Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

Our practice should teach us to have a mountain of resilience and an ocean of patience.

At face value Tadasana (standing upright) seems to be one of the most basic postures in yoga. However, the term ‘basic posture’ can be misleading, which is why I prefer think of it as one of the fundamental poses.

Tadasana means mountain posture. As a well-known yoga teacher, Erich Schiffman says the pose…

‘promotes the experience of stillness, strength, relaxed power, and immovable stability associated with mountains’.  

 It’s a wonderful posture that reminds us the importance of stability, lightness and balance. Tadasana acts as a blue print for all standing postures as it shows us how to bring these essential qualities into every pose we practice. It’s easier to feel grounded and effortless in Tadasana, and once you have experienced these delightful attributes, you can translate them into more complex postures.  

Whenever I practice challenging poses, I try to bring a sense of balance even when the pose seems uneven and twisted. I focus on being stable and balanced, and then explore ways of being light and expansive. This method allows you to breathe properly and start to relax into the position.

One of my teachers often says that practicing Tadasana illustrates the earth and sky relationship perfectly. When you stand well, there is a feeling of being supported by the earth, which in turn enables effortless lift towards the sky. It’s a great pose to explore your relationship with gravity and space, and feel how they work together in our practice.

Tadasana encourages better physical posture and teaches the mind to be steady and calm. Every time we practice, we can reacquaint ourselves with stillness. As Schiffman says… ‘remember that experiencing yourself in stillness is the most direct way to experience yourself with clarity’.

Tadasana allows you to establish this deep connection with yourself. So next time you’re on the mat, rather than rush through Tadasana, try spending some time experiencing this incredible posture fully.

Savasana (Full Relaxation Pose)

‘Proper relaxation is a gift everyone of us should give to our bodies each and everyday’ - Tara Fraser, a senior yoga teacher.

After the Christmas and New Year, we often take up new activities and projects, and run around trying to achieve our goals. Whilst it’s a great time to take on new things and reflect on our intentions, it’s really easy to over do it and end up feeling burnt out.

Relaxation is a key element in yoga practice; Savasana or ‘the full relaxation pose’ is the ultimate position for relaxation…as the name implies. It is one of the most important asanas as it teaches us how to release physical and mental tension and assimilate the practice we have completed. Allowing time to reflect and absorb our actions will enhance their benefits.

It’s easy to over look simple poses like Savasana but I have found that it’s often one of the most powerful ones to do regularly. Savasana teach us important lesson of letting go. Experts believe that one of the primary causes of chronic stress is inability to release worries and strain. We often hold on to these feelings and tension even when the stressful situation has long passed. Practicing Savasana regularly is a great way to notice how we are and encourages us to let go.

Savasana is often translated as the corpse pose and is synonymous to Mrtasana, which means death pose. The pose symbolises death and letting everything go. No longer trying to do or analyse but letting everything be as it is.

At a first glance, it may seem like the easiest pose to practice but it can actually be one of the hardest postures to do properly. It can be challenging to relax fully whilst maintaining full awareness. It’s very easy to be lost in our thoughts or just fall asleep! As with most things, the more you practice, the easier it becomes; so I recommend doing this pose regularly.

Savasana is normally practiced at the end of asana practice but it can also be done at the beginning or on it’s own. When I feel depleted and tired, I often spend 5 -10 minutes (longer if I have the time) in Savasana to rejuvenate. It has a quality of a power nap and is incredibly restorative. As Gheranda Samita, one of the three classical text on Hatha Yoga says ‘Lying flat on the ground like a corpse is called Mrtasana. This posture destroys fatigue, and quietens the agitation of the mind’ - Chapter 2, verse 11. After practicing Savasana, the body feels rested and the mind becomes less cluttered and clearer. You will also have more energy to do what you want.

To practice this pose, it’s important to spend some time ensuring that you are as comfortable as possible. Make sure that you are lying down in a balanced way and allow yourself to relax completely. Use as many props as you need such as blankets, cushions and eye pillow. Blankets can be placed over the top of the body to keep warm or folded up and placed under any part of the body for support.  Cushions can be used to prop up the head or used under the knees to release your back. I highly recommend using eye pillow as it will help you to relax your face and head. Experiment and see what works for you.

If you are pregnant, it’s not advisable to spend too long on your back so choose to lie down on the left side of the body.

Once you are in Savasana, gently watch over your body, breath and mind. Try to observe your thoughts without becoming attached to them, by feeling your body and keeping yourself connected to the ebb and flow of your breath. Simply learning to observe your thoughts in this way will help to calm your mind.

If you are worried about falling a sleep, try setting a timer or a gentle alarm. When you are ready to end the practice, come out slowly and take the time to notice the effects of Savasana. Sit quietly and observe how you feel.

Yoga For Your Posture

What is a healthy posture? A good posture is one that is balanced, relaxed, and long lasting. Healthy posture allows natural movement of energy within our bodies and minds. On the other hand, poor posture tends to be unbalanced, tensed and collapsed, causing mental and physical strain that could otherwise be avoided.

In the yoga asana (posture) practice we look for the quality of ‘Sthira Sukham’. The Sanskrit word ‘Sthira’ can be translated to mean firm, steady or lasting and ‘Sukham’ refers to happiness, delight and comfort. Therefore, we are looking for a steady and comfortable posture. You will find that when these qualities exist at the same time, it will naturally be long lasting and sustainable.

So how can we achieve these qualities? First of all, it seems obvious but one of the most important factors for improving your posture is awareness. Like most things, without awareness it’s difficult to make conscious lasting changes. Although, at first this seems like a simple advice, it’s actually really hard to be aware of your posture, especially when you’re concentrating on something else. For example, working on a computer or doing the house work. We tend to only notice our posture when parts of our body start to ache as a result of being in a bad position for too long.

How can we be more aware of our body when we are focusing on something else? Bizarrely, the key to this answer is again awareness or attentiveness. If we are more conscious of how we use our body in our everyday life, we can know when we’ve collapsed our posture. It’s then easier to pay more attention during this time and make the necessary adjustments. Although, it sound easy this is a continuous process and we need to adapt and be mindful as our life changes.

The good news is that more yoga practice you do, more attentive and aware you can be of your body and mind. Regular asana practice will help to create a relaxed and strong body and mind, and help to create healthier and more balanced posture.