Tadasana: How’s Your Mountain?

I’ve been trying to come up with a good topic for the first post of the renewal of Palm Yoga’s blog. There’s so much to talk about when it comes to yoga that it’s hard to find a place to begin! So in the end, I decided to begin at the beginning. For asana (posture), that means Tadasana (Mountain Pose).

Tadasana forms the base of all standing poses in yoga. To the inexperienced eye, it looks like your just standing there, but yogis know better! The principles we learn in Tadasana apply to all postures, and while it may seem easy, settling into the correct alignment can be difficult. After all, most of us are combating years of poor postural habits. But once you find your Tadasana, the body settles, the breath flows, and mind and body are centered and balanced. That’s the best part of yoga!

B.K.S. Iyengar in Tadasana

So why do we put such a large emphasis on Tadasana? It’s important to know how to stand correctly for the sake of your practice and for the sake of your back. Your practice benefits from a strong Tadasana because it teaches awareness of the body, balance, proper alignment and centering, both physically and mentally. These lessons appear in every asana practiced in yoga.

In addition, your back will thank you! Most people do not stand or sit in a way that maintains the correct curves of the spinal column. More often than not, people will tuck their hips and buttocks under them, reducing the natural curve of the lumbar spine. Through time, this can weaken the back muscles, causing lower back injury. Tadasana promotes correct alignment so those muscles are strong and able to support the weight of the upper body without strain.

Tadasana is one of the easiest postures to bring “off the mat.” Next time you’re annoyed at a long line in the grocery store, practice Tadasana! It will give you something to focus on and improve your posture at the same time. You can practice at the post office, in amusement parks, at work — pretty much everywhere.

Feel like you have Tadasana down? Next time, try closing your eyes! Once visual cues are taken away, you can become more aware of your body and start to delve into all those details that might otherwise be overlooked. Closing the eyes is a fun variation for all asana, especially balance poses.

So tell me, where do you practice Tadasana? While practicing, do you feel calm and relaxed or itch to move on? Is Tadasana difficult or a cinch? Let us know in the comments!

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