Mountain Pose and Meditation for Beginners

Mountain pose is great for meditation for beginngers. Mountain pose, one of my “go+to” meditations, is a standing barefoot yoga pose. It is also known as Tadasana in the Sanskrit language.

I love this meditation because it’s great for beginners and advanced meditators. It’s accessible every day.

image courtesy of healthylivinglounge

How/Why Mountain Pose works as a Meditation for Beginners

If you’re outside, stand barefoot, close your eyes, inhale deeply and exhale deeply. Being barefoot or “earthing” has enormous benefits in itself, as we touched on in this post.

Place your hands by your side and face your palms forward. Relax your fingers. Placing your hands this way allows you to feel the energy (prana) flowing in your fingers and fingertips.

Make sure your big toes are touching and squeeze your shoulder blades together. This will straighten your spine, allowing energy to flow. Your chakras, especially the heart chakra will open.

Remember to exhale through your nose, using Ujjai breath. The inhale and exhale are longer than your usual non+voluntary breaths throughout the day. The inhale and exhale are even in length, strong, steady, and consistent. Your tongue is relaxed, not pressed up against the roof of your mouth.

Next Steps in Mountain Pose

Notice the difference of each intentional deep breath compared to your involuntary breathing. Notice what’s going on inside your body and mind. For me, sometimes 3 or 4 of my upper vertebrae crack on my first few deep inhales from taking in more oxygen and increasing lung capacity.

Focus your attention on the present moment. If and when your mind begins to wander, don’t become angry. Instead, gently bring your awareness back to the present moment.

With your palms facing forward and your feet in union with the ground, you will feel the energy pulsating in your fingertips and other body parts. Become keenly aware of your surroundings. The subtle breeze. The sounds of insects and birds. The smell of late summer. Take it all in and enjoy this escape from the “monkey mind syndrome” of jumping from thought to thought.

But I work a desk job, I can’t be barefoot outside

If you can’t be outdoors, you can still practice this meditation. Take off your shoes (it is important to remove barriers between you and the earth so you can more easily connect) and begin the meditation.

This is a great meditation for those with desk jobs. Even if it’s just for 2 minutes, this meditation will center you and help you connect to God or the universe.

What are some other meditation for beginners methods?

~Stay Lucid