Also known as the Mountain Pose.
Tadasana is the most basic yoga pose and is usually the starting pose. It is also known as Sama Stithi: Sama implies standing upright, and Stithi implies stillness. Hence, this pose means standing still like a mountain. BKS Iyengar refers to Tadasana as the basic standing pose in his book ‘Light on Yoga’.
To understand more about the history of standing meditation and its various forms, please see here on BIYOME
How to Perform Tadasana
1. Stand with heels placed slightly apart; the bases of your big toes and heels should be touching and second toes parallel to each other. Lift your toes and spread both the toes and the balls of your feet. Then put them down on the ground gently. Do the soft back and forth and side to side rocking movement, gradually reducing to a standstill and balance your weight evenly on both your feet.
2. Lift your knee caps while firming your thigh muscles simultaneously. Take care not to harden your lower belly. Lift the inner side of your ankles and strengthen the inner arches, then imagine as if a line of energy is present up, starting from your inner thighs to your groin and from there to the core of your torso, neck and head and finally moving out through the crown of your head. Turn your upper thighs slightly inward. Push/lengthen your tail bone towards the ground, simultaneously lifting the pubis towards the umbilicus/navel.
3. Press both shoulder blades inwards, then widen them and release them down your back. Lift the top area of your sternum towards the ceiling, keeping the sternum straight and without pushing the lower front ribs forward. Push your collarbones outward. Hang both your arms on the sides of your torso.
4. Keep the base of your chin parallel to the ground, throat relaxed, and tongue lying wide and flat on the floor of your mouth and balance the upper portion of your head (crown) directly above the centre of your pelvis. Relax your eyes.
5. Tadasana is generally the beginning position for most standing yoga poses; it is the basic standing yoga pose. However, it is quite useful to practise Tadasana as a pose by itself. While standing in the pose, breathe easily and stay in the pose for at least 30 seconds up to a 1-minute duration.
Tadasana Benefits
Western Physiology
Tadasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.
- Tadasana improves mental health:
- It helps in expelling dullness and depression (Bansal et al., 2013).
- It helps in increasing awareness (Sinha et al., 2021).
- It helps in harmonising the mind and body (Sinha et al., 2021).
- It leaves you feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and refreshed (Sinha et al., 2021).
- Tadasana benefits the spine:
- It develops flexibility and strength in the spine (Rathore et al., 2017).
- It helps in improving your posture (Rathore et al., 2017).
- Other therapeutic effects of Tadasana include but are not limited to:
- It helps in increasing overall energy and enthusiasm.
- It improves the balance (Grabara & Szopa, 2015).
- It strengthens your thighs, ankles and knees (Guner & Inanici, 2015).
- It increases mobility in the feet, legs and hips.
- It helps in the firming of the buttocks and abdomen (Guner & Inanici, 2015).
- It relieves the pain from sciatica.
- It helps in reducing flat feet (Guner & Inanici, 2015).
Yogic Physiology
This posture balances all doshas and is the correct standing posture from which all other postures emanate. One can practise sushumna breathing or use the so ham mantra in this practice to increase the flow of kundalini up and down the spine.
Our posture comes from our feet. Foot posture affects pelvic floor and the pelvic floor lift (mula bandha) affects mind or mental state.
Make sure the energy lifts upwards from the arch of the foot against gravity to uplift all diaphragms of the body and eventually the mind.
Contradictions and Cautions
Tadasana should not be performed if you are suffering from headache, insomnia or low blood pressure.
Preparatory Asanas
Follow up Asanas
Try to recreate the balanced feel of Tadasana in all standing asanas.
Tips for Beginners
In Tadasana, the balance can be improved via slightly spaced inside feet 3 to 5 inches apart.
Variations
The position of the arms can be changed in several ways; for example:
- Stretch your arms up, perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other, palms inward.
- Interlace your fingers, stretch your arms straight in front of your body, turn your palms to the side, then stretch your arms up, perpendicular to the floor, so that your palms are facing the ceiling.
- Cross your arms behind your back, holding each elbow with a hand on the opposite side (remember to cross your forearms in reverse order and repeat for an equal amount of time).
Modifications and Props
You can test your alignment in this pose by leaning back against a wall. Stand the way that the back of your heels, sacrum, and shoulder blades (but not the back of your head) touch the wall.
Deepen the Asana
To make your balance a little more complicated, do Tadasana with your eyes closed. Learn to balance without any connection to the external environment.
References
Bansal R, Gupta M, Agarwal B, Sharma S. Impact of short term yoga intervention on mental well being of medical students posted in community medicine: a pilot study. Indian J Community Med. 2013 Apr;38(2):105-8. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.112445.
Sinha A, Kumari S, Ganguly M. Development, validation, and feasibility of a school-based short duration integrated classroom yoga module: A pilot study design. J Educ Health Promot. 2021 May 20;10:148. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_674_20
Rathore M, Trivedi S, Abraham J, Sinha MB. Anatomical correlation of core muscle activation in different yogic postures. Int J Yoga [serial online] 2017 [cited 2022 Jul 17];10:59-66. Available from: https://www.ijoy.org.in/text.asp?2017/10/2/59/205515
Grabara M, Szopa J. Effects of hatha yoga exercises on spine flexibility in women over 50 years old. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Feb;27(2):361-5. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.361.
Guner, S., & Inanici, F. (2015). Yoga therapy and ambulatory multiple sclerosis Assessment of gait analysis parameters, fatigue and balance. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 19(1), 72–81. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2014.04.004
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