I Am A Mountain

Stand up straight.
She's a real pushover.
Those are tough shoes to fill.
Take a stand.
Hold your ground.
She crumbles under pressure.

Ever use, heard or been told the above cliches? I know that even if people haven't spoken those words directly to me, at uncertain times, I have certainly experienced them. And that's the beauty of yoga. It has the ability to teach us to take what we practice on the mat out into our everyday world.

We salute the sun. We bow to the moon. We stand with one foot sending its roots down into the earth as we hold tree pose. We stand, unwavering, solid and firm-fully connected in Mountain pose.

Yoga has been around for many years and continues to evolve into its current practiced form. How yoga relates to the natural world is evident in the number of poses that are directly named for the environment.

This week's thought is around the essence of mountain pose, or Tadasana (ta-DA-sana) in Sanskrit. The yoga studio in Palm Springs where I teach on Tuesday and Thursday evenings is named for this pose as Palm Springs rests at the foot of the San Jacinto mountains.

Often in class as we are transitioning through a Sun Salute, or standing Warrior sequence, we flow through or pause in Tadasana. It is said that Tadasana is the foundation for all other poses, in that we feel its presence particularly when we're inverted as though our feet are standing on the sky. For most yoga practitioners, paying attention to not only the physical sensation of Tadasana, but what it represents is my thought for the week.

My adorable and gentle male golden retriever naturally takes a "don't mess with me" stance by stomping his front legs into the earth, puffing out his chest and firming up his back when someone steps into our yard that he's uncertain about. It's an instinctive reaction to holding his ground. His own canine interpretation of Mountain pose.

Have you ever had to confront something that was scary? Something that if you could shy away from, you would, rather than facing it? Many occasions exist when we have this feeling but we would rather be a turtle, than a mountain. It's during these times, that we can better prepare ourselves by inhabiting not only the physical posture but the attitude of the MOUNTAIN.

As we stand with our feet firmly planted, our femurs slightly rolling in to stabilize our pelvis and activate our arches, we can visualize our chest, shoulders and head as being held directly above our foundation. I often suggest we have a positive charge on the crown of our head and the sky is the attractive negative charge that offers us a lifting sensation throughout our being. We stand with our hands and eyes soft, but with our chest and heart open. Just enough tension to create an energy flow throughout our being rather than a militaristic "TEN HUT" stance.

Stand in your feet.
Stand up to what you need to face.
Stand up for yourself or take a stance for something you believe in.
Don't just do Tadasana.

BE...Tadasana. Be the mountain.

Lastly, how easy is it to move a mountain?