Mountain Pose or Tadasana is a simple and common standing yoga posture.
Tadasana looks simple but is the foundation posture of almost all the standing and inversion yoga asanas.
It is also incorporated as a resting posture and considered as a pose that will enhance your posture if done correctly.
You can tell that Tadasana is the nucleus of each and every other standing posture.
Hence, there arises a need to do master it in the right way.
The post covers everything about the Mountain Pose (Tadasana) including –
- Meaning
- Tips for beginners
- Step-by-step instructions on how to do the Mountain pose
- Variations
- Benefits
- Preparatory poses
- Follow-up poses
- Contraindications
- Frequently asked questions
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Meaning
The name Tadasana comprises of two Sanskrit words – Tada meaning ‘Mountain’ and Asana meaning ‘Posture’ or ‘Seat’.
Hence, Tadasana by itself means Mountain Posture.
That is why Tadasana is referred to as ‘Mountain Pose’.
The basic objective of Tadasana is to harvest strength, balance, and peace very same as a mountain.
Beginner’s Tip for Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Tadasana is a very beginner asana.
However, you must understand that, with this simple yoga posture you are stacking each and every individual bone of yours, starting from the bottom of your toe to the top of your head, one above the other.
Doing it correctly and regularly will align your posture to perfect.
Hence, before doing Tadasana, make sure you get into a really attentive state as this decides your following asana’s starting position and determines your body alignment.
As a beginner, you may ask – Can we do Tadasana after eating?
You can very well practice Tadasana even after taking in food.
BUT, if you are going to follow Tadasana with other yoga asanas, there must be a minimum time difference of 4 hours between consuming food and performing Tadasana.
How to do The Mountain Pose (Tadasana) – Step-by-step Instruction
Here is the step-by-step guide in order to perform Tadasana.
- Stand erect on your yoga mat with your feet hip-width apart.
- Lift your toes upward to check if the four corners of your feet are connected to the ground. The four corners are namely the big toe’s ball joint, the pinky toe’s ball joint and the two back corners of your heels.
- Once you are sure, stretch your toes to relax it and place it down on the ground.
You have now set the foundation of the asana perfectly. Let’s go ahead!
- Draw the energy from your feet to the top of the head through your legs, thighs, groin, the pelvis area, spine and neck.
- Let the hands hang freely at your sides with the fingers pointing downwards and the palms facing either inward or forward.
- As you breathe in, lift your kneecaps and squeeze your quads inward.
- Lift your chest up by opening your shoulders outward which must naturally stretch your heart.
- At this point, tuck your tailbone in backwards so that it meets your pubis bone of the pelvis. This, in turn, will casually engage your belly without any need for an external force.
- Lift your head slightly upwards.
- Slowly, breathe in!
- Now, balance the top of your head in line with the centre of the pelvis.
- Hold the position for a few seconds.
- Exhale slowly!
Checkpoints for a ‘Perfect’ Mountain Pose (Tadasana) posture
- Feet sternly grounded
- Top of your thighs squeezed inward
- Tailbone meeting the pelvis
- Check SquareChest stretched outwards
- Check SquareShoulders open
- Check SquareArms hanging beside your torso
- Check SquareLong neck securely lengthening through the crown of your head
- Check SquareHead is over your heart
- Check SquareThe heart is over your pelvis
Deepening The Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Standing in Tadasana, you can close your eyes and feel grateful for all the good things blessed upon you.
Now, you can open your eyes and focus on an imaginary ‘Drishti’. Drishti refers to the focal point here.
In Mountain Pose, the Drishti is the end of your nose (Source).
So, think of an imaginary heart or dust or anything for that matter at the end of your nose and focus on it for a few seconds without any force.
This takes the asana to the next level making you self-centered with the posture.
Closing your eyes while in Mountain Pose may make you wobble in the initial stages of practice. But that’s always fine. Just try your best to balance your position.
Variations of The Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
The very basic variation includes the various positions of your arms. Here are a few positions you can consider.
- You can join your palms together in the Namaste posture touching your breastbone with the thumbs at the centre of your chest (Anjali Mudra).
