Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Mountain Pose is standing still on purpose. You stand on both feet and pay attention to how you’re standing: where your weight falls, what your knees and pelvis are doing, and how to stay tall without going stiff. It looks like nothing much, but it sets up most standing poses, and many classes and sun salutations begin from it.

Anyone who can stand can practice it, and there is a seated version for anyone who can’t stand for long. You’ll find more poses in our pose library. If you’re just starting out, read yoga for beginners and how to start yoga at home.

In this guide

1. How to do Mountain Pose
2. Alignment cues
3. Common mistakes
4. Make it easier (props)
5. Variations
6. Poses to do before and after
7. Who should skip it or ask a doctor first
8. What the research says
9. Frequently asked questions
10. Sources

How to do Mountain Pose

1. Stand on your mat with your feet parallel, about hip-width apart. If it feels steady, you can instead bring your big toes together with a small gap between your heels.
2. Lift all ten toes and fan them out, then lay them back down, long and relaxed.
3. Notice how your weight sits on your feet. Share it evenly between your right and left foot, and between the front of each foot and the heel.
4. Feel three points of each foot on the floor: the ball of the foot behind your big toe, the ball behind your little toe and the middle of your heel.
5. Straighten your legs without pushing your knees backward. Firm the fronts of your thighs a little, as if your kneecaps were drawing up.
6. Let your pelvis settle in neutral, neither tipped forward into a big arch nor tucked under. A gentle inward curve in your lower back is normal.
7. Draw your lower belly in slightly, just enough to feel your trunk support you, and keep breathing.
8. Lift your breastbone a little and let your collarbones spread wide. Let your shoulder blades settle down your back, so your shoulders stay away from your ears.
9. Let your arms hang loose beside your body, palms turned in or forward, whichever feels more natural.
10. Bring your head back over your shoulders with your chin level. Grow tall through the top of your head, and soften your face and jaw.
11. Breathe slowly for 5 to 10 breaths. To finish, let the effort go and move on to your next pose.

Alignment cues

• Side view: your ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles sit roughly one above the other.
• Feet: if you can’t tell where your weight is, rock gently toward your toes and back toward your heels a few times, then settle halfway between.
• Knees: straight but soft, with your kneecaps facing the same way as your toes.
• Thighs: quietly active, not clenched. A block between your thighs can help you feel this (see below).
• Ribs: your lower front ribs stay in line with your pelvis instead of poking forward.
• Chest and shoulders: wide and easy. Think of broad collarbones, not a puffed-out chest.
• Head: stacked over your shoulders, with the back of your neck long. Look straight ahead at one still point.
• Effort: enough to stand tall, never so much that you grip or hold your breath.

Common mistakes

• Locked knees. Pressing your knees all the way back is a common standing habit. Keep your legs straight but soft, and if your knees tend to bend backward, keep a tiny bend in them.
• Standing at attention. A puffed chest, shoulders pinned back and clenched muscles make the pose rigid. Mountain Pose should feel tall and relaxed at the same time.
• Tucking or sticking out the tailbone. Squeezing your buttocks to tuck the pelvis under flattens your lower back. Tipping the pelvis forward does the opposite and deepens the arch. Aim for the middle.
• Ribs flaring. When the lower ribs push forward, the lower back usually arches with them. Let the front ribs soften down.
• Weight drifting into the heels or toes. It’s easy to lean back on your heels or tip forward without noticing. Rock to find the middle again.
• Chin poking forward or tipped up. Slide your head back over your shoulders and keep your chin level.
• Holding your breath. Keep breathing slowly through the whole hold.

Watch out for: dizziness, lightheadedness or feeling faint while you stand still. Sit or lie down right away. If you actually faint, see a doctor, even if it’s the first time, and talk to your doctor if the lightheaded feeling keeps coming back (MedlinePlus).

