** Posture: Tada-asana - The Mountain Pose ** Translation: The Sanskrit word tada means mountain. This posture is also known by the name samasthiti-asana. Sama means unmoved, equilibrium, and sthiti means standing upright or firmly, abiding, remaining, thus samasthiti means standing firmly without moving. ** Pronunciation: ta-dah-sa-na ** Difficulty: (1) ** Instructions: 1- Stand with your back straight and your arms placed against your sides, palms facing inward, with both feet contacting from the heel to the big toe. 2- Maintain a solid posture by slightly tightening or flexing the muscles in the knees, thighs, stomach, and buttocks. You should be able to balance your weight evenly on both feet. 3-Take a deep breath and raise the buttocks off the legs, arching the back and forcing the abdomen forward. Tilt the head back as far as possible. ** Benefits Poor posture is to blame for a slew of common diseases , aches and pains. When the spine is misaligned or there is tightness or stiffness in the back, the outcome is typically a physical imbalance. When this imbalance persists, it causes a slew of problems in the organs, glands, and neurological system. Practicing the tada-asana helps you to pay great attention to your posture and identify any issues that are camouflaged or disregarded by day-to-day activity. As the posture is maintained and the breath, mind, and body all quieted, a variety of consequences emerge to suggest spinal problems. Favoring one foot over the other, moving back and forth, drooped shoulders, tension in the neck and upper or lower back, and a variety of other physiological abnormalities may develop, all of which indicate the need for further yoga practice. The tada-asana, along with other poses, serves to retrain the body to stand properly and counteract the detrimental consequences of bad posture. When the tad-asana is done correctly and the mind is clear and concentrated, the body feels as though it is securely planted to the soil and as stable and immobile as a mountain. ** Duration/Repetitions: It's best to do one repetition for several minutes. The tada-asana should be done before and after any other standing pose.