As per a study, yoga unites the body, mind, and breath. When you are in harmony, the journey through life becomes calmer, happier, and more fulfilling. Numerous asanas can help you lead a healthy lifestyle, and tadasana is one of them. Let’s find the detailed tadasana benefits in the article further.
What Is Tadasana (Mountain Pose)?
The term "tadasana" is a Sanskrit term that comes from the root words 'tada' means mountain, and 'asana' means seat or posture. It is also known by other different names, such as Mountain Pose or Tree Pose. It is known as Tree Pose in Bikram yoga.
This asana can be called a foundational pose other standing pose asanas. Tadasana can be defined as the position of all Sun Salutation sequences from start to end. The position is also used as a resting pose between other postures or asanas.
Tadasana is completely different from simply standing as it is an active pose that stretches all the muscles in the body. Practitioners should engage themselves in a conscious way and be mindful of muscle activation and posture. Tadasana is referred to as both physical and mental levelling. It is beneficial in promoting stability in the mind and the body. It is acknowledged to prompt the root chakras that are symbolic of a sense of security and safety.
Tadasana Benefits
Here are some tadasana benefits you can get once you start practising this asana:
1. Helps in Managing Back Pain
If you are dealing with spinal pain, then tadasana is one of the best yoga to try. Tadasana helps in managing neck and back pain. Practising yoga, especially with a professional teacher, can help relax tense muscles.
2. Helps in Boosting Mental Awareness
Yoga is not just about body movements but meditation too. This pose helps in connecting to your in-depth consciousness and boosts mental awareness. It helps bring more alertness, calmness, and staying composed.
3. Helps in Improving Breathing
Pollution is one of the modern-day issues that cause congested lungs. Tadasana helps in opening up your lungs and lets you breathe deeply. This ends up unclogging your lungs too.
4. Promotes Weight Loss
Tadasana helps improve metabolism, which directly helps in burning calories much faster than the usual time. Therefore, if a person is making weight loss efforts, they should try tadasana to get effective results.
5. Helps in Boosting Energy Levels
Another benefit of the tadasana is that it boosts energy levels as it rejuvenates the mind, body, and soul.
6. Helps in Improving Mood
Yoga has various benefits; practising yoga in daily life helps avoid bad days. As per a study, like other yoga poses, tadasana can help beat depression by strengthening the nervous system. It is also helpful in improving memory and attention.
7. Helpful in providing relief from Sciatica pain
Sciatica can be referred to as a pain that releases from the sciatic nerve, and this pain further diverges itself from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down to the legs. Tadasana is considered to be effective in providing relief from such pains if practised properly as it works on the muscles.
Does Tadasana Increase Height?
Yes, tadasana helps in increasing height as it stretches all the muscles in the body. If you start practising this pose at an early age, then you can end up gaining a few extra inches. You can also ask your children to start practising Tadasana to add a few more inches to their height.
Tadasana Steps - How to Practise the Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
One can follow these steps to perform the asana in an appropriate manner:
- Stand straight on the floor, and make a slight gap between your feet.
- Take a deep breath (inhale), and expand your both arms.
- Keep your arms in the upward direction by meshing your fingers.
- Then, come on the toes by lifting up your heels simultaneously.
- Now, feel the force of stretching of your body from toes to fingers.
- Try to stay in the pose as long as you can with slow and deep breaths.
- Further, come back to the initial position with deep breathing (exhale).
- You can practice for several rounds as per your comfort.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose) Modification Options
There are several ways to modify Tadasana. Modifications convey ease to the posture, adjust individual differences, and offer a variety of benefits. Some of the modifications are:
1. Using a Chair
You can do seated tadasana to improve your posture and build up your core strength. It also helps in giving proper alignment to your neck, shoulders, and spine.
2. Tadasana During Pregnancy
During pregnancy, you may sometimes experience tightness in your low back, hips, or knees. Stand with your feet hip-distance apart as this foot placement helps create balance and stretches the muscles to ease the tightness.
3. Arm Variations
To make it slightly comfortable in the beginning, try to test with arms. Raise your arms upwards with palms facing each other, or put your hands behind your back in a reverse prayer, or cross your fingers and extend your arms with your palms facing ahead. Then lift your arms overhead with your palms facing upward. This variation is good if you have alignment issues in the beginning.
4. Get Support From a Wall
For a proper posture, practice Tadasana with your back taking support of a wall. Gently cram your shoulder edges, sacrum, and backs of heels into the wall to practice the pose smoothly. If you are not a regular practitioner, this modification will help you get better with your poses.
5. Balance on the Balls of Your Feet
Balance on feet balls first then, on your heels. According to experts, this slight modification stabilises ankle muscles and thereby increases muscle engagement from the foot upward and agility. Like this, it benefits your complete body posture, balance, and alignment.
Precautions for Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Here are some precautions of tadasana that one should keep in mind while practising the asana:
- Try to avoid rehearsing tadasana for too long as standing for a long time may cause strain on the muscles of the legs.
- Try not to put so much pressure on the knees as it may cause knee pain.
- People who are suffering from migraine, insomnia, joint pain, or low blood pressure should avoid tadasana.
How Many Times Should I Do Tadasana?
One can practice Tadasana at any time of the day for 10-20 seconds at a stretch. Once you get habitual, you can easily do it as many as 10 times a day.
Summing Up on Tadasana Benefits
Tadasana is a foundational yoga asana; it delivers a challenge for all muscles and offers various physical and emotional advantages. It helps you centre your body and mind, which enables creating a calm sense of inner peace.
Sustaining alignment and body cognition is a persistent approach. Standing straight, stable, and centred in Mountain Pose helps enhance body posture, balance, and alignment. Tadasana even helps in doing other yoga poses smoothly as it stretches the body well.
References
- Ledetra Bridges, October 2017; The Efficacy of Yoga as a Form of Treatment for Depression - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5871291/
- Pallav Sengupta, June 2012; Health Impacts of Yoga and Pranayama: A State-of-the-Art Review - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC3415184/
