offers the exquisite experience of deeply connecting us with the earth, nature and every living thing on the planet. The very name of the pose conjures up images of strength, vigor and steadfast resolve as well as beauty, transformation and life. What qualities arise in you while holding Tadasana? How can you take these with you off the mat? There is much to learn from this asana though it appears as if one is simply standing upright. As many yogis have come to understand, every pose provides endless opportunities for self-discovery, all we have to do is be ready and willing to receive what is offered.

The foundation of any yoga posture is important for the stability of that pose, just as the foundation of a building should be solid in order for it to remain upright. The first chakra is focused on stability and the security it offers.

To begin, stand in front of the mirror to help find the correct alignment for your body. Place your feet sitting bone width apart (when you stand your thigh bones are parallel). With some space between your feet you will increase your stability. 

Next, draw an imaginary line from the middle of your ankle to the base of the 2^ndtoe on both feet. These two lines should be parallel. Adjust the feet until they are.

If you look in the mirror from the side, the legs should be straight. Here the ankle, knee and hip line up. Watch that your knee doesn’t hyperextend (the back of the knee is farther back than the middle of the ankle). If it does, you will need to keep your knee slightly bent in all of your standing poses. This will build strength in your knee joint so that is stays healthy instead of straining the ligaments in the back of the knee.

As you move the hip crease back to line up with the knee, allow the inner thighs to move back faster than the outer thighs. This action will soften the groins and cause an inner rotation of the legs. As you hold this action, extend your tailbone towards the earth. You should feel a strong lift in the perineum and the lower belly as your pelvis roots towards the floor. This encourages an expansion of the pelvis which connects us toward the earth as we lift through the spine. 

Lengthen the sides of your body from the top of the hips up to the armpits (like you are shrugging). Move the head of the arm bones back, to line up with the middle of your hips. As you move your ears back without tilting your head, rotate your shoulder blades down and in towards the back of your heart. You will feel an opening in the front of the chest as the muscles in your upper back engage, supporting the heart opening.

If you held a string with a weight at the end in line with your ear it would be in line with the middle of your shoulder, wrist, hip, knee and ankle. For most people it will feel like your head and shoulder blades are too far back. This is because as we age our shoulders round forward and our chin lifts to compensate. As you practice good alignment your posture will improve dramatically without having to think about it.

As our posture improves, our heart and chest open which communicates to ourselves and others a higher level of self-confidence and open heartedness. This will bring in more joy into our day-to-day experience.

Hold this Mountain pose and take a few long deep breaths. Feel the earth and its support. Soften the effort. Experience the support. Keep your body stable as you move the arms up from the sides towards the sky as you inhale. Feel the stretch at the end of that inhale. On the exhale, slowly release your arms back to your sides. Allow the breath to be slow and deep by toning the throat so that your breath sounds like a wave. Feel how stable you can be even with the movement of your arms. After a few rounds of movement with your breath bring your hands down to prayer (Anjali Mudra) at your heart center.

Take a few breaths in this position with your eyes closed and think of your intention for doing this workbook. As you reflect on your intention imagine that it is a stone and drop it into the pond of your heart. Let the ripples of your intention move outwards into the universe so that it might support your highest dreams.

When you’re complete, open your eyes and notice how you may feel differently after performing just one pose. Check in with your body, your mind and your heart. 

Tadasana with Back Bend

Yoga poses can represent the physical embodiment of every quality of life. When every element of our body is working together to experience a dynamic pose like Tadasana with a backbend, our community of cells is working together to support the whole body. In this pose our bodies teach us how every part of a group works together for the good of the whole. Within us we already possess the wisdom to function more beautifully in the communities we move through in our daily life. 

Stand in Tadasana and place your hands on your hips with your elbows pointing behind you. Inhale deeply as your hands assist in rooting your hips toward your feet by pressing downward. Lengthen the spine toward the sky. As you exhale gently press your head back as if it is resting on a pillow and arch your back as you lean backwards. Notice how far back you can go with ease. Visually mark how far you can see along the wall behind you. On your next inhale come back to Tadasana (mountain pose).

Then, complete the following foot stretches. Repeating this pose after stretching the feet perfectly illustrates how opening and releasing one part of our body allows another area to achieve greater expansiveness.

As you balance on your left leg, flex your right foot and rest the heel on the floor. Flex your toes in a ‘ball’ and then open then and extend them apart from each other. As you keep them extended, point your foot. Inhale and flex the foot again. Repeat this pattern two more times. Place your foot down and take a moment to feel the difference in your two feet. 

Repeat on the other foot.

Stand in Tadasana and repeat the backward arch that you performed at the beginning. Notice how much farther you were able to bend.

This is an amazing experience of how the state of our feet affects the flexibility of our back, when we may believe these two parts of our body don’t have anything to do with each other. Now that we’ve had a tangible experience of their connection, there are two beautiful lessons to take away from this event. First, our feet serve as our foundation whether we are doing yoga poses or not. Activating and awakening our feet communicates with the rest of our body and its flexibility. The second point is that our body is constantly communicating with itself. The cells in the fascia tissue (the connective tissue surrounding the muscles) are in constant interaction. Ideally, the cells work as a community each with an integral job. When all portions of an entity operate together, like the intelligence within our bodies, the outcome is a masterpiece of grace.