Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!

� Tadasana, shown as the first position in all the HP Yoga Sun Salutations, is the cornerstone of all yoga poses. Tada means ‘mountain.’ It is the pose that all poses lead from and, at advanced levels, return to. Why? Because in Tadasana, we can experience true stillness and accurate alignment which creates our internal (fluid) and external (static) solidarity.

If you learn one yoga pose in the next decade of your life, learn Tadasana. Here is how to begin your journey of moving into quietude:

1) While standing, look down. Arrange your thighs so that they fall directly down your hips.

2) Look at your feet. Arrange the inner edges of them so that they point forward. Spread your toes strongly as possible and lift them for extra yogic credit points.

3) Slightly bend your knees and lift your inner arches and massage the balls of both feet and both heels into Mother Earth. I really need you to use a detailed Awareness to almost screw the four corners of your feet into the ground while lifting the toes and inner arches.

4) Gently pull your navel toward the spine. Draw the tip of your tailbone so that it points at your heels.

5) Straighten your legs while maintaing checkpoints 1 through 4.

6) Expand your chest like the Noble Warrior that you are! Elongate your spine right through the crown of your head. Now, redouble the effort to draw the tip of your tailbone toward your heels while feeling skyward energy through your crown…go for length and strength through the entire spine!

7) Brings your hands into the Namaste (prayer) position. Enjoy standing as strong, as solid, as immeasurably magnificent as all the beautiful mountains in the world.

This is Tadasana!