Tadasana: The Teacher of all Poses

Tadasana: The teacher of all poses.  Our fundamental pose …Mountain Pose
Tadasana is not “just standing up .” As I always say.  

It is the root from which all asanas grow. When practiced with awareness, it begins a cascade of subtle actions…

• Top buttocks down
• Lower buttocks up 
• Mid buttocks foward 
• Side buttocks in
• Front thighs back
• Back thighs spreading (inner to outer) 
• Outer legs gripping in
• Feet pressing down 
• Side body lifts 
• Sternum lifts, collarbones broaden
• Front waist back
• Shoulder blades moving down and toward the spine
• Elbows straight, triceps engaged, fingers stretched
• Soft gaze, released jaw/ throat 

This list could go on and on 

It is the precise alignment of Iyengar yoga  that energetically balances our mind  and body. 
Each action balances another. Each engagement creates a cascade of other more suttle actions. Over focusing on one area at the expense of another will eventually lead to problems. 

Now, When we think of forward bends — whether it’s Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold), Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Leg Forward Fold), Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend), or even Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog)—most of us picture hinging forward and “stretching the hamstrings.”

But the intelligence of these poses comes from much deeper actions. They all share two essential principles:

• An inward rotation of the femur heads in the hip sockets
• A drawing in of the outer hips to stabilise the pelvis and create an internal energetic lift.  

Without these, forward bends can feel heavy or strained. With them, the spine lengthens, the ground soften , and the nervous system begins to settle.

And where do we learn these actions?
….in Tadasana, Mountain Pose.

When we fold forward, we don’t leave Tadasana behind.
Instead, we take its intelligence with us:

• The inward roll of the thighs
• The spreading of the hamstrings from inner to outer Outer legs 
• The gripping in of the outer hips to create length.  
• The opening of the sternum and broadening of the collar bones so we don’t harden the abdomen and put pressure on the heart. 

In this way, Tadasana is not a “beginner’s pose” to get out of the way. It is the teacher of every other asana.

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Why It matters 
All poses become more profound as we progress from beginner to advanced yogis 

Tadasana teaches us that yoga is never about rushing into the shape, but about finding more sensitivity more awareness more connection beyond the mundane. 

So the next time you come to tadasana (Mountain Pose) embrace it fully as the very essence of yoga.

Stay in it, so much is going on it’s impossible to get bored.  Just be in it and let it teach you about you.