Mountain Pose: Find your foundation
By Mindy Arbuckle, E-RYT
Mountain Pose, Tadasana, is a wonderfully simple pose with deep hidden power. It is a standing pose that is the foundation of all other yoga postures. It is said that an element of Mountain can be found in all other yoga postures.
The basis of this posture is to stand firmly on the earth, rooting down through your feet and toes. Connecting to the earth’s energy and allowing it to support you. You feel that energy rise up through the legs and into your pelvis. The spine gracefully grows up out of the pelvic bowl. Your shoulders rest easefully on your body and the arms are empowered yet show no sign of strain. The head and neck sit majestically on the body and display your beautiful peak.
Tadasana is the ultimate expression of neutral in the body and the mind. The body is fully aligned, your joints are stacked, the spine has its natural curvature, the muscles are balanced between effort and rest and the breath flows easily. The mind is calm. It is centered in the self, deep within the mountain. It does not worry what it looks like or its surroundings. The mind knows it is perfection.
This posture promotes the strength, stillness, gentle power and firm stability we associate with mountains. When you are in the mountains you are connected to the beauty, power and grace that nature holds.
When you stand in mountain, connect to your spirit center, the peak of your mountain and imagine yourself receiving the gift of rain water from above. Feel it purify and enliven your fortitude toward a higher goal in life. Allow this life giving rain to run down your body and condense into rivers and share this sustaining energy with the world as a river sustains life throughout the land.
All Mountains are perfect no matter what they look like. The base creates a foundation, the core of the mountain lends strength and commitment which allows the peak to rest gracefully atop it all. Let Mountain Pose create support in your life, to be dedicated to yourself, manifest your dreams and live a life of spirit and grace. Find your perfection in Tadasana.
View this video to learn more about how to practice Mountain Pose.
About the author:
Mindy Arbuckle is the owner of Green Mountain Yoga in Arvada, CO. She has been studying and teaching yoga for most of her adult life and is passionate about helping people through positive and intentional self transformation.
