Yoga For Beginners: Tadasana (Mountain Pose) – Free Online Yoga Video

Tadasana is known as the blueprint pose for all of the standing poses in yoga. In other words, it sets the body up with correct alignment that is translatable to the other standing poses. This wonderful breakdown of Mountain Pose by YogaUOnline’s Jasmine Punzalan will provide subtle actions that may transform your yoga practice for years to come. Check out the free online yoga video tutorial below and follow along.

Tadasana/Mountain Pose Benefits

Tadasana prepares the body for the rest of your yoga practice by teaching proper alignment and muscle actions from head to foot. More specifically, tadasana can also do the following:

• Improves posture
• Strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles
• Increases awareness
• Steadies breathing
• Increases strength, power, and mobility in the feet, legs, and hips
• Firms abdomen and buttocks
• Reduces flat feet
• Expels dullness and depression
• Harmonizes the body and mind
• Increases energy and enthusiasm

Mountain Pose From the Ground Up: Awaken Your Feet in Tadasana

1. Start with the big toes touching and the heels a few inches apart. If you feel unsteady, you can bring the feet to hips distance apart.

2. With either stance, make sure the outsides of the feet are parallel with the sides of your mat.

3. Lift all of your toes off the ground; this will energetically lift the inner arches of your feet. Now ground down through all four corners of your feet: press down with the inner and outer balls of the feet (big and pinky toes) and the inner and outer edges of your heels.

Moving On Up: Leg and Hip Actions in Mountain Pose

4. Press your thigh bones back towards the wall behind you. Notice how this action creates an arching in the lower back.

5. Marry the action in your thighs with a dropping of your tail bone. There is a gentle lift from the pit of the abdomen just above the pubic bone diagonally inwards and upwards which connects to the lift of the sternum.

6. Engage your quadricepts to lift the kneecaps; this will provide more support for your spine.

Final Touches: Actions of the Core and Upper Body in Tadasana

7. Stand tall from your core through the sternum and the top of your head.

8. Face the palms forward as you peel the upper arms back in line with your side body. This will spread the collar bones in front.

9. Gently engage the front ribs towards the spine.

10. The tailbone and legs descend while the crown of the head ascends.

It is important to understand all of these actions in Tadasana as we will need them again when we are working on more difficult standing yoga poses. The more you practice Mountain Pose correctly, the easier it will be to call upon the alignments you develop here in those very challenging circumstances.
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Source
(benefits source: http://www.cnyhealingarts.com/2015/04/13/the-health-benefits-of-tadasana-mountain-pose/)