Translation: In Sanskrit, "tada" means "mountain." This pose is also referred to as amasthiti-asana – Sama meaning "still" or "unmoved," sthiti meaning standing strong or upright. The combination of the two: samasthiti, meaning standing firmly without moving.
Benefits: Improves posture, balance and self-awareness.
To Complete this Posture:
1. Stand tall, feet together, hands at your sides, eyes gazing forward.
2. Raise your toes, fan them open, then place them back down on the floor.
3. Create equal weight distribution by firmly planting the ball, heel and edges of both feet, rooting into the floor.
4. Tilt your pubic bone up slightly.
5. Raise your chest up and out, standing with your best elongated posture.
6. Lengthen neck but don’t raise your chin. Imagine someone is pulling a thread out of the top of your head, pulling your entire body up.
7. Push firmly into the floor.
8. Breathe deeply in and out. Imagine the breath circulating throughout your body in an upward motion. When exhaling imagine breath circulating downwards, back into the earth.
9. Hold pose for 15-20 seconds, relax and repeat.
10. After a series of at least five repetitions, raise your arms over head on an inhale (Urdhava Hastasana) with your hands separated, reaching for the sky. Hold for five breaths. Lower your arms on an exhale.
