For those that don’t know Tadasana, translation Mountain pose, is a standing pose. It appears to be a simple pose but it is not. It requires equal balance on the balls and heals of the feet along with correct spinal alignment. Stillness.
This week, a remark that rings through my mind from the head teacher at the yoga studio, ” I met and practiced yoga with B.k.s. Iyengar four times in my life. Each time we worked on Tadasana.” In one of the classes, Iyengar explained, ” With mastery of Tadasana, you will be able to do a lot of other poses. The problem with students is that they rush to the more advanced poses without mastering the art of standing correctly. This is a house built on a faulty foundation.” I thought to myself, ” If the yogi said to focus on Tadasana, we had better listen and follow his instruction.”
After the remark on Tadasana, she called out two long time student as models. They demonstrated the pose as we all critiqued them. The first one had a pelvic tilt and was on the balls of the feet. She adjusted her and she almost fell. The other student teacher had her arms to forward.
Tadasana was a complex pose despite its appearance. A few years ago, an advanced student demonstrated how to stand on three points on the foot. She demonstrated it. Her foot didn’t look human. The way her foot made contact with floor was like the talon of hawk. I had never seen anything like this.
After two years, I could stand in Tadasana without swaying; however, I needed a lot of conscious effort. My spinal alignment wasn’t the best. This will be a pose to focus on for 2015.
The Yoga Bridge 