How to Practice Tadasana
Start by simply standing, then refine from the ground up:
- Place your feet — Together or hip-width apart, parallel, grounding evenly through all four corners
- Engage your legs — Thighs lightly active, kneecaps lifting (not locking)
- Level your pelvis — Neither tucking nor arching excessively; find neutral
- Lengthen your spine — Tailbone descends as crown ascends
- Open your chest — Collarbones wide, shoulder blades gently down the back
- Relax your arms — Alongside your body, palms facing forward or toward thighs
- Balance your head — Chin parallel to floor, ears over shoulders
- Soften your face — Eyes, jaw, tongue, forehead all relaxed
Alignment from Ground Up
Feet
- Weight distributed evenly across both feet
- Press through big toe mound, little toe mound, inner heel, outer heel
- Slight lift in arches
- Toes spread and relaxed
Legs
- Thighs engaged, rotating slightly inward
- Knees straight but not hyperextended
- Shins perpendicular to floor
- Weight balanced front to back
Pelvis & Spine
- Pelvis neutral (front hip bones and pubic bone on same plane)
- Lower belly gently engaged
- Natural spinal curves maintained
- Spine lengthening in both directions
👤 Upper Body & Head
- Shoulders roll back and down
- Chest open, collarbones spreading
- Arms relaxed, fingertips reaching down
- Head balanced, chin level
The Body Scan
Use this checklist to refine your Tadasana from bottom to top:
Ground to Crown
- 1Feet: Even weight through all four corners of each foot?
- 2Ankles: Stacked over heels, not rolling in or out?
- 3Knees: Soft, not locked or hyperextended?
- 4Thighs: Engaged, slight internal rotation?
- 5Pelvis: Neutral, not tilted forward or back?
- 6Lower belly: Gently engaged?
- 7Ribcage: Stacked over pelvis, not flaring forward?
- 8Shoulders: Relaxed down, away from ears?
- 9Arms: Relaxed, fingers reaching toward floor?
- 10Head: Balanced, not jutting forward?
- 11Face: Soft—eyes, jaw, tongue?
- 12Breath: Full, easy, natural?
Benefits of Tadasana
- Improves posture and body awareness
- Strengthens thighs, ankles, and core
- Teaches foundational alignment principles
- Creates mental focus and presence
- Reduces flat feet over time
- Provides starting point for all standing poses
- Calms the nervous system
- Builds proprioceptive awareness
Variations
Arms Overhead
Urdhva Hastasana—arms reach skyward, biceps by ears, palms facing each other or pressing together.
Hands at Heart
Anjali Mudra variation—palms pressed together at heart center. Common in Sun Salutations.
Eyes Closed
Increases balance challenge and internal awareness. Notice how much vision compensates for alignment.
Against a Wall
Use the wall as feedback for alignment. Heels, sacrum, shoulder blades, and back of head touch wall.
Tadasana in Practice
You'll encounter Tadasana throughout your practice:
- Beginning of class — Often where practice begins, setting intention and arriving in the body
- In Sun Salutations — The first and last pose of the sequence
- Between standing poses — The "home base" to return to and reset
- As a standalone practice — Held for extended periods as meditation
- Off the mat — The alignment principles apply whenever you're standing
Taking It Off the Mat
Tadasana isn't just a yoga pose—it's a way of being in your body. Once you understand the alignment principles, you can apply them anywhere: standing in line, waiting for the subway, washing dishes. The practice becomes a constant recalibration, a return to presence.
Notice how you stand when you're not thinking about it. Do you shift weight to one hip? Collapse in your lower back? Jut your head forward toward a screen? Tadasana awareness reveals these patterns. And awareness is the first step toward change.
Master the Foundations
Find studios where teachers break down alignment and build from the basics.