The pose within all yoga poses is called Mountain pose - Tadasana. Yet it can feel like a bore and chore, sometimes. What new discoveries can I find in this pose today? Can I be less intense, less fierce and feel more natural while maintaining the integrity of a Mountain tadasana benefits?
Placement of Feet
I stand with feet a little closer together than usual. The result is a little more muscular effort in the legs. I observe this, decide to accept this extra effort and consciously exhale a little slower and deeper for a few breaths to release any unnecessary tension. Mountain legs.
Internal check: Is that right buttock, gluteus maximus, acting up? No, it's not. It has not received an automatic internal message to defend the body. My interpretation: The threat to my survival coast is clear! This is good news.
Core
It's time to activate the innermost layers of the abdominal muscles, the inner corset, just a bit more. The torso lengthens and I feel the front and sides of the body expand to various degrees with the inhale. Taller stronger mountain!
Internal check: Is the back of the body also moving with the breath? Aha, that back side that is so ignored. I recruit gentle Ujjayi breathing, ( sometimes called Ocean breath as it sounds like the ocean) and with my focus at the back of the body feel the shoulder blades slide away from each other and then back again towards each other. The rib cage becomes an accordion.
Head and neck
I observe the position of my head and slowly draw the head and neck back a little, then move it forward and back again playfully a few times to avoid tensing. A smile comes to my lips. There is a sense of freedom now and I allow that undulating movement to increase and flow through my spine with the breath. The upper mountain sways a little, receiving more life, while the base remains strong and unshakeable. Even the shoulders find new freedom and joy as I move them forward and up and back and down a few times. And any tension that might have accumulated within the still Mountain is banished.