February 2020 Pose of the Month: Tadasana/Mountain Pose

Tadasana (tada = mountain; asana = pose);

Mountain Pose; also known as Samasthiti or Equal Standing pose

We stand together. Strong as mountains. Unwavering and calm in our own power.

Blue Sky Yoga students from left to right: Heidi Tobe, Feleg Abraha, Cindy Campbell, Jim Etling, Nikki Dosanjh, and Blue Sky Yoga teacher Maury Browning

Here at Blue Sky Yoga we celebrate Share the Love in February. And we’re extending that love by showcasing a pose for us all to get better acquainted with each month. And with this idea, we would love for you all to share your pose with us on our social pages: Facebook and Instagram. Let’s see how we all show up for ourselves. And see how we all use the practice and the postures and our breath to explore the various states of our being. And lastly, let us also see that while we all show up together in the same pose, we also all show up in a multitude of beautiful and powerful bodies which means each of these poses will be unique to all of us. 

And why not have our inaugural Pose of the Month begin with the foundational pose for all other standing poses. Many people who may see this pose will think this is a non pose, there’s nothing to it, but oh, what this passerby doesn’t know! Just like the mountain in which this pose is named for, Tadasana asks us to stand in our magnificent power unwavering in our understanding of our highest and truest self. This pose is a powerful pose engaging all of our muscles and senses and allows us the opportunity to be present with ourselves standing in our own power and acknowledging the power we hold within our bodies, minds and spirits, to be here now, to be powerfully present, to be enough just as we are in this very moment.

Stand both tall & strong

Mountain is my power pose

I will NOT fall down

~Erin Vehige, Blue Sky Yoga Instructor

How To

1. Stand with your feet inner hip width distance apart, outside edges of the feet parallel to the outside edges of your mat.

2. Lift and spread through all 10 toes, then press down with your big toe mound, pinky toe mound and then inside and outside edges of the heels (pada bandha)

3. After you feel grounded in the feet, set your toes back down imagining you can bring each toe down individually from your pinky toe to your big toe.

4. We root to rise, so once you feel that connection to the earth, feel as though you are drawing energy from Mother Earth herself, up through your feet into your legs

5. Energetically press your feet as if to widen your mat, feel the energy come up through your strong legs. You are not actually moving your feet; this is an energetic action. Make sure your knees are not locking

6. Firm and lift through your pelvic floor (mula bandha) and up through the core to support your back.

7. Let your heart/chest lift slightly, and be sure to soften your shoulders at the same time.

8. Turn your palms forward and energize through your fingertips.

9. Draw your chin parallel to the floor and pull your head back to line up with the spine.

10. Draw up energy again from your feet through the crown of your head. Bring a slight smile to your face.

11. If it feels comfortable to you, close your eyes and just be here in this moment, standing in your power, knowing that you are perfect and powerful just as you are here and now.

Variations

• Palms together at the heart in Anjali mudra, chin slightly lowered to fingertips 

• Try Mountain Pose with your back at the wall

• In a chair ground through feet, press through sitting bones to engage the core, lift the heart and reach through the crown of the head

• Urdhva Hastasana/Upward Salute: arms overhead, slight backbend

Benefits

• Facilitates good alignment and posture, which strengthens and tones the core muscles

• Creates space within the body allowing internal organs to work more efficiently thus improving respiration, digestion and elimination

• Stabilizes the body and mind – promotes emotional balance and grounding

• Relaxes the central nervous system

• Improves confidence

Prep Poses

• Shoulder openers-shoulder rotation, shoulder flossing

• Savasana

• cat/cow

• Toe stretches

• Ankle circles

• Uttanasana/Standing Forward Fold

• Ardha Uttanasana/Half Standing Forward Fold

• Phalakasana/Plank Pose

Counter Poses 

• Uttanasana/Standing Forward Fold

• Ardha Uttanasana/Half Standing Forward Fold

• Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Facing Dog Pose

• Balasana/Child’s Pose

Contraindications & Cautions

• Low Blood Pressure (if pose held too long)

• Dizziness

• Migraines

Teacher Talk Tuesday: Meet Andrew Bayer

How did you begin practicing and teaching yoga?

