consciousness Archives - Mindfully Written

Because Standing is Not Always Easy: How to do Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

If you’ve ever been to a yoga class and did sun salutations – or came to standing at all – you were doing Tadasana, or mountain pose. You just stand there right?! Wrong. Well, that’s maybe what you and most of the class were doing, but there is so much more depth to this pose when it’s broken down into pieces.

Just like every yoga pose, if you take the time to carefully learn and practice all the actions of the pose, you come to see just how complex and thought-out this practice is and how powerful the poses can be in their full expression.

Let’s get to it. We’ll start at the feet and work upward.

Note: This is detailed, complex stuff, so don’t stress about remembering every piece or perfecting the pose, just try it out and see how it feels. You might remember one of these pieces in your next class, and that is a success in my mind. Also, if something doesn’t make sense, just move on. What matters most is your safety, comfort and the feeling of the pose.

Feet

Come to standing at the top of your mat. Look at your feet. Make sure they are hip-width distance apart – this doesn’t mean the outer skin on the hips, but where your upper leg bone (femur) connects into the socket. The goal is to have the legs straight down from that socket, not too narrow or wide. Next, look at your feet. Are you rolling onto the inner or outer edge? Is your weight balanced on your toes or heel? Take a couple moments to pay attention as this is probably your default reaction. Attempt to find balance on your feet, with the weight spread evenly toes to heel and inner arch to outer edge. Also make sure the feet are parallel to each other.

Lastly, press firmly into the ball mount of the big toe. This will help you feel grounded and firm in your footing.

Legs

The legs start with the feet. If you press into that big toe ball mount and lift your toes off the mat, you may feel your quadriceps (or the muscles of the upper leg, above the knee) engage. This muscular engagement lifts the kneecaps slightly, protecting the knee and keeping the legs stable and grounded. Be careful not to hyperextend the knee – if you are prone to hyperextension, think about bending your knees ever so slightly. It’ll feel like they are bent (because you are used to them being hyperextended), but really they will be at neutral.

Lastly with the legs, think about your inner thighs rolling toward the wall behind you, giving a slightly internally rotated hip. If this makes no sense to you, skip it.

Pelvis

I don’t want to talk about the hips, because anatomically, when we talk about hips, we are really not – make sense? The hip is the joint, the area around the hip joint is more accurately the pelvis (when speaking about bones). Most of us ignore our pelvis all together even though it’s a relatively large (not to mention important) area. If you haven’t before, take a moment to find your pelvis. You can feel the upper ridge if you push into the meaty area on the sides of your waist and the boney protrusion you can feel when sitting on a hard surface is the bottom of the pelvis. The base of the spine ends up here and there are tons of muscles and connective tissues holding stuff together.

In Tadasana, we want a neutral pelvis. This means you aren’t sticking out your tailbone and you’re aren’t bringing your bellybutton to your pubic bone. Think about pointing your tailbone straight down to the floor and simultaneously engaging your lower abdomen. Make sure your “hips” are balanced – more accurately, make sure your pelvis isn’t tipping to one side or the other. Many of us have uneven leg length or spinal problems that lead to a naturally unbalanced pelvis, but visualizing a stable, balanced pelvis will help in this pose.

Chest

Stacking onto the neutral pelvis, you want to create a neutral spine by visually stacking each vertebra on top of the other, reflecting the natural curve of the spine. Make sure you aren’t leaning forward, back or to the side. You want to make sure your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and ears are in a straight line if viewed from the side.

Allow your heart to lift slightly, thinking about shining your sternum (or chest) up and out. This isn’t an arch of the back or a muscular effort, but more of a straightening of your posture. We want to avoid a rounded spine, with is like protecting the heart. Let your beautiful heart shine!

Head

Adding again onto the stacked spine, make sure your head is on straight. Keep your ears over your shoulders, avoiding the forward head position we’ve become accustomed to. Lift your chin slightly to ensure you are looking straight ahead.

Arms

Holding everything else still, relax your shoulders, allowing your shoulder blades to slide down your back toward your bum. You want your shoulders to be as far away from your ears as is comfortable. Let your arms come straight down at your sides, noticing if the are in front of your behind the center line from ear to ankle. Teachings vary, but I prefer facing your palms toward each other (rather than toward the top of the mat). Keep your hands engaged and fingers actively reaching toward the floor.

Finally, close your eyes and attempt to hold all these actions at the same time. Challenging stuff!

Recap

To give you a bullet-point list, here are all the actions of Tadasana:

Balance your weight evenly on your feet
Press through ball mount of big toes
Lift your kneecaps (by engaging quads)
Roll thighs inward (toward one another)
Point tailbone to the floor
Engage lower abdominals
Lift your heart
Make sure ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and ears are in alignment
Reach the top of your head toward the ceiling
Relax your shoulderblades
Reach your fingertips toward the floor, palms facing your thighs
Look straight ahead

Finally, let go. You’ll notice when you actively do all these actions, you feel (and look) a bit like a tin soldier. Rigid, conformed, stiff. Instead, we want to keep all the actions, but release the tension or gripping or need to get it perfectly. Maybe a slight smile will cross your lips or you might sigh audibly, but attempt to surrender into the pose. See how that feels and notice how this feels so much differently than just standing haphazardly (not better or worse, just different).