- The other great variation can be taking your arms back with the fingers interlaced below your tailbone. With this position, stretch your shoulders further and open your chest more. You may deepen this position by joining your palms together if possible; else maintain your wrist nice and square.
- You can also lift your hands straight above your head with the arms perpendicular to the ground and palms facing each other. Here, you can also try a variation by interlacing your fingers with the forefingers pointing upwards.
- Hand Pointing RightAlso, you can try interlacing your fingers and lift your arms above so that the palms face upwards.
- Hand Pointing RightAs another variation, you can cross your arms either behind your back or above your head and use your palms to touch each of your opposite elbows.
Benefits of The Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
The simple standing posture, the Mountain pose, offers many good benefits.
Some of the top benefits are mentioned below –
- Tadasana engages all the three bandhas – Uddiyana Bandha (Abdominal Bandha), Mula Bandha (Root Bandha) and Jalandhara Bandha (Chin Bandha).
- The asana balances root chakra, thereby, laying the foundation to expand your life.
- It perfects your body posture and improves the body balance.
- Check CircleThe asana is a great posture for overcoming sciatica pains.
- Check CircleThe foundation parts of your body namely knees, thighs and ankles become stronger as practice Tadasana regularly.
- Check CircleThis yoga posture tones your belly and glutes.
- Check CircleThis simple standing yoga pose prevents flat feet and gives more agility to your spine.
- Check CircleTeens in their developmental years can practice Tadasana to grow taller.
- Check CircleIt also regulates your digestive, nervous and respiratory systems.
Preparatory poses
You can perform the following poses to prepare for Tadasana.
- Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
- Forward-bending Pose (Uttanasana)
Follow-up poses
You can follow Tadasana with the following Asanas.
- All Standing Poses
Who should not do Tadasana
Refrain from doing the Mountain pose if you suffer from –
- Insomnia
- Headache
- Low blood pressure
- Long-lived shoulder injury
Frequently Asked Questions
The name Tadasana comprises two Sanskrit words – ‘Tada’ meaning ‘The Mountain’ and Asana meaning ‘Posture’ or ‘Seat.’
So, you can see, Tadasana is nothing but The Mountain Pose when translated to English.
The mountain pose looks very similar to a mountain. Our head is the mountain peak standing very still on our feet which refers to the bottom of the mountain.
Inhale to lift your toes gently off the ground. Balance your body weight on your heels and stretch your shoulders, arms, and chest upwards. Hold this pose for 5 to 10 seconds and feel the stretch in your body from top to bottom. Exhale as you release the posture.
The basic objective of Tadasana is to harvest strength, balance, and inner peace very same as a mountain.
There isn’t any strick duration to hold the Mountain pose. You can hold on to this pose for a maximum of 30 seconds.
Again, there isn’t any strict number of times that you should practice the Mountain pose (Tadasana). You can do Tadasana 4 times a day with a balanced gap between each time.
You can very well practice Tadasana even after taking in food.
BUT, if you are going to follow Tadasana with other yoga asanas, there must be a minimum time difference of 4 hours between consuming food and performing Tadasana.
In Tadasana, you stretch your spine, hips, and thighs. This stretch is perfect and helps you sleep better.
That is why experts suggest Tadasana among various other yoga asanas to overcome sleeplessness.
Tadasana stretches your spine. So we can say it helps in marginally increasing your height.
Tadasana cannot reduce obesity directly.
But Tadasana is the very foundation of other standing yoga poses. If you follow up Tadasana with other poses in yoga for weight loss, you can reduce or prevent obesity.
Yes, Tadasana is one of many yoga asanas that helps in correcting your posture.
With a nice stretch to your spine, hips, and thighs, Tadasana is the simplest of all corrective asanas.
Don’t practice the Mountain pose (Tadasana) if you have –
Insomnia
Headache
Low blood pressure
Long-lived shoulder injury
Low Blood Pressure (if you hold on to the pose for a long time)
Pregnancy
Knock Knees
The Bottom Line
Tadasana is a very basic yoga posture perfect for beginners.
This post must have helped you understand and learn everything about the Mountain pose in complete detail.
Practice it regularly and in full sincerity to reap maximum benefits out of the yoga pose.
Be strong, calm, and peaceful like a mountain amidst the chaotic world outside.