I started a committed practice a year and a half ago. I had just moved back to St. Louis, in the middle of a break-up, was trying to finish my undergraduate degree, and had some serious anxiety and depression that went along with that. My therapist and doctor recommended yoga or exercise to help, and it did. As my practice grew, and the closer I got to graduation, the more I realized I didn’t want to figure out what to do with my communications degree. I realized I wanted to be a yoga instructor. 

So, I looked around at some different 200 hour yoga teacher trainings in St. Louis, but many of them take several months to complete. That’s fine if you already have a job, community, etc., but I was still working on obtaining all of that. One of my instructors told me I that traveling might be a good idea. So, I found a few trainings in India and ultimately decided on one in Rishikesh, on the sacred river Ganga. 

Before going, I participated in the January yoga challenge at Blue Sky, which happened to be my first studio experience, and I loved it. I then spent all of February in India, and started teaching at Blue Sky in March.

How has yoga been transformational in your life?

It has given me many tools to calm myself and live a more structured, happy life. There are so many tools within the yoga system that allow us to pull from during hardships. And to transform our life, we need the niyama of svadhyaya (self study or virtuous observance) as a guide to look at what we need in our life, what other parts of yoga to look to for transformation, like asana, pranayama, meditation or a yama or niyama — the tools are all there.

What do you do to prepare for class?

I have a theme for each month based around a part of yoga philosophy. Stacy Berry ERYT500, founder of Yoga Pipeline teacher trainings and public school yoga programs, recommended this practice to me when I was experiencing a period of overwhelm. I teach many classes, so it’s hard to prepare a new, fresh class for each class, every week. So, now I have a monthly theme where poses are based around that theme. Each week is based around a certain flow, peak asana, or sequence that I’m enjoying, and then I adapt that based around the style of class I’m teaching. I spend 2-5 minutes in the beginning of class just talking on the subject of yoga philosophy for that month. I find inspiration from my personal practice, going to other classes, researching, studying and learning…always learning.

Do you have a favorite pose or movement?

My favorite asana is always changing, and I like to include my favorites in most of my classes. For the past few months I’ve been highlighting Vajrasana or Thunderbolt Pose. Typically you might see this as a transition to get to another place, but I like to keep my students in this shape and explain the benefits. 

This is a little different...If you were a yoga pose what would you be and why?

When I practice, If I’m tired I might hang out in Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend for several breaths (or minutes!). So, Forward Fold, that’s me.

What’s your favorite type of music to play while practicing?

I prefer instrumental music. In India, we didn’t listen to music during our asana practice, and I loved the quiet focus this created — just the cues, your breath and body moving. When I started teaching, I considered teaching without music, but I settled on instrumental music. Lo-Fi Beats and Sweater Weather Instrumentals are Spotify pre-made playlists I enjoy.

Does your personal practice differ from how you teach?

I practice a whole range of yoga styles, and I enjoy teaching a variety — gentle yoga, restorative, a tough vinyasa — as well. I use props during my practice, and I cue poses with props, too.  I don’t like when a class is too fast-paced, and I try not to teach that way, either. I’m usually the slowest moving person in a class; I like to be in each asana for a few breaths.

Recommended reading (yoga and/or non-yoga)

• My current reading is Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow.

• Falling into Grace by spiritual teacher Adyashanti was helpful in my life and a book I’m reminding myself of so I go back to it soon. 

• The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is a great guide to living life, similar to the Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele.

• My favorite book of all-time is a children’s book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, a beautifully illustrated, moving epic by Grace Lin. 

How would you describe yourself? What do you want people to know about you? 

I’m tall. That’s kind of my joke answer. But, it’s true. The reason I bring it up, though, is because I know this might be intimidating, practicing with a male yoga instructor who is a physical presence. But, I’m also a gentle, kind and introspective person. And I hate talking about myself, which is why the only thing I could think of is that “I’m tall.” 

