Mountain – Standing Poses in Hatha Yoga

(Tadasana)

Drishti

• Forward

Physical Benefits

• Aligns the spine
• Tones the abdominal muscles and buttocks
• Opens the chest
• Improves posture
• Strengthens the arches, ankles, knees, and thighs

Mental Benefits

• Improves focus
• Develops willpower
• Reduces mild anxiety

Make sure your knees face directly  ahead; adjust your feet slightly if necessary. Hug your leg muscles to the bone on all sides by engaging the muscles from skin to muscle and muscle to bone; pull the muscles up from your feet into your pelvis.

1. Stand with your feet parallel. Draw an imaginary line from the center of your ankle through the second toe of each foot and make those lines parallel to each other.
2. Inhale and take the tops of your thighs back so that your hips stick out in back. Exhale and balance the backward action of your thighs by lengthening from your tailbone downward through your feet. This action moves your hip flesh down and creates a lifting action below your navel. Inhale and extend from your pelvis up through the top of your head, keeping your heart lifted and your chest open.
3. Stay in the pose for several full breaths and notice how you feel, then release.

Lengthen the sides of your body, take your shoulders back, and bring the shoulder blades more onto your back.

Other Variations