Good morning everyone!

I have decided to write a short series about basic yoga poses, as I have recently been getting asked by students how they should be performed and the names of each.

These will be very basic poses, so even if you are not a Yoga practitioner - feel free to have a go at these in your own time, or during my Yoga classes on Cafetalk.

Today we will be focusing on :

'Mountain Pose' 

Sanskrit - Tadasana 

Pronunciation - TAH-DAH-SA-NAH

1. Stand in a relaxed position, with either your legs spread out to hips width, or with your feet in close and your big toes touching each other.

2. Find a neutral point of balance, with your weight primarily running through the centre of your feet.

3. Press your feet deeply in to the floor, growing your upper body out from your hips like a tree with it's roots running deep under the ground.

4. Draw up towards the sky from the 'crown' or the centre of your head.

5. Allow your shoulder blades to gently relax down and back, keeping your shoulders away from your ears.

6. Externally rotate your shoulders outwards, so that your palms face forwards.

7. Stand in a relaxed position and breathe smoothly - inhaling and exhaling through the nose in a gentle manner.

If you want to get deeper in to the pose or use it as a standing meditation, you can close your eyes and focus on either the breath, the sounds around you, or focus on gently relaxing and loosening each part of your body individually.

*New Classes*

Lastly - I have recently added some new classes, including Yoga for BEGINNERS, Yoga for CORE STRENGTH, and also TAI CHI!

Tai Chi is an ancient practice which although similar to Yoga in nature, is performed in a very SLOW and MINDFUL fashion, and has a strong emphasis on fall prevention and meditation. The overall goal of this practice is to BALANCE the mind and body, creating strength, flexibility and harmony of all of the facets of the physical and spiritual body. It is extremely gentle, and is suitable for peoeple of all ages. In China it is traditionally practiced by the elderly as a daily system of health and vitality, and there are MANY practitioners and masters who are over 100 years old!!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this far everyone!

As a bonus - please take a look at the Cafetalk newsletter which is coming out today.....you may see a familiar face in it

:-) 

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

https://www.instagram.com/pb_fitness_zen_yoga/?hl=en - My personal page

or

https://www.instagram.com/thisnihonlife/ - The travel page for my girlfriend and I

Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.