Tadasana (Mountain Pose) – Overview
Asana Digest Overview
Poses
Tadasana (Mountain), and related poses such as Pranamasana (Prayer), Samasthiti (Equal Standing) and Eka Pada Tadasana (One Legged Mountain)
Objective
Become knowledgeable about the pose and review detailed teaching considerations.
Description
Explain the Sanskrit naming; contraindications and cautions; associated benefits and typical effects; instructions and cues for setting up and practicing the pose; variations to meet particular intentions and needs; and more teaching considerations.
Prerequisite Knowledge
The focus of Asana Digests is teaching specific poses. This support presumes you’re aware of the groundwork and teaching support here: Asana Category – Standing Poses
Poses Overview
Tadasana
tah-DAHS-anna
“tada” = mountain
Mountain Pose
Samasthiti
“sama” = same, even or equal
“sthiti” = state, condition or stability
Equal Standing
Pranamasana
Some sources (including Dharma Mittra in Asanas: 608 Yoga Poses) call Tadasana with Anjali Mudra (Hands at Heart) by the name “Pranamasana”
Samasthiti & Tadasana are the Same
Samasthiti (Equal Standing) is a command to attention, to stand in balanced stillness. It is the practice of standing with equal, steady, and still attention. Tadasana (Mountain Pose) is the posture that invokes Samasthiti. These poses are not different. They are the same. – Maty Ezraty, Yoga Journal, The Difference Between “Tadasana” and “Samasthiti” link
* * *
In Sanskrit, the command for attention is sama-sthiti… Samasthiti means “standing still and straight.” Throughout the practice [of Surya Namaskar] , there will continually be the command of sama-sthiti. This means to return to Mountain Posture or attention position. – Beryl Bender Birch, Power Yoga 1995 p 63 link
Notes
- Often referred to as the most basic, foundational and fundamental pose; the blueprint or building block from which other poses are based
- “This pose, and coming back to this stillness after other poses, is one of the very best ways of becoming acquainted with stillness.” (Erich Schiffman, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness 1996 p 94) link
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