Studying Tadasana

The first pose we learned about in our first class of yoga teacher training was Tadasana {Mountain Pose}.

Just like when I was a homeschool mom, I grabbed all the books I could find that would mention this particular topic. I remember that reading about the same thing by different authors, different writing styles, and different modalities often worked well for learning new concepts. Reading, writing notes, and watching videos are my favourite ways of learning by myself. I also learn well by watching someone model and then try it myself.

Going back to "school" at 45 is going to be an interesting adventure, and I think that my homeschooling experience will be helpful. I hope so, anyway!

I always have Merlin, our sweet cat, near me. AND tea! That evening, I was steeping and drinking a herbal tea called Mighty Aphrodite from David's Tea. It has raspberry leaf, lemon balm, apple, and rosehip.

The books I used to do a little further studying of Tadasana were:

- Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

- Myths of Asanas: the Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition by Alanna Kaivalya

In class, we used The Key Poses of Yoga by Ray Long.

I also watched Yoga with Adriene's video on Mountain Pose:

Here is my Tadasana, a photo I shared on my instagram from my daily practice, September 12, 2017. It might look like a simple pose but there is a lot going on and it feels powerful and grounded to me. I realize now that my feet are a little far apart and my hands are facing out, but that is what felt good at the time. I look at this photo and I remember the amazing feeling of the sunshine, the soft grass and red dirt under my feet.