Outside of yoga what is your passion/Where can you be found?

I love coffee shops. I like getting coffee after yoga. I like planning classes, my week and journaling while drinking a latte.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

Before yoga, I was going to be an actor. I studied to become a clown (among other styles of theatre) at Dell’Arte International: School of Physical Theatre. 

Anything else? 

This is kind of embarrassing, but when I first started teaching, I filled out this interview, the one I am doing right now, to learn about what I believed, what I thought about yoga. I went back and looked at it in preparation for this, and it was very different. I recognize the person I was then, but I also know much more about the yoga and wellness world now. I’ve changed. And I’m trying to make the space where I teach more inclusive and am more welcoming for all people. I would like to say: Don’t be afraid to change. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. And don’t be afraid to be yourself in every moment.

I’m probably going to look back on this interview in a few months and be embarrassed, too. And that’s alright with me. See you on the mat.

Take a class with Andrew…

Wednesdays @ 4:30-5:30pm: Gentle Yoga

Thursdays @ 6-7am: Open Morning Flow

2nd & 4th Thursdays @ 5-6pm: Meditative Mix

Fridays @ 12-1pm: Flow + Stretch

Teacher Talk Tuesday: Meet Tiffany Prior

How did you begin practicing and teaching yoga? 

I began practicing about 16 years ago, when I pressed play on a yoga VHS in my bedroom. At the time, it felt so worldly and exotic, which really appealed to me being from a small town with few cultural outlets. My love for yoga expanded while I was in college in Chicago. I wanted to live at my local Bikram studio, sometimes doing 2 classes a day. I would scrounge up whatever extra money I had to go. When I wasn’t there, I would lay out one of my 3 well-worn copies of Yoga Journal on the floor and piece together a practice. It was shortly after that I discovered a video of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois instructing Ashtanga Primary Series, from 1993; my first foray into the world of Vinyasa. I desperately wanted to get my yoga certification then, and though it wasn’t able to come to fruition, my dream held on. I continued fervently practicing, learning as much as I could, until I moved to St. Louis in 2010. In 2011, after settling in and becoming more familiar with the yoga community, I found a training I was willing to try. I had my first teaching opportunity in October of 2012, at Joy of Yoga. At the time, it was a cute little startup in Midtown. I’m really grateful for that support and belief because it’s brought so many experiences and wonderful relationships.

How has yoga been transformational in your life?

Something I have learned about myself, through yoga, is that movement is essential to my mental and emotional well-being; never mind the physical benefits. I have to move my body every day. Even saying “move my body” seems reductive, it is too perfunctory a descriptor for the actual process taking place. It’s proprioceptive, psychosomatic healing. Where else in our lives are we able to freely express with every ounce of our being and know that what we are feeling is true? No one can negate the experience we have through movement, or the neurogenesis that takes place as a result. It truly is mind, body, and spirit. This practice has been a source of great strength for me. Yoga allowed me to feel strong and graceful simultaneously, to feel like I owned my body, and that I could do just about anything I set my mind to. Through yoga, I believed that I could birth my 2 sons at home, and I did. It allowed me to have the most powerful and transformational experiences I could have ever hoped to have. Everything else in life is relative to that now. Yoga allowed me to recognize the amount of power I have, especially as a woman.

What’s your favorite part about teaching yoga?

My first instinct is to say the creative and emotive aspect is my favorite, which it is. Guiding a room of people through this beautiful process of feeling and experiencing something both individually and together, in entirely unique ways, is incredible. But if I’m honest, I’ve recently had to start believing that people believe in me, and not just the students. I mean, wholly crap… an entire room of people just showed up to my class, and it wasn’t by accident? I don’t know why it’s taken me 8 years to get to this place, but I suppose it’s good that I’ll never take that for granted. So, I’m trying to be more open to the love of it all, and not feeling like a giant imposter. I will forever be a student.

