Tadasana (Mountain Pose): What standing tall really teaches us

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Stillness doesn’t always feel powerful. But some of my most grounding, transformative yoga experiences begin with standing in Mountain Pose: rooted, grounded, present.

I still remember the first time I truly heard my body in Tadasana. I felt the ground beneath my feet, the upward reach in my crown, my mind and body balancing itself from within. That was the moment I realized Tadasana is so much more than just “standing”.

It’s a reset button, and opportunity to check in and realign. It’s a safe and familiar posture that you can always come home to. It’s a foundation, a space for reflection, and a quiet ritual.

If you’ve ever wondered whether standing can do something, here’s everything I’ve learned (and taught) about Tadasana.

Why Tadasana is more than it seems

At first glance, Moutain Pose may appear passive. After all, it’s just standing, isn’t it? In truth, beneath its seemingly passive nature, Tadasana can be incredibly potent and transformative.

This asana is more engaging than it seems: physically, energetically, mentally. It offers a blueprint for alignment, an opportunity to ground yourself, and find inner calm that carries far beyond the mat.

“A mountain isn’t just sitting on the surface. It’s rooted deep into the earth.”

– Paula Brown, yoga therapist (C‑IAYT, E‑RYT 500)

That sense of growing and rooting simultaneously can translate into a quiet confidence, a presence that ripples out into everything you do.

What is Tadasana: origins & meaning

The Sanskrit name Tadasana comes from tāḍa (“mountain”) + āsana (“posture”). The mountain is a metaphor for standing tall with immovable strength, solid foundation, and inner stillness.

Many traditions, including Ashtanga, also use the term Samasthiti, meaning “equal standing,” which emphasizes balance and stability.

Finally, there is an element of neutrality. The mountain is neither good nor bad, it has no agenda of its own. It’s present and majectic – and so are we, when we practice Tadasana.

How I practice (and teach) Tadasana, step by step

Tadasana (Mountain Pose): What standing tall really teaches us

Here’s how I guide myself and my students into an intentional Mountain Pose. Take it slow, notice each adjustment, subtle or bold, shifts not just your body, but the way you stand in life.

Stand with feet parallel, either hip-width apart or gently touching (big toes together, heels slightly parted), whichever feels more stable. Spread your toes wide. Feel all four corners of each foot connecting to the earth: big toe mound, little toe mound, inner and outer heel.
Gently lift the arches while pulling outer shins inward, to create a grounded but alive foundation. Engage the thighs by lifting the kneecaps slightly. Imagine drawing the energy from the earth while simultaneously rooting deeper into it.
Examine the position of your pelvis to notice if there is a tilt. Level it by pointing your sit bones toward the ground as you gently firm (not clench) your glutes.
Draw the navel gently toward the spine and soften your ribs down. Meanwhile, broaden your collarbones and lower the shoulders. Let your arms hang alongside your body with palms directed slightly outward.
Lengthen upward through the spine, as though there is a thread running through each vertebrae that pulls the crown of your head toward the sky. Keep your chin parallel to the floor and your neck long.
Relax your face and soften your gaze. Take slow conscious breaths through your nose. Stay for 5–10 breaths if practicing Tadasana as a standalone pose.

While physical cues are great for people already in tune with their body, sometimes it’s not enough. I like to offer the imagery of a mountain, or a tree growing tall, to convey the sense of connection with the earth and taking up space.

Feet together or apart?

Traditionally, a standing posture like Tadasana was cued with the feet together. However, it’s worth noting that the physical asana practice is still relatively young – and always evolving.

Many modern teachers suggest having your feet hip-width apart to spread the weight across a wider base and provide extra stability.

If you’re wondering which one you “should” do, ask yourself what purpose it may serve. If you’re warming up toward an inversion, you might choose to keep the feet together to mimic the way you’d hold your legs in a headstand or handstand. If you’re trying to create stability in a sustainable way, hip width is best.

Most importantly, try both and see which one feels best in your body. After all, everybody and every body is different. You do you.

Benefits of Tadasana: what it really teaches us

I’ve taught Tadasana to beginners, experienced yogis, people recovering from injury, athletes in training, even children. I must have cued it thousands of time.

It’s been a decade since I’ve started teaching and I am still in awe of the transformative power of Mountain Pose. Research and traditional wisdom support what the body already knows.

Tadasana helps you find your “home posture”, a healthy and stable spinal alignment, specific to your body.
It strengthens and stabilizes muscles often under‑engaged in our sedentary lifestyle: feet, ankles, thighs glutes, and core.
Regular practice can bring awareness to your posture, curb habitual slouching, and help everyday standing feel more grounded and less tiring.
Tadasana cultivates bodily awareness (proprioception) and a sense of centered presence. Since alignment is subtle and internal, it invites you to explore your sensations, weight distribution, and subtle shifts, rather than simply “hold a shape.”
The pose encourages mindfulness. Grounded standing, coupled with conscious breath, equals a moment of clarity in the middle of life’s haste. In turn, it can have a calming effect which reduces muscular tension and has a positive effect on mental health.

