Samasthiti (Tadasana) Tutorial
The way we hold ourselves is a form of communication. Only 8-12 percent of our communication is made of words. The rest is posture, tonality, eye contact, and the pace of our breath.
Proper posture gives us the gift of standing in our power. With postural awareness, we can tread the earth confidently and with great reverence. Our physical form can be totally free while simultaneously expressing a sense of internal boundary or “personal standards”.
To stand up straight, be fully present, with a vibrant tone and openness in the body is to interact with creation, moment to moment.
This tutorial of “Same Standing Posture” or Samasthiti, is a tool for presenting yourself, to yourself on a practice mat, and useful for the way you wish to present yourself to the world.
Samasthiti is the Mother or Father of all the other asanas. It is the foundational posture taught by The Jai Sugrim Method. The alignment of all subsequent postures is contained in samasthiti.
Samasthiti is a simple looking pose, where we stand with the feet together and the body upright. Underneath that simplicity of “standing up straight” is an ocean of activity. Awareness is spread throughout the entire body, as the feet press into the earth causing the lower body to root down. As this occurs, the waist and skull rise upwards. There is a rooting and lifting energy that causes the body to feel strong, stable and light like “an antennae”. The subtleties of the posture give rise to many energetics that will be called upon in more complex postures further on in practice.
Samasthiti comes from the Sanskrit root words sama, meaning “same,” “equal” or “upright,” and sthiti, meaning “to establish” or “to stand.”
The pose can be thought of as “same standing” posture, where there is a sense of symmetry between the right and left halves of the body, as well as the front and back sides of the body. It is an opportunity to find a sense of balance every time we stand up consciously. It is a chance to “be in place fully”, like you mean to be there, with no hiding. Energetically, samasthiti is represents standing before oneself, honestly.
Samasthiti is also known as mountain pose in some yoga lineages. In this way, when we stand straight we are making the body resemble the most stable object we can imagine. A mountain is rooting into the earth, while simultaneously reaching for the heavens
It is performed at the beginning and ending of the surya namaskara sequence.
This is a good asana for cultivating stillness, strength and a sense of relaxed power. It can be performed in between other asanas to allow the mind and body to absorb the benefits of the previous asana and prepare for the next one.
Samasthiti can be used to cultivate a connection with the earth.