One of the most basic asanas and it is our natural standing position. Tadasana is also the starting and ending position for many standing poses. It promotes good posture, balance, concentration, relaxation, and tones leg muscles.  

How to: Stand with feet together or up to hip width apart as is comfortable. Raise the toes up off the ground and spread them as wide as you can. Put them back down so that the whole foot is flat on the ground. Feel your weight spread evenly on both sides. Stand up tall, gently pull the knee caps up, without locking them to stretch the hamstrings. Relax and soften the stomach and open the chest, lengthening the spine. Feel the ribcage opening on the inhalation. Roll the shoulders back and allow hands to hang at sides with fingertips down. Exhale and release any tension in the shoulders. Keep the head up with chin parallel to the ground. Gaze at a point across the room and breath evenly. Imagine a string on the crown of the head, pulling you up. Feel the bottom half of the body firmly grounded while the torso is light and uplifted.

     Check your posture by doing Tadasana in front of a mirror and look at your thumbs. The thumb nails should be facing the mirror in perfect posture.

Extension: Stand on tip toes, bringing arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground, with palms down. Close your eyes and try to balance for 5 breaths.

Variation: Standing in Tadasana, lift both arms straight up toward the ceiling and stretch upward as much as possible, with palms facing each other, keeping feet flat on the ground, and continuing to look straight ahead. This variation is a convenient pose from which to drop into Uttanansana.

A logical progression from Tadasana, Uttanasana gives an upper body inversion while stretching all the way down the backs of the legs. It is a relaxation post that energizes and refreshes the mind. It naturally lengthens the spine and is said to help reduce shrinkage of the spine as one ages. It is said to aid digestion and bring benefit to liver, spleen, kidneys. Those with lower back problems need to be extremely careful to bend forward at the hips only as far as is comfortable. This pose is not recommended for people with high blood pressure. If you ever feel any discomfort, roll back to standing position by bending knees slightly and slowly rolling torso back up.

How to: Stand in Tadasana. Inhaling stretch the arms up with fingertips pointing to the ceiling. Take a few breaths in this position as you feel the spine lengthen. Exhale and bend forward at the hips. Pause, inhaling, for an instant when the hips are at a 90 degree bend. Do not bend knees. Exhaling, turn the torso upside down. Drop the hands to the floor if they touch or let them hang. Relax the neck. Try to put the palms on the floor just outside of the feet with toes and fingertips pointing in the same direction. If you cannot, just try to touch the fingertips to the floor. Feel the spine lengthen. Feel the stretch down the backs of the legs. Imagine the tailbone lifting upward toward the ceiling. Inhale and press heels firmly into the floor as the tailbone lifts up farther. Exhale and feel your spine relax, the neck is loose and relaxed. If the position is comfortable, stay in it as long as you wish. To come out, bend the knees slightly and inhale to roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time, keeping the head hanging down so that the head is the last thing to come up.

Variation #1: Once the torso is inverted, instead of bringing hands to the floor, clasp each elbow with the opposite hand and hang... Feel gravity pulling you to the floor. Imagine your forearms are going to touch the floor (although they likely will not).

Variation #2: Instead of hands on floor, clasp each ankle. Or, wrap the arms around the calves and clasp hands to opposite elbows. This variation relaxes the neck even more.

Variation #3: For those who are uncomfortable with the full inversion, stand behind a chair and, stopping at a 90 degree angle, hold on to the back of the chair.

Variation #4: For those who have trouble balancing in the inversion, stand with back against a wall and go into the position from there. The wall will support so you can relax the legs and focus on the inversion.