Yoga in 5 Minutes or Less: Mountain Pose

Hey there, loves!

My life these past couple weeks have been characterized by a lot of movement and mobility. I know that I am not alone in this. We all go through phases in our life that feel like we are constantly “on the go,” and for many of us this may be how we feel most everyday! For this reason, I am constantly learning and practicing tools to really ground my energy and get centered. I love finding little pieces of time to squeeze in practices that ground me, that create feelings of stillness and stability. Today, I want to share one of those practices with you. I know how busy all of our lives are, and I am all about making it easy for you to practice self-care! So, let's get started!

Tadasana (Mountain) Pose
Today, I want to break down Mountain Pose for you. This pose is the foundation for all of the other standing yoga postures. In one of my teacher trainings, we literally spent over an hour on this pose alone, because when you master the alignment in Tadasana, you are building the foundation for every other pose. Another great reason to learn Tadasana (and the reason I am sharing it with you today!) is because it such a grounding pose. When I think of a mountain, I think of Earth, stability, strength, and unshakeability. I also think of beauty, of the beautiful high peak of a mountaintop that can only arise from a firmly grounded base. 

So, stand up and join me! Watch the video, or follow the instructions below:

• Come to a comfortable standing position
• Take your feet about hips distance apart  
• Make sure the second toe on both feet are pointing forward, so that your feet are essentially parallel to one another
• Take your awareness to the soles of your feet. Allow the ball mound under your big toe to feel grounded on the floor; next, feel that the ball mound under your pinky toe is firmly planted; then, allow yourself to feel grounded through the outer and inner edges of your heel, so that now you have created a solid base with all 4 corners of your feet rooted on the floor. Just for fun, lift up all 10 toes off the floor, and then just just softly place them back on the mat to make sure that your toes are not gripping the mat. We have now created a solid foundation, while at the same time allowing our feet to be relaxed
• Find length along the entire back of your legs, your spine, and through the crown of your head so that there is a sense of lifting and lengthening through the body
• Allow your shoulders to be soft, falling away from your ears as your shoulder blades draw together along your back
• You have now found your mountain pose! Just like a mountain that is connected to the Earth, you have a strong and solid foundation; from that base, you are lifting, rising up.

You can practice this pose anywhere, although I highly encourage you to try practicing this posture outdoors, barefoot on the grass. Allowing our feet to be in direct contact with the Earth is a grounding practice within itself, and so practicing Mountain pose in this way gives rise to added benefit.

Leave a comment below to let me know how you enjoy this practice! As always, sending you so much love!

Keep reading...
​Finding Stillness
​Honoring Your Foundation
Reflections from my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training