What do you do to prepare for class?

I will usually do a little movement myself, to feel what is happening that day. I think about the people who I know will be there, and how I can best serve them. The students inspire me to be more creative and think outside the box; I never want to let them down. I seldom pre-write a flow and bring it to class. It makes me incredibly nervous and completely stifles my presence. If something isn’t landing, I want to be observing everything that is happening by being in it with them.

Do you have a favorite pose or movement?

Before kids, my answer would have been totally different. Pinchamayarasana (Forearm Balance). But these days, I live for Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold). Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose is another go to in my morning movement. My physical practice is simple in this phase of my life.

If you were a yoga pose what would you be and why?

 Funky pyramid or flamingo pose. It’s approachable, yet challenging. Requires focus, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. It has second chakra connection, creativity, and is introverted but expressive.

What’s your favorite type of music to play while practicing? Do you have a playlist you’d like to share?

I am all over the place musically. It completely depends on my mood and the class. In my personal practice I like Bhakti, DJ Drez, Janis Joplin, 60’s kind of stuff, Erykah Badu, and reggae. In class, I can sometimes play the same, but I really like to keep it moody, artsy, and independent. Valerie June is my current love. She is absolutely from another planet and I can’t get enough.

Does your personal practice differ from how you teach?

At the moment, completely. I’m still trying to bring-it-for-the-people in the studio, but at home my practice is 100% in mindfulness with my children and husband. I want to peacefully parent with every ounce of my being and I’m moving my body purely for necessity. I am walking myself through meditation everyday, all-day, focusing on non-reactivity, positive thinking, healing and continuously evolving. Teaching is such a creative and sensitive endeavor for me, always striving to intuit what the students want and need. Teaching gives me the opportunity to get my fiery side out, a retreat from my mommy-space. It has been a wild ride from where I started 8 years ago, through 2 pregnancies, postpartum, and now. I’m grateful for the people who have stuck with me through it all!

Recommended reading (yoga and/or non-yoga)

Non-Violent Communication, by Marshall Rosenberg.

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, by Dr. Laura Markham. (Get the workbook because we have all been children, have been parented or are parenting, and almost certainly have healing to do.)

How would you describe yourself? What do you want people to know about you?

My students have described me as “a fierce and commanding teacher,” which I suppose shows up in other areas of my life as a projection of confidence. In all actuality, I’m an incredibly sensitive, highly emotional, and deeply feeling person. If you’re familiar with Myers-Briggs, I’m an INFJ - The Advocate, and in the Enneagram I’m a 4w5. Supposedly, I’m this rare type of person, which would make sense considering how awkward I usually feel. People assume I’m extroverted, especially when I’m approached after class, but once I’ve given my offering, I’m ready to rein it back in. I’m enthusiastic about what I’m interested in, want to learn about, or feel comfortable sharing.

Outside of yoga what is your passion/Where can you be found?

Moving my body, I only sit if I have to. I’ll be lifting in the gym, hiking, running, swimming, walking, or just generally busting it. After I had my second son, I felt the weakest I have ever felt; entirely broken. I never want to feel that way again. Aside from that, I spend nearly all of my time with my 2 boys and husband. If we’re lucky enough to be on the occasional date night, we’ll be seeing a show or listening to music and having great food.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

I love to travel. Particularly, with my husband, van travel. Prior to having children, we drove all over the country in our giant white passenger van. It had a bed platform in the back, kayaks, bikes, yoga mats, our dog, and whatever else we would need. We would camp anywhere and everywhere, bathe in mountain streams, hike, and be free to explore. It’s the best. It’s allowed me to practice yoga all over the country, go to Wanderlust 2 times, and experience the simple essence of life through being very minimal. It’s a core value of ours that we hope to pass along to our kids.

Anything else?

I teach at Blue Sky because Annie and the students have been so good to me. You all are family and I am grateful to have St. Louis to teach and practice yoga in. We have an amazing community here.