Stay in this pose for 5-10 breaths and visualize yourself as being open, aware and ready to go out into the world. Notice how you can be strong, tall and powerful, yet patient, kind and attentive.

Try this pose and let me know what you think. How did it feel? Did you notice anything important?

Stop Suffering Today

by Amber Erickson

I came across an article in Shambala Sun today titled, “Suffering is Optional.” I, like most, glance at the heading and smirk to myself. At first glance, it’s ridiculous. On second glance, it’s true. At third glance, that one phrase is a reminder that has the potential to shift much of our Earthly experience, if only we allow it.

In times of pain – physically, mental or emotional – our first instinct is to dwell on that pain. But we dwell in a way that suggests that pain is a bad thing, or must go away as quickly as possible. We often become frustrated or attempt to ignore the problem. Mindfulness has another proposition. It is possible to sit with the pain, to truly feel the pain and to look to understand the pain a bit more. In my paradigm, it’s about breathing and allowing oneself to feel. In other paradigms, it’s about being aware and seeing the pain that is reality rather than looking outside of reality to escape the pain. It’s all the same.

How to stop suffering

Now, I understand this may make sense to some and may seem crazy to others so I will give a practical example. Today, while packing boxes in preparing of moving, I slammed my ankle bone into a door frame. My old reaction would have been to hop or limp erratically and unconsciously hold my breath waiting for the pain to subside. It’s possible I would have complained as well, just so others would hear and give me a little sympathy. With a mindfulness practice; however, the approach happened a bit differently. I hit the ankle and upon realizing the pain, I stopped right where I was, breathed slowly and focused all my attention on my ankle. Where attention goes, energy or prana will follow. So I sent breath to the site of the pain. I felt the pain, I questioned the pain, I figured out exactly where in my body the pain was coming from. I wondered if there was pain anywhere else. I examined the skin to look for any sign of the impact. And while I was breathing and considering – which maybe occurred over the course of 10 seconds – I realized the pain really wasn’t that bad and was gone pretty instantly. It’s not to say that paying attention will make the pain go away. It’s quite the opposite actually. I’ve learned this lesson time and time again in my yoga practice. The more focused I am on the sensations, the stronger they can be. Not always, but sometimes, with the increased awareness comes increased sensations. However, learning to allow oneself to truly feel is a powerful lesson that can reverberate throughout life. Learning to feel the full range of emotions, the full range of pain and the full range of pleasure can have profound effects.

Just like everyone else, I’m still working on this. I have found that it’s easier for me to be aware of and truly feel physical pain. Emotions and pleasure are a bit more challenging. Maybe others have a different experience.

Pain will never go away, but we can choose to not let it make us suffer.

Today, I challenge you to attempt to feel in times of pain and suffering. If you feel inspired, comment and let me and others know how it went. This is no easy task, but even thinking about it from time to time can help.

May you choose the path of less suffering today.

Namaste.

Learning to Love the Rain

by Amber Erickson

It’s raining today. Thunder is rumbling in the distance and right now, the rain has temporarily subsided. I can hear the water flowing from the rain gutters out into the grass. I can feel the cool breeze flowing through an opened window. The sound of cars on the road is more moist sounding than usual. Everything about today looks, feels, sounds and smells damp. It’s lovely.

Every time it rains, there are those who whine or complain. It may put a damper on outdoor activities or planned trips to the beach on a summer day. But when I stop to consider the amazing wonder behind a rainfall, I lose any sort of scorn over it. A rainstorm is one of the most obvious ways to see the cycles of nature in action (clearly the circadian rhythms of night and day are more obvious). Water evaporates from bodies of water into the air, where they then become water again and fall from the sky. While simplified, this circular pattern is Mother Nature at her finest, showing the reciprocal nature of the amazing environment around us.

On a more simple level, I think of rain as cleansing. Just as I bathe, the Earth must bathe. Rain is how Mother Earth cleans herself. I always enjoy watching as the plants take on a new luster, a new sense of vitality. I think of rainy days as a time that Mother Earth is taking for herself – it’s like taking a personal day to do what you want to do, to rest, to revitalize, to reflect, to be still and calm.

Now, I understand the argument that rainy days often lead people too feel down or sluggish. I get that; I’m no different. Rather than working right now, I’m tempted to make some tea, grab a blanket and a book and curl up on the couch. I might do that later. But I think this temptation is worth thinking about. When it rains, the animals go into hiding. Birds aren’t singing, squirrels aren’t running about, and even the people appear to be waiting out the storm. I believe this is part of our nature. Rather than running about and thinking of a storm as an inconvenience to our day, maybe think about the message the rain is sending us. Do you need to take it easy today? Are you in need of more self-care? Is the go-go-go mentality slowly wearing you out, making you lose your luster or vitality? Maybe it’s a just a good, cleansing rain you need – mentally, physically, emotionall or spiritually.

