Standing poses make up an important part of the physical practice of yoga (asana). They keep you strong and flexible. They encompass different elements of other poses: From forward and back bends, side stretches, twists, balances and even inversion.
Because they can be quite strenuous, in most yoga practices standing postures are done in the first half of the session in order to warm up the body, develop stamina, and ensure that you have enough energy to maintain the poses.
The key to standing poses is to build a steady foundation, and this means your feet. By firmly grounding your feet, you will have more freedom to lengthen, spread out and twist.
Below are three basic standing poses that you can incorporate into your practice. They are aimed at strengthening your legs, opening your hamstrings and your hip area and increasing your upper body's range of movement.
Hold each of these poses for at least three to five deep breaths and try to focus your gaze at one point to maintain your awareness and focus while doing it.
You want to begin by centering yourself. Sitting cross-legged on the edge of a cushion, practice diaphragmatic breathing for a few minutes. Then you can warm yourself up with five or more sets of Surya Namaskar or sun salutation.
Standing poses
1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
This is the most important of all the standing poses. It teaches you to stand tall like a mountain on firm ground.
Bring your feet together, making sure they are parallel by checking that both second toes are pointing forward.
You can keep them a little apart if your knees or back are stiff. Spread the weight of your body evenly across your feet, heels and toes. Lift your inner ankle to define the arches of your feet.
Now bring attention to the base of the spine. Move the top of the front thighs back slightly and draw the pubic bone in towards the core of the belly.
Then balance this out by tucking the tailbone under to bring the buttocks back into line.
Gently lift the chest away from the belly, feeling the spine extending upward through the crown of the head. Relax your shoulders and allow them to drop away from the ears.
Let the arms be loose and relaxed beside the body and the palms of the hands face in. Draw the chin slightly in toward the throat so that it is parallel to the floor and the back of your neck is in its natural curve. Stay here in stillness.
2. Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
This pose strengthens the legs and works the hips. It also stretches the torso and opens the chest to allow for deep breathing.
From mountain pose, step the feet apart about the length of your legs and turn the right foot out 90 degrees. Turn the back foot inward 15 degrees and raise the arms to shoulder height, palms facing down.
Inhale, feel your spine lengthening and spread your energy away from you. Exhale and extend your upper body to the right side. Keep your right hip on the same plane as your shoulder and place the right hand as far down the front of the right leg as you can comfortably. Lift from the top edge of the right hip and lengthen the side.
Raise the left arm towards the ceiling with the palm facing forward and turn to the face towards sky. Stay here for a few breaths. To release, inhale, lift yourself up to standand exhale. Turn your feet to the other side to repeat on the other side.
3. Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana)
This pose connects you to the power of your legs and your arms and teaches you to honor the warrior quality within you.
Step the feet wide enough apart so that when you spread your arms out, your wrists and your ankles are in line with one another.
Turn the right foot out 90 degrees and make sure that your heel is opposite the arch of the left foot. Turn the left foot about 15-degree inward. Square your hips to the front, tuck the tailbone under and lift the chest and spine upward.
Raise the arms to the side, extending out through the fingers and relax the shoulders. Turn towards your right hand and look at the middle fingertip.
Inhale deeply and, as you exhale, bend the right knee so that the right thigh is parallel to the floor and the right knee is directly above the ankle.
Stay here for a moment. When you're ready to release, inhale as you straighten the right leg and exhale to turn the feet to the other side to stretch the second side.
End the standing sequences with a simple seated forward bend (Paschimottanasana).
Sit on the floor with the legs straight out in front of you. If you need to, sit at the edge of a cushion, or, if you have tight back or hamstring, slightly bend your knees.
Inhale and reach your arms up, lengthening your spine and lifting your chest up towards the ceiling. As you exhale, fold forward towards your feet.
If you can, reach for your feet, or alternatively, use a strap around the feet and hold it with both hands. Maintain a straight spine and keep the curve of your neck neutral.
To end this, go to corpse pose (Savasana). Lie on your back spread your legs apart wider than the hips and let the feet flop to the side.
Let your arms relax to your side with the palms facing up. Close your eyes, return to your natural deep breath and stay here for a moment.
There are many more standing poses you can incorporate into your practice that we will discuss later. For now, enjoy this simple and short practice and stay strong on your feet. Namaste.
The writer is a yoga practitioner and teacher. Yoga Connection is a regular column on all things yoga, appearing every second week in the Body & Soul section. For questions and comments, please email her at dasmaran@indo.net.id.
