Standing Still
Posted by terrepruitt on February 23, 2013
Just as there are specific moves in Nia (Nia’s 52 Moves), there are different asanas or poses in yoga. There is an asana (pose) in yoga that is standing still, but it is called Mountain Pose. In Sanskrit, what I think of as the language of yoga, it is Tadasana. While this pose is a still pose and the body is standing erect, it is an active pose. The body is not just upright and relaxed, there are muscles engaged and energy moving. It is more than likely that there is no straining involved and one might look relaxed and even feel relaxed yet there is more than just standing there happening. Mountain Pose is an active pose often used as a transitional pose. Yet can stand on its own, no pun intended.
In Tadasana toes touch and feet are parallel. Of course, as with many things, there are many variations, and people have their own way of doing them. In this post in the pose our toes touch, feet are parallel forming a stable base. For some the heels might need to be fanned out a bit or feet may need to be separate. The goal is to have a stable base so adjust the feet as necessary in order to ensure stability. One way to assist with stability is to relax your feet allowing the toes to spread. Imagine your feet becoming wide and open. The feet do not grip the earth, they spread out. Weight is evenly distributed. Take time to sense all points of the feet.
The ankle joints remain open. The shins and calves are rooted into the floor. The knees are not locked, yet they sense stability because the quadriceps are reaching up lifting the knee caps. The thighs are turned ever-so-slightly in. The buttocks are lifted yet there is no arching in the lower back. The belly (abdominals) are engaged. The spine is long.
With the crown of your head reach for the sky, lengthening the entire back. Keep the chin parallel to the earth and your head in alignment with your chest, hips, knees, and feet. Shoulders are gently pulled back with shoulder blades down, the chest does not stick out, yet the sternum is presented up allowing the collar bones to open wide. Arms are along the side of the body, not hanging, not touching the body, not rigid, but active. Hands are active with fingers gently fanned open.
Energy is moving up allowing for the lengthening of the entire body, yet there is a sense of being rooted and stable. As I mentioned this pose is often used as a transition. You might see it performed in between standing poses. It is perfect to reset the body in order to correctly move into another position. It can also be used as a resting pose. Even though it is an active pose, it still can be a rest for the body.
As you can tell, if you got up to try it, this is not a passive pose. There is a lot of muscle engagement, so maybe you can see why this pose could be practiced on it’s own and not just used as a transition. It is not just standing still, it is a strong, stable pose, like a mountain.
So if you didn’t already do it, are you ready? Get up and try it!
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