Mountain pose, or Tadasana, may treat conditions like Parkinson’s disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Though it seems deceptively simple, Tadasana has complex benefits. It can help correct muscle imbalances, improve posture, and deepen awareness.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Stand with the base of your big toes touching, heels slightly apart (so that the outside edges of your feet are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then relax them back down.
Step 2: Keeping your lower belly soft, activate your thigh muscles and lift the knee caps (lift your quads). Lift the inner ankles to strengthen the arches of your feet. Imagine a line of energy rising all the way up from the arches of your feet, along your inner thighs to your groins, follow that line of energy up through the core of your torso, neck, and head, and out through the crown of your head.
Step 3: Tuck your shoulder blades in towards one another then let them slide down your back towards your hips. Draw your lower front ribs back into your body and lift the top of your sternum straight toward the ceiling. Broaden across your collarbones and your arms hang beside the torso. Keeping the arms and fingers active, visualize energy flowing down your arms and through your fingertips.
Step 4: Balance hips over heels, shoulders over hips, and the crown of your head directly over the centre of your pelvis. Have the underside of your chin parallel to the floor, soften your throat, and relax your tongue. Soften your eyes and the muscles of your face.
Step 5: Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing easily.
Tips & Tricks to Conquer Tadasana
- Check your alignment: You may find more stability in this pose by standing with your feet hip distance apart. Or you can challenge your balance by closing your eyes. Closing your eyes is a great way to improve your awareness of the pose and alignment.
- Notice where you are carrying your weight: Find a gentle rocking motion, back and forth, and side to side. Gradually reduce this motion until you stand still with your weight balanced evenly across the feet.** Do you stand with your weight further forward towards your toes or back towards your heels?
- Don’t flatten the curve of your lumbar spine by tucking your tailbone down, under, or anywhere else for that matter. This will push your hips forward and prevent you from finding that long line from your feet through the crown of your head.
Other Variations:
You can bring your palms together at the heart centre (Anjali mudra) or try interlacing your fingers behind your back, reaching the hands down past the tailbone, and lifting the sternum straight up.
Check your breath:
Notice the effect that adjusting your alignment has on your breathing. As you inhale visualize energy rising from the base of your spine and up through the crown of your head drawing you taller. As you exhale, maintaining the length of your spine visualize your weight dropping down through your heels, into the earth.
Use props:
Props are not cheating. They are only a crutch if you make them one. Use a block gripped between your thighs to engage your adductors (inner thighs muscles), grow tall from the arches of the feet, and press your inner thighs back behind you.
Check in the Mirror:
There is no shame in taking a look at yourself in the mirror. It is a great way to check the natural alignment of the body in a posture. Do the arches of your feet drop? What effect does that have on your knees, your pelvis, your spine, shoulders, and the position of your head?