How do you react when it rains?

Living with Authenticity

by Amber Erickson

I often see this blog bookmarked in my selection of bookmarks, but I glance right over it. I don’t have anything pressing to write about- at that time. However, when I’m not near a digital device, or when I don’t quite have the idea developed, those are the times I think, “I should write about this.” Once synchronity occurs, you’ll be seeing more from me. But for today, this very topic makes me think of authenticity.

Deeply desired and appreciated by many (most), and underutilized is this idea of being authentic. My studies in yoga and Eastern spirituality point to this topic daily, maybe even hourly. It’s such a part of the fabric of spiritual practices that I don’t think it’s really talked about much, just assumed. Assumed that we get it, and assumed that we understand how it fits into the scheme. But it’s not that easy for humans, having this human experience with this human minds and living in the West with all the external stimuli bombarding us. Some days I don’t even know what authentic is anymore, like was that my idea? Where did I get that? Or my very favorite, how long have I been holding that view/value that I really don’t even agree with!?

Have I lost you yet? I’ve lost myself. Ironic. In the effort to identify myself, to live authentically in every moment, I’ve lost myself to my mind. Silly mind- always getting the way.

Until next time (hopefully a more inspired next time), let’s challenge each other to be more authentic, but authentically authentic (without letting your mind get involved or trying too hard or being less yourself in the effort to be authentic).

At first it sounded easy, I just have to be myself! Not easy….but the outcomes are far more rewarding, in my opinion.

Be well.

Learning to Embrace and Feel Gratitude Toward Ourselves

by Amber Erickson

I can always count on yoga classes to stir up motivation- and today was no different. I took the time to attend two classes this morning, and I’m really glad I did. The first was difficult and taught at a high-level. From standing half-moon to warrior 3 variations to a bunch of other stuff I can’t seem to remember right now, it was enough of a challenge that the days topic of gratitude didn’t really have a chance to sink in. I then stayed for a beginner class, and with the slower pace and more reflective time, I was able to work with gratitude a bit more.

It occurred to me that at this time of year, so many of us begin to think about the things we’re grateful for. It could be the changing of the seasons that naturally promotes more self-study and reflection, it could be people gearing up for Thansgiving, or it could be a more social activity for some, as can be seen on Facebook and similar. It appears we often say or think we are grateful for something, but how often do we show gratitude for these same things. Or take it from just a mental or intellectual type of gratitude, to a more emotional or energetic thanks-giving.

The example most relevant to me right now is the physical body. Just the other day I was thinking about how I am grateful that I am able-bodied. I don’t have any physical ailments, am healthy, am active and have the means to do what I want to do, on my own, without much, if any, assistance. Many people don’t have the “luxury”…it’s neither good nor bad, just a different experience. However, as an able-bodied person, I can’t really imagine not being able-bodied, so it makes sense to me to be grateful. I thought it, I maybe said it out loud and that was it. I moved on to the next thing.

Today, in class, we were asked to give thanks to our bodies. I then took that further and thought about taking language out of the equation and just through my mindful movements and breath, showed my body how grateful I was for the work it was doing. I used my heart to give thanks to my body, rather than using my mind. It seems odd, it sounds odd…I get that. But I ended a really difficult class with a new appreciation for what my body and breath were able to do, and a new understanding that they are capable of much more than I often give enough credit. They are with me; they sustain me. They are there for me- able to support me in times of happiness, sadness, joy, anguish and indifference. And I got the opportunity to spend two hours just being with them today. What a great way to show gratitude to myself!

The interesting thing is I didn’t even realize, until after-the-fact, that often our gratitude is just at the spoken, surface level, rather than a true feeling or showing. I’m just as guilty as anyone. But yet, one’s process of showing thanks is highly individual. Not everyone would derive the same sort of experience I did, and many others may have a deep connection with speaking their gratitudes. Whatever works for you, go with that. In this season of shortening days, darkness and cool weather, take the time to reflect on what you’re grateful for, and maybe even think about how you can live this gratitude. Rather than just thinking it, how can we show and live our gratitude? If it’s a friend, maybe a personal card thanking them for their support would be nice. If it’s a pet, maybe a special treat could be fun. If it’s a partner, try giving yourself to them 100% and see what it feels like to be truly present to them for an evening. The possibilities are infinite. As has been discussed in other posts, I believe awareness is key. Rather than just living mindlessly and taking advantage, we could all take a moment each day to be aware of that which sustains us, helps us, loves us, supports us and is of and around us. There is much there to be thankful for. Rather than giving thanks this thanksgiving season, let us show thanks. May the beauty of our hearts radiate inward and outward.