Tāḍāsana is from the Sanskrit words ताड tāḍa, "mountain" and आसन āsana meaning "posture" or "seat". Samasthitiḥ is from सम sama meaning "equal", level", or "balanced"; स्थिति sthiti, "stand". The pose is unknown in hatha yoga until the 20th centuryLight on Yoga, but the pose appears in the 1896 Vyayama Dipika, a manual of gymnastics, as part of the "very old" sequence of danda exercises. Norman Sjomansuggests that it is one of the poses adopted into modern yoga as exercise in Mysore by Krishnamacharya and forming the "primary foundation" for his vinyasas with flowing movements between poses. The pose would then have been taken up by his pupils Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar.
Description
It is a basic standing asana in most forms of yoga with feet together and hands at the sides of the body. There is some contention between different styles of yoga regarding the details of the asana which results in some [|variations]. The posture is entered by standing with the feet together, grounding evenly through the feet and lifting up through the crown of the head. The thighs are lifted, the waist is lifted, and the spine is elongated. Breathing is relaxed. Although Tāḍāsana is a basic asana, it is the basis for many standing asanas. As such, it is important as it allows the body and consciousness to integrate the experience of the preceding āsana and to prepare for the next. Asanas that help prepare for Tāḍāsana include Adho Mukha Svanasana and Uttanasana.
Variations
Placing the feet wider is common in vinyasa styles of yoga and provides a more stable base in this and other such standing asanas. Namaskarasana, Pranamasana, or Prayer Pose has the hands in prayer position in front of the chest. Pashchima Namaskarasana or Reverse Prayer Pose has the hands in prayer position behind the back. Urdhva Vrikshasana, also called Urdhva Hastasana or upward tree pose, has the hands stretched straight upwards, and the gaze is upward to the Angusthamadhye Drishti. The pose occurs twice in Ashtanga Yoga's Surya Namaskar. Parshvasana, also called Indudalasana, known from 1968, has the arms lifted and the body stretched over to one side. Anuvittasana or Hasta Uttanasana, has the arms raised and the back arched. An extreme form of the pose is Tiryang Mukhottanasana, in which the back bend is sufficient to enable the hands to grasp the ankles. Some reclining asanas such as Supta Tadasana stem from Tadasana.
Iyengar Yoga
considers Tadasana pivotal as the foundation of most standing asanas. It teaches practitioners to balance the weight equally on the two feet.The feet are placed together, the shins and thighs are aligned, and the chest is lifted. The pose is not distinguished from Samasthitih. The arms can be raised over the head or kept at the sides of the legs. It appears in the 1st and 2nd weeks of Iyengar's āsana courses as detailed in Light on Yoga.
In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Tadasana is performed on the toes, while Samasthitiḥ is flat footed. In this style of yoga the two āsanas are different. Samasthitiḥ is the centerpiece of the standing sequence and the foundation for the Hasta Vinyasas, Parsva Bhangi vinyasas, Uttanasana vinyasas, and squatting/hip stretching asanas. In the standing sequence, the final asana of the series is Tadasana, performed on the toes. In Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Tadasana is the beginning and ending asana in the warm-up Surya Namaskar sequence. It is sometimes interspersed throughout Ashtanga Series when full vinayasas are used, and it is the foundational pose for all standing asanas. The Nasagra Drishti at the tip of the nose is considered the correct drishti for Tadasana in the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style. Sushumna drishti is encouraged to draw the awareness inward. Uddiyana bandha, Mula Bandha and Jalandhara Bandha are all considered appropriate for Tadasana.
