Updated December 16, 2014.
Type of pose: Standing
Benefits: Improves posture, strengthens thighs, can help relieve back pain

Instructions:

1. Come to stand with the big toes touching.

2. Lift up all your toes and let them fan out, then drop them down creating a wide solid base. You can separate your heels slightly if your ankles are knocking together uncomfortably.

3. Let the feet and the calves root down into the floor.

4. Engage the quadriceps and draw them upward, causing your knee caps to rise.

5. Rotate both thighs inward, creating a widening of the sit bones.

6. Maintain the natural curves of your spine.

7. Tone the belly, drawing it in slightly.

8. Widen the collar bones and make sure the shoulders are parallel to the pelvis.

9. The neck is long, the crown of the head rises toward the ceiling, and the shoulder blades slide down the back.

It may seem like you are just standing there, but bringing the body into alignment is hard work. The alignment for Tadasana carries in to many of the standing and inverted poses.

Beginners: Take a block between the thighs. Squeeze the block and roll it slightly backward to feel the engagement and rotation of the thighs.