Tadasana or mountain pose is the foundation of most yoga practices. Almost all practices begin with tadasana before moving on to other positions. My teacher trainings I always start with the edict that “all poses are tadasana”. I think it is a simple and easy formula to follow. In the video above we look at its relationship to the standing pose warrior two.
Another name for tadasana is samasthiti, or equal standing suggesting a balanced body in all planes. We don’t meet many people who live in balanced bodies. We all tend to be too long in the front of the body and too short in the back of the body. The hamstrings, lower back and neck all tend to be tight while the front of the body is overly stretched.
The essence of tadasana is an alignment that follows the plumb line of the body; a straight line that runs through the center of the ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. The pelvis should be in a neutral position, with the legs directly underneath, and there should be a soft and gentle crease in the hips. Warrior two should reflect all of these alignment cues. A neutral pelvis has a tiny anterior tilt that allows for the necessary arch of the lower back.
Warrior two is a pose with the legs spread as wide apart as possible, and then maybe a little wider. The arms lift in line with the shoulders and the gaze follows the finger tips. It should be easy to feel a sense of tadasana with the legs apart before the knee begins to bend. Once the knee begins to bend over the ankle pay attention to where the pelvis wants to go.
What do your hips allow in terms of the ability to stay in tadasana? Can the hip creases stay deep? Can the thigh bones stay under the pelvis and the plumb line continue to run through the ears, shoulders, thighs, knees and ankles?
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