This is a wonderful meditation pose. At the start you may wish to feel the connection that you have made with Mother Earth, by bringing your awareness to your feet and to feel the gentle pulse and positive energies emanating from the ground. To heighten your awareness, hold your hands in Namaste, the prayer position, by gently placing your thumbs against your heart centre. This is also a really good posture to use if you want to ground your energies.

To deepen your awareness you could close your eyes throughout. If you experience dizzy spells, focus on a spot in front or ahead. You could also stand with your back towards a wall for support.

• Begin by standing with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Raise your toes slightly off the floor and one by one, gently place them back onto the floor. Bringing your body slightly forwards, raise your heels and then gently lower them to the floor. Feel firmly rooted, visualising tree-roots growing downwards and outwards from your feet, grounding your connection with Mother Earth.
• Raise your awareness towards your calf muscles. Breathe into them and on your out-breath, gently relax them feeling them soften. Now to your knees, if they feel locked gently bring your knees forwards so that they feel soft.
• Move your awareness to your thigh muscles. Again, breathe into them and feel them relaxing on your out-breath.
• Now breathe into your pelvic region. Ensure your pelvis is in neutral and facing forwards. Tuck your tailbone in. Engage ten percent of your core stability muscles.
• Imagine there is a golden thread attached to the crown of your head. On your in-breath, feel your spine extending and growing towards the ceiling.
• Raise your shoulders towards your ears on your in-breath, and gently relax on your out-breath. Gently roll your shoulders up towards your ears, and relaxing back down as you expand your chest and heart-centre. Absorb the softness in your fingers and hands as you feel them relaxing and letting go.
• Tuck your chin in slightly to elongate your spine a little more.
• Scan your body one more time to ensure that you are comfortable and relaxed. Using your breath to breathe into an area which may feel uncomfortable, and as you breathe out, become aware of your body settling into an inner still-point of calmness and serenity.

 

Summary of Tadasana – Yoga Mountain Pose

Alignment points	Contra-indications	Safety Instructions	Benefits
Feet, ankles, knees face forwards at hip width apart Hips and shoulders forwards Tail-bone tucked under Spine aligned Chin tucked in Crown-centre connecting with the sky	Avoid standing for too long if experiencing hip or knee problems	Start with your back to the wall for support if you have dizzy spells/unsteady on your feet Keep your eyes open for reasons above	Empowering Fully aligns the body Brings about calmness and inner peace Useful for meditation practice Steadies the mind Allows you to become a channel between the earth and heaven above