During this pandemic, it has often been said that we are at a stand still.  So much has stopped.  So much has closed.  Uncertainty swirls around us daily.  It’s so easy to feel untethered and uneasy.  In yoga, when we stand still it is called Tadasana (mountain pose) or Samasthiti (equal standing).  While it is one of the most fundamental poses it is also one of the most complex.  I have been working on my Tadasana since day one and still feel I am a work in progress.  It is often a welcome pause during a practice to check in and see how one is doing, what the residue of the practice feels like at that moment and possibly catch one’s breath! 

At a time like this it’s nice to come to this pose as a reminder.  I am still standing, I am strong and tall and aware.  To take a moment in Tadasana, come to standing and ground feet into the floor.  Feel the earth under your feet.  See that it feels that most of your weight is in your heels. Think for a moment of being in Samasthiti, equal in both legs, stable and strong.  Lift up from your inner arches all the way up the inner leg and keep that lift as you draw up the front body.  Lowest part of the abdomen draws in and up and that allows the whole front body to lift.  Tether the ribs in place but at the same time lift up and expand the heart center.  Check that the chin is remaining parallel to the floor.  Now that the front body is lifting upward, allow the back body to melt downward.  Shoulders move away from the ears.  Now you might find yourself standing rigid, so on an exhale soften yourself a bit.  Let your gaze soften as well  or have eyes closed and connect to the movement of breath.  Visualize yourself as a mountain.  Inhale up the front side of your body and exhale down the back side.  Take several rounds of deep full breaths like this.  Strong and firm like a mountain.  A mountain that withstands all the assaults of nature and time.  

Just as we will withstand the assault to our minds and bodies of this unusual time.  After a few moments like this, release knowing you can come back to your mountain anytime to connect to this grounding and stability.