Make it easier (props)

• Wall check. Stand with your heels an inch or two from a wall. Let your buttocks, shoulder blades and the back of your head touch it lightly, with small gaps behind your neck and lower back. If your head reaches the wall only when you tip your chin up, leave a gap there instead. Then step forward and keep the same shape.
• Feet wider apart. Hip-width or a little wider gives you a broader, steadier base than feet together.
• A wall or chair within reach. If you feel unsteady, stand next to a wall or the back of a sturdy chair and touch it for support as often as you like. Cleveland Clinic suggests standing near a wall if you’re unsteady.
• Block between the thighs. Hold a yoga block between your upper inner thighs and squeeze it lightly. It gives your legs something to work against, so it’s easier to feel them engage.
• Seated Mountain Pose. Choose a sturdy chair without wheels and sit forward on the seat, away from the backrest. Plant your feet about as wide as your hips, shins roughly upright. If your feet don’t reach the floor, rest them on blocks or books. Sit tall, let your hands rest on your thighs and breathe slowly. It’s a good option if standing for long is hard. See chair yoga for more seated poses.
• Mirror. Stand side-on to a mirror and check that your ears are over your shoulders and your shoulders over your hips.

Variations

• Arms overhead. Breathe in and sweep your arms up, palms turned toward each other or pressed together. Keep your shoulders away from your ears and your ribs from flaring. Breathe out and lower your arms. If a shoulder is sore or injured, lift your arms only as high as is comfortable.
• Hands at your chest. Press your palms together in front of your breastbone and take a few breaths there before your next pose.
• Eyes closed. With a wall within reach, close your eyes for a few breaths and notice how your body makes small corrections to stay balanced. Skip this if you have balance problems or get dizzy.

Poses to do before and after

• Start here: Mountain Pose is a natural first pose for a home session. In Cleveland Clinic’s sun salutation guide, it is the quiet moment before the sequence begins.
• Step into: Warrior II, or balance on one leg in Tree Pose.
• Coming up from the floor: from Downward-Facing Dog, step your feet forward between your hands, hang loosely for a breath, then come up to standing slowly, head last.
• Before standing work: a few rounds of Cat-Cow warm up your spine.
• To rest afterward: kneel and fold into Child’s Pose.
• Read next: how long to hold a yoga pose.

Frequently asked questions

Should your feet be together or apart in Mountain Pose?

Either way is correct, and teachers differ. Feet hip-width apart give you a wider base, which usually feels steadier, so it’s a sensible choice in pregnancy or if your balance is shaky. Big toes together with heels slightly apart asks a little more of your balance.

How long should you hold Mountain Pose?

5 to 10 slow breaths is plenty on its own. In your first weeks, 3 to 5 is fine too. Cleveland Clinic suggests half a minute to a minute, building up as the pose gets easier. Between other standing poses, a breath or two is enough. Come out sooner if you feel lightheaded. More on timing: how long to hold a yoga pose.

Is Mountain Pose the same as Downward-Facing Dog?

No. In most English-language classes, Mountain Pose means Tadasana, the standing pose on this page. Some sun salutation sequences, though, use the name “mountain pose” (Parvatasana) for an upside-down V shape like Downward-Facing Dog, as Cleveland Clinic’s sun salutation guide does. If a video says “mountain” while everyone has their hands on the floor, that’s the pose it means.

Does Mountain Pose improve your posture?

We found no study that tested it. Mountain Pose gives you a moment to notice how you usually stand and to practice a balanced alternative. Whether doing it regularly changes how you stand the rest of the day is still an open question.

Does Mountain Pose (Tadasana) increase height?

No. Your bones stop growing in length once the growth plates close, sometime during the teen years (NIAMS), and no study we found shows that any yoga pose adds height after that. Standing up straight can make you look taller, but that’s posture, not growth.

Can you do Mountain Pose sitting down?

Yes. Seated Mountain Pose uses the same setup from the hips up: sit tall toward the front of a sturdy chair with both feet flat (see “Make it easier” above). Cleveland Clinic describes a seated version too.