Pose of the Week: Tadasana / Mountain Pose...

So I figured it was time I start doing a pose of the week.  Sometimes ideas to write in my blog can be few so this will be nice to at least have a weekly post.

During these posts, I will give some insight, in my own words, on what the pose means to me and what I feel in each pose.  I will always find a pretty picture of the final pose for your reference! 

I will also break a pose down for you on a technical basis so you get a little deeper knowledge of the posture, which isn't always provided in yoga class because it can be a little dry.   Knowing the technicalities of each pose is what avoids injuries and allows you to experience the full postural benefits. A good solid base will allow you to extend deeper into postures when you are ready.

I will try my best to explain and highlight the main actions.  Obviously it is easier to show you but I am not so keen on the video blog thing.  Also, these moves I am instructing are subtle and slight.  Once you get the hang of it, you feel it deeper in your body even though there isnt much movement happening visably.

So here goes!

Tadasana / Mountain Pose: Rooted into the ancient earth, solid against the limitless sky, resting, peaceful giant, able to weather any storm calmly and with integrity.

Tadasana is traditionally a resting posture.  It is thrown in after a vigorous set of sun salutations or a deep back bend. It calms the mind, lowers your heart rate and brings the awareness back to your body.   Although this is a resting posture, it does not mean we are not using and engaging our bodies. They call it mountain pose for a reason...we are solid in this pose.

• Bring your feet to touch at the front of your mat, toes touching, heels slightly apart.
• Inhale and exhale to deeply root your feet into the earth. Ground through the mounds of the big toe knuckle and the outside of the heel.  This will create a balanced connection. Spread the toes wide and open down onto your mat.  
• Hug your shins in together as if you are squeezing a soccer ball in between them.
• Lift up through the shins, allowing the bones to get heavy and the muscles to lift up and be light.
• Soften the knees slightly to avoid hyper extension of the knees.
• Send the inner thighs back towards the back wall as if you wanted to slightly stick your bum out.  This is called an inner spiral of the thighs.
• Keeping the inner thighs back and engaged, gently drop the tailbone to the floor or allow the front hipbones to point up slightly.  
• After dropping the tail bone, lift and engage the core. The scooping of the tail bone and the core lifting up is a pelvic loop.  
• Bring the shoulders up and back settling the blades peacefully against your spine. 
• Drop the shoulders away from the ears and grow taller through the crown of your head.
• Bring your arms and hands at your sides, palms open to the front or to your heart center in prayer, pressing the hands together with gentle passion.
• Find a gaze in front of you and breath deeply into the solidity you have created in your Mountain Pose.

Tadasana improves posture, balance, it challenges the thigh muscles and arches of the feet and it can help with Sciatica symptoms.  Tadasana also shows us the easy representation, in a neutral posture, of what goes on in almost every yoga posture.

If balance is problematic for you, try using the wall or slightly seperating the feet.
To challenge yourself, try closing your eyes and lifting the arms up overhead into an Extended Mountain Pose.

Try it out!  Let me know how it goes.

Namaste xo.