Back to the Basics Tadasana Urdhva Hastasana

The foundation determines the quality of the structure and a strong foundation helps us to progress
in our sadhana. And, that was the theme of the teachings of Geetaji during Yog-sadhana. Not only
did she cover the basic postures but more important was the basics of each of these asanas. Arti H
Mehta has compiled her teachings on how to progress from bahiranga to antaranga in Tadasana
and Urdhva Hastasana.

Samasthiti
Sama means equal, sthiti means a state. In samasthiti you have to distribute your energy evenly and
equally everywhere. The mind, the intelligence, all the cells in the body have to be in a state of
attention. Attention means to have attention without tension.
The foundation in Tadasana is the region from the navel to the feet. That should be firm like the
element of earth. The foundation has to be firm as you progress in the sadhana.
The basic instructions

Look at your feet. Join your feet together and toes together. Stand upright with your spine
erect.

Spread the shoulders away from the neck and roll them back. Roll the trapezium down.

Open the clavicles and move the shoulder blades in.

Extend the arms down and ascend the legs up.

Lock the elbow joints and elongate the wrist.

Ascend the front of the body and keep the back of the body quiet. Keep your head straight,
neck straight, throat passive and tongue passive.

Relax your facial muscles. Remain quiet and silent.
Yoga Rahasya

Vol. 12, No. 1; 2005

The subtle adjustments

When you extend your arms down, see that the armpit chest remains
well opened from the back to the front.

Move the waistline down. This allows the tailbone to descend down
without projecting the buttocks back.

Move the back ribs deeper inside.

Roll the front of the thighs from outside in and back of the thighs from
inside out. Broaden the clavicles. Inhale in such a way that space is
created for the clavicles to move towards the side.

Lift the bottom sternum up and move the top of the sternum slightly
forward.
The feet:

Extend the big toe from the mount, place the mount on the floor and
then elongate the big toe forward.

Stamp the mount as well as the big toe in each of the feet.

Join the big toes.

Remain on the inner edge of the heel and spread the bottom of the feet to the side so that you
remain firm on the outer edge of the feet.

The bottom of the foot shrinks when you grip the knees and the thighs. The skin fibre
becomes hard on the bottom of the foot and that is why you have to extend the foot from the
heels to the toes.

The mind has to go to the foot so that the foot extends for the toes to go forward. The bottom
of the feet should be lengthened in this way.
The legs:

All the four corners of the knee-caps should remain firm and deep within when you join your
feet as well as toes together.

Suck the front of the thighs towards the back of the thighs.

Suck the head of the femur bone into the socket of the leg. This makes the legs firm.
Observation and reflection in Tadasana

The back of the thighs shorten, as the thighs tend to move
forward. Roll the front of the thighs inwards and move the
back of the thighs further back.

Observe the skin and flesh on the back of the thighs. Move
the flesh towards the skin.

Descend the tailbone as the pubic plate ascends up.

The lumbar region is likely to move forward into the body.
Elongate the lumbar region as this moves the abdomen in.

Yoga Rahasya

Vol. 12, No. 1; 2005

The bahiranga in Tadasana:

You feel "life" from the bottom of the leg till the middle of the thigh. However, no life is felt in
the top of the thigh although it is closer to the trunk.

To feel the top of the thighs, the bahiranga has to start from the feet. Extend from the heel to
the toes. Open the arches of the feet. Move the middle of the shin towards the calf muscles.
You feel life in the middle and top of the thighs when you suck this part in.

No life is felt in the top of the upper arm too.
The antaranga in the legs

Suck the inner edge of the knee upwards into the root of the thighs.

Roll the outer thigh in, lift the inner edge of the middle thigh up to the
groin and feel as if there is one single line reaching up to the centre
groin, which is deep inside.

Be firm at the outer femur bone.

These adjustments make you feel the antaranga in the legs.

Such an "antaranga" Tadasana is very different from the "bahiranga"
Tadasana.

Urdhva Hastasana
Going into Urdhva Hastasana:

Extend the hands forward. Keep the palms facing each other.

Broaden the clavicles and lock the elbow joint.

Keep the legs firm.

Raise the arms up by elongating from the bottom ribs. Open the arm pits.
Lift the side ribs up.
Open the armpit chest.
Move the abdomen in and lift the bottom chest up.
Open the chest by ascending the sternum without allowing the top of the back to ascend.
Descend the back of the trapezium as the arms go up.

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Roll the outer thighs further in and open the back of the thighs.

Do not puff the frontal thighs. Stabilise the front of the thighs.

The abdomen tends to puff when the front of the thighs move forward.
Move the front of the thighs back so that the abdomen does not puff.
Observations and reflections in Urdhva Hastasana:

The anterior (front) side of the body is lifted up but the back is
completely forgotten.

The frontal top thighs puff up. Don't let that happen when you raise the
arms up.

You do not feel the life flowing in the arms.

The action of lifting the arms up starts from the legs.
Extension of the arms in Urdhva Hastasana:

Move the front of the arm up from the armpit to the little finger and
descend the back of the arm down from the thumb to the shoulder.

Descend the inner part of the top shoulder into the body and extend the
arms up separately.

Lengthen the arms from the outer side of the armpits and shoulders.

Do not allow any folds to happen in the region of the armpits.

Ascend the edge of the bottom ribs as you lift the arms.

Move the deltoid down as you extend the arm.

Bring the palms closer, extend the side of the trunk so the side of the ribs
ascend and elongate the bottom of the floating ribs up.

The forearm extends upwards from the elbow to the wrist.

Roll the outer upper arm slightly forward and outside inwards when you
life the upper arms up. The skin should move closer to the flesh and flesh
closer to the bone.

"Observe how from bahiranga you penetrate further inward into the bahiranga".
Moving deeper into bahiranga

When you lift your arms upwards without paying any attention to the shoulders, the shoulderblades protrude out. Dip the region of the top of shoulders in as you take your arms up.

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Vol. 12, No. 1; 2005


The bottom of the shoulder blades that are supported by the muscle fibres have
to go in to the body and the top of the shoulder blades have to come down
towards the bottom shoulder blade as you extend the arms up.

The inner part of the top of the shoulder, which is closer to the neck, goes up.
You have to release this part by slightly bending the arms at the elbows, moving
the trapezium down and without disturbing straighten the arms at the elbows.
This also helps you to open the armpit chest. "You have to become tall from the
armpit chest".
From bahiranga to antaranga
The outer body is adjusted but not the inner body.

Without disturbing the outer body, take the head of the femur bone slightly back
and extend the arms up. Your mind goes in the moment your attention goes to
the head of the femur bone. The mind wanders when the head of the femur
protrudes forward.

In the first attempt of Urdhva Hastasana, your mind does not reach everywhere
(shoulders, clavicles, thighs etc) but when you repeat it 4 or 5 times then the mind
starts to reach everywhere. Somewhere, you step into antaranga sadhana
though you have not entered into antaranga sadhana. This is possible only
because you have been introduced properly to bahiranga in Urdhva Hastasana.
Observe the "life" that is felt in the body even when you do a simple asana like
Urdhva Hastasana. This shows how the bahiranga sadhana leads you inwards.

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Yoga Rahasya

Vol. 12, No. 1; 2005