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Mindful Yoga 2 — Standing Postures

Mindful Yoga 2 — Standing Postures
🛡️ Mastery 🖐️ Sensation

Standing hatha yoga postures, performed in MBSR in the second half of the course. Includes Tadasana (mountain pose), bends, twists — all with the principle: slowly, with the breath, with full attention to the sensations. Mountain pose itself has become a metaphor for inner stability.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Stand in Tadasana — feet shoulder-width apart, feel the roots of the feet, the body vertical and stable
  2. Perform movements slowly: side bends, raising the arms, gentle twists
  3. In each pose — seconds of presence: what is happening with the breath? With the sensations in the legs, in the spine?
  4. Move from pose to pose with awareness, not mechanically
  5. Close with Tadasana: feel the stability, the rootedness

When to use

  • Weeks 5–8 of MBSR
  • Work with "losing the ground under the feet", anxiety
  • Strengthening bodily stability and grounding

Key phrases

Feel how the earth holds you. You do not need to do anything — just stand.

Follow-up questions

The spine is vertical. What do you notice in this position?

Alternative phrasings

Tadasana is not a pose. It is the intention to be here, vertically, stably.

Warnings

  • ⚠️ Balance problems, dizziness, limited mobility — adapt or skip
  • ⚠️ Do not force the depth of the poses

Source: Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living, Part I, Ch. 7

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Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.