engage the abdominal muscles, drop the shoulders down and back; as you root down through the lower body, reach up through the crown of the head, lengthening the spine. This pose may be practiced on its own or as a transition into other standing poses.

To check your alignment, you can practice this pose with your back against a wall.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Vertigo, headache

MODIFICATION: Mountain Pose in a chair

BENEFITS: Improves posture and soothes the root chakra without the challenge of balancing

EXPERT TIPS: Sit at the edge of a flat chair. Make sure your weight is distributed evenly between your sit bones and that your pelvis is not tilted forward or backward. As you root down through the feet and sit bones, allow the crown of the head to reach up toward the sky, lengthening through the spine. This is an excellent position for meditation.