Tadasana

"Mountain Pose"

 

 Tadasana is the most foundational of all of the asanas.  Once you have worked with tadasana, you truly have the body sense necessary to begin to deepen into every other pose.

Benefits of the pose:

* Tadasana teaches the foundation of most other asana.

* Tadasana is a neutral pose. It is neither energizing or relaxing; heating or cooling.

* Tadasana challenges intelligence and subtle awareness of the body.

 

Entering the pose:

Begin by standing with feet directly under the hips -- toes pointing forward and arms hanging loosely at the sides. If it's comfortable, close the eyes gently. Alternatively, rest your gaze a few feet in front of you on the floor. Take a few moments to tune into your body from the inside -- noticing the breath moving into the body, defining the inner space, and exiting with ease.

Now, bring your awareness to the soles of the feet. Feel the mat or floor beneath the feet and accept the full support of the Earth. Feel a point at the center of the heels, a point at the base of the pinky toes, and a point at the base of the big toes and let this full triangle of the sole of the foot sink heavily into the mat or floor.

Draw all ten toes up off of the mat or floor. Notice the legs activating and the kneecaps lifting. Feel the stretch across the tops of the feet and between the toes. Slowly fan the toes back down to the floor, beginning by placing the pinky toes and moving in towards the big toes. Aspire to place them each down individually, articulating each toe seperately. Breathe and feel the full weight of all ten toes and the soles of the feet firmly resting on the support of the Earth. Imagine roots reaching down out of the feet as you exhale. Imagine the sustaining energy of the Earth drawing up through those roots and entering your body as you inhale.

From the feet, move up to an awareness of your ankles. Gently move the ankles from side to side, ending by stacking them direclty on top of the feet, neither rolling out or in. Feel that the achilles tendon beginning at the back of the heel is long and straight. Breathe.

Feel the lower leg muscles draw in toward the two lower leg bones -- the tibia and fibula -- and up. Feel the kneecaps still lifting and working to face toward the front as the thighs gently roll in towards each other. Breathe. 

Use your thumbs to feel at the hips for the heads of the big thigh bones -- the femurs. It can be found just at the outside of the leg crease at the front of the hip. Take your thumbs to the front of the femur heads and gentle guide them back just a fraction of an inch until you can feel that they are firmly placed in the hip sockets. Feel the stabilty created by having the legs in exquisite alignment from toes to hip sockets. Breathe.

Bring your awareness now to the bowl of the pelvis. The femurs are firmly in the hip sockets, which naturally draws the tailbone down and slightly forward toward the pubic bone. The top ridges of the pelvis are even -- neither tipping forward or back or to either side. Feel the neutrality of the hips.

Engage the abdomen by drawing the belly button up toward the sternum. Feel the rise in the front of the body that counters the natural drawing down of the back of the body. As you do this, feel the space created between the hip bones and the low ribs. Feel the heart center naturally open and humming. Breathe into this space and feel the vibration strengthen.

Take a moment to roll the shoulders forward, exagerating the stretch behind the shoulder blades, then rolling the shoulders up around and down the back, letting the scapula move down and in. Feel the trapezius and the deltoids soften and the arms heavy by the sides. Turn the palms open to the front, rotating at the wrists to point forward with the pinkies. Keeping this opening across the collar bones and the heart center and the forward rotation of the elbow joints, rotate the hands at the wrist to bring the palms to face the thighs. Breathe, feeling the space created by returning the body to it's natural structural balance point.

Feel the neck rising easily up out of the spine and the head stacked directly on top of the spinal column. Dip the chin slightly as the crown of the head reaches up toward the heavens.

Breathe and feel the vibration of your own radiance.