Tadasana variations

Another powerful quality of Tadasana is versatility. Evolution made sure that standing is one of our natural postures. Therefore, it is suitable for most bodies, with modification based on comfort, balance, weight distribution (e.g. during pregnancy), muscle tone, energy levels etc.

Hip‑width stance vs feet together. The former feels more stable in most bodies, but having feet together can have a specific purpose.
Wall support. Practicing Tadasana with your back against the wall is an excellent way to make it less labor-intensive. It’s also a good way to feel spinal alignment and engage core muscles, especially for beginners.
Seated Samasthiti. This chair varioation of Mountain is great for when dealing with fatigue or limited mobility. It allows you to lengthen the spine, ground your feet, release undue tension, and breathe. Instant posture reset.
Arm variations. While in Tadasana, you can perform various mudras – like the Anjali mudra pictured above, or try it with arms raised overhead, stretched to the sides, or even bound in Garudasana.
Close your eyes. You’d be surprised how much awareness you gain by removing one sense! Closing your eyes in Mountain Pose can help you feel your body in the surrounding space more keenly.
Tadasana as meditation pose. We often repeat Tadasana or Samasthiti in a physical yoga practice. But what if you embraced the stillness to create space for contemplation?

Is Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana) a variation of Mountain Pose?

Tadasana with arms overhead (“raised mountain”) is a gentle way to stretch the side‑body and open the chest, especially if you’ve been sitting for a while.

You may be asking, isn’t that Urdhva Hastasana, the first asana in Sun Salutations? Yes and no.

Raising the arms, or upward salute, refers to the arm position. You can add it to many standing, seated, or kneeling poses. You may lift your arms in a Low Lunge, Hanumanasana splits, Goddess squat, or sitting cross-legged.

Mountain Pose is the foundation. If you maintain a strong grounding contact and a long line of energy with a neutral spine, your Urdhva Hastasana is essentially Tadasana with the arms lifted up. If you’re adding a backbend, you’re shifting away from Mountain – and that’s okay!

Gateway to other poses and movement patterns

Learning to stand with awareness influences posture in daily life: walking, standing in line, commuting, sitting behind a desk… Eventually, you into the habit of correcting yourself, which can prevent or reduce back pain long-term.

Tadasana is truly the “foundation” for all standing asanas. Once you know how to stand mindfully, you can understand alignment in more complex poses (balancing poses, lunges, inversions, etc).

Similarly, in the context of yoga practice, you’re going to come back to Tadasana, again and again. You might as well take this opportunity to scan your body, find your baseline, and take stock of changes as they occur.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Even though Tadasana seems simple, the body can easily fall back into habitual, unconscious patterns, which defeats the purpose. The best course of action is to frequently check in with yourself, especially if you know that your tendency to neglect a particular area.

As a teacher, I don’t like to micromanage my students and correct every “mistake”. I think the best course of action (and my advice to other teachers) is to educate practitioners on possible pitfalls and let them explore. Here is a helpful checklist for when you’re in Mountain Pose:

Are you locking the knees? I cue a micro‑bend in the knees or softening the back of the knee, enough to engage without locking or tensing up.
Are your feet active? Collapsing into the arches or rolling the feet may lead to instability. I often remind students to spread their toes, press evenly into all corners of the feet, and draw the energy from the ground.
Are you holding tension in your shoulders? It’s not uncommon to round the shoulders or raise them due to tension. It’s always a good reminder to broaden across the collarbones, and draw the shoulder blades down.
What’s your breath doing? Concentrating on the pose often results in holding breath or clenching the jaw. I encourage gentle, steady breath, soft jaw, soft eyes, so the pose becomes more meditative than mechanical.
Is my pelvis neutral? Most of us have a tendency to tilt forward (anterior pelvic tilt) or sink into the hips (posterior pelvic tilt). An easy way to correct it is to imagine pointing the sitting bones down to level the pelvis.
Where is my attention? If you’re standing absent-mindedly, you’re more likely to fall into the “traps” above. Bring your awareness to your body and breath, gently conditioning yourself to maintain focus.

In my experience, the biggest shift happens when people realize, “Oh, I’m not standing. I’m bracing.” Once the body relaxes into stability, everything changes.

Why I return to Tadasana, a teacher’s reflection

As a full-time yoga teacher and writer, I swing between a huge variety of styles. From flowing vinyasas and arm balances to deep stretches and soft restorative sequences, I even dabble in aerial and SUP yoga.

But I always return to Tadasana. Not because it’s easy but because it’s a learning opportunity. Every time, it reveals something new. Every time, it’s a chance to get to know myself even deeper.

Tadasana becomes a moment of recalibration. It reminds me: posture isn’t just about how I look. It’s about how I hold my energy, my breath, my awareness.

In a world that constantly pulls us forward, sideways, and out of ourselves, Tadasana is the gentle invitation to listen to the body’s wisdom. Let this be your invitation. Stand. Breathe. Feel. And discover how powerfully quiet stillness can speak.