Tadasana, with 'tada' meaning 'mountain', is regarded as one of the most beneficial postures in yoga. Though it seems to be quite simple, a person has to undergo lots of practice to attain the perfect tadasana posture. The asana is believed to provide not only physical, but mental benefits as well. It helps a person improve his posture and also promotes confidence as well as happiness. A basic yoga posture, Tadasana can also be used as the starting point for other asanas that are performed in a standing position.

Technique:

1. Stand with the bases of your big toes touching, heels slightly apart (so that your second toes are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them softly down on the floor. Rock back and forth and side to side. Gradually reduce this swaying to a standstill, with your weight balanced evenly on the feet.

2. Firm your thigh muscles and lift the knee caps, without hardening your lower belly. Lift the inner ankles to strengthen the inner arches, then imagine a line of energy all the way up along your inner thighs to your groins, and from there through the core of your torso, neck, and head, and out through the crown of your head. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor and lift the pubis toward the navel.

3. Press your shoulder blades into your back, then widen them across and release them down your back. Without pushing your lower front ribs forward, lift the top of your sternum straight toward the ceiling. Widen your collarbones. Hang your arms beside the torso.

4. Balance the crown of your head directly over the center of your pelvis, with the underside of your chin parallel to the floor, throat soft, and the tongue wide and flat on the floor of your mouth. Soften your eyes.

5. Tadasana is usually the starting position for all the standing poses. But it's useful to practice Tadasana as a pose in itself. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing easily.

Benefits:

• Improves posture
• Strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles
• Firms abdomen and buttocks
• Relieves sciatica
• Reduces flat feet

Caution:

• All those who are prone to low blood pressure or are suffering from headache should not perform the asana.

Note: B.K.S Iyengar refer tadasana as a first asana in his book “Light on Yoga”, because most of the persons don’t know how to stand in right way in right alignment, so he emphasizes on this so much. All of the standing asanas are starting with tadasana. If once we can learn how to stand in right way, then all others asana’s alignment also can be improve.

                   He mentioned that “People do not pay attention to the correct method of standing. Some stand with the body weight thrown only on one leg, or with one leg turned completely sideways. Others bear all the body weight on the heals or on the inner or outer edges of the feet. This can be noticed by watching where the soles and heels of the shoes wear out. Owing to our faulty methods of standing and not distributing the body weight evenly on the feet, we acquire specific deformities which hamper spinal elasticity. Even if feet apart then also keep your big toes and heels in parallel line. By this method, the hips contracted, abdomen is pulled in and the chest is brought out. One feels light in body and the mind acquires agility. If we stand with the body weight thrown only on heels, we feel the gravity changing; the hips become loose, we feel the gravity hangs back and the spine feels strain and consequently we soon feel fatigued and the mind becomes dull. It is therefore essential to master the art of standing correctly."

Namaste Ji.