MOUNTAIN POSE (Tadasana)
MOUNTAIN POSE
Mountain Pose is the starting point for many standing postures and a great entry point to teach beginners about their body.
Also excellent for building postural awareness, Mountain Pose helps students find a new approach to something so ordinary – STANDING.
Once you learn the basics of Mountain Pose, I encourage you to try it out in the world – standing in line at the bank, the grocery store, anywhere. It can do wonders for your sense of groundedness in THIS moment.
BENEFITS of MOUNTAIN POSE include:
- Improved posture
- Strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles
- Firms abdomen and buttocks
- Relieves sciatica
ALIGNMENT
Step the feet together, touch the BIG TOES, and set the heels slightly apart. (If you’re pregnant or your balance is otherwise compromised, step the feet hip width apart.)
Softly spread the toes apart and rock onto the balls of the feet, then the heels.
Find the CENTERPOINT where you are BALANCED EVENLY on the feet.
Activate the feet by lifting up the inner arches. Press all four corners of the feet into the ground.
Engage the quadriceps and lift the knee caps.
Slightly release the tailbone down.
Soften the shoulders down, away from the ears.
Widen the shoulder blades across the back and lift the sternum to the sky.
Spread the collarbones, left and right.
Keep the underside of the chin, parallel to the earth.
Open the arms, palms facing up.
WORK IN THE POSE
Imagine drawing energy up through the earth – through the feet, travelling up the spine and showering out the crown of the head.
Relax the jaw and soften the face.
Soften the tongue inside the mouth, and allow the gaze to be soft.
Photo courtesy of www.xarj.net
Catherine Tingey
Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 33 years and teaching privately for 13 years.
About the Author
Catherine Tingey+ Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 33 years and teaching privately for 13 years.
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