Pose: Mountain
Sanskrit: Tadasana

Mountain Pose is how we start Hot 26 class and also the reset that happens between all standing poses. (Pose A, Mountain, Pose B, Mountain, etc.)

Mountain is simple but really makes one aware of posture. For me, the pose automatically comes with the mindset of standing our tallest.

Pose Breakdown

In Mountain, we start with feet are together and toes spread apart. Legs are together. Standing tall in the spine means extending the spine, and brining the crown of your head to the sky. I like to get into this pose by rolling the shoulders up, back and down as the arms turn and palms face out and lengthening my spine. In class we lift our toes, spread them, and then place them back down to help establish our foundation. The legs are engaged, the belly draws in and up. Mountain Pose is powerful and centers you before you move on to what’s next.

Return next Monday for the next pose in the Hot 26 series: Pranayama Breathing.

Note: While I’ve been doing Hot 26 for several years, like any yoga practice the poses are always a work in progress. The photos of me in this series will display what I was best able to do at that moment in time. Some poses feel “perfect” in my body but aren’t quite the fullest extension of them in a photo, and vice versa. With that in mind, consider the text just as much – if not more – as the image.