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Mountain Pose Series (Tadasana)
- Begin in mountain pose by bring-
ing your feet together and relax your
arms down by your sides. Close the
eyes and find your balance as you feel
the soles of the feet evenly rooting into
the ground. Begin to take a few steady
breaths in and out through the nose,
activating ujjayi breath.
Mountain pose series has been around for hundreds
of years. I first learned it from one of my teachers,
Srivatsa Ramaswami, who learned it from his teacher
Krishnamacharya. This incredible sequence activates
all the major muscle groups in the body through
forward bends, backward bends, sideward bends,
twists, and more. This series is also said to have a
positive effect on each of the seven chakras. Each
movement is traditionally repeated three times. This
repetition allows the body to open in deeper ways.
Every movement starts and finishes in mountain
pose. The movements should be slow, steady, and
smooth, like a yoga version of tai chi.2 a. Inhale and slowly sweep
the arms overhead, inter-
lacing the fingers and turn-
ing the palms facing up.2 b. Exhale and reverse the
movement, slowly return-
ing your arms to your sides
and into mountain pose.
Repeat the movement two
more times.3 a. Inhale and bring your
arms straight out in front
and overhead, with the
hands above the shoul-
ders and palms facing
forward.3 b. Exhale and reverse
the movement, slowly re-
turning your arms to your
sides and into mountain
pose. Repeat the move-
ment two more times,
imagining you’re doing
the wave at a sporting
event.