Full Moon Yoga - Mountain Pose

Yoga for the Full Moon  - Mountain Pose

A great place to start at any time is Mountain Pose, or Tadasana in Sanskrit.

This pose works well at the full phase of the moon, giving us stability, helping us to be grounded but open, ready to breathe, move step forward, or face whatever challenges come our way. The full moon tends to evoke a feeling of high energy, which can be great for getting things done, but can also leave us feeling jittery and inexplicably over-excitable. So this pose is great for allowing us to be still and steady, to take a moment to collect our thoughts, to even out and deepen our breath, to pause before moving on to whatever comes next from a good foundation.

Mountain pose is often found at the beginning (and end) of sequences for this reason, but it’s also perfect at any time when you need to find stability, balance, equilibrium or control.

As well as grounding us, this pose also helps strengthen arms, legs and back, and helps find our balance and an outward-facing focus. It works our feet too as they have to constantly adjust to keep us balanced, plus Mountain pose encourages an erect posture which we can use as we walk around in everyday life, helping prevent trips and stumbles since we have our weight more firmly over our feet than if we stoop forward and look down.

Mountain pose 

Close up of Mountain pose on the Full Moon Yoga Print by Moon Phase Studios

How to find Mountain pose

We get into the classic version of this pose by standing with the feet about a fist-width apart. Try to keep the feet parallel to each other, either inside or outside edges as feels best for you. Let all four corners of your feet root down to the ground equally – you can try swaying side to side and back and forward until you find the sweet spot. Actively pull up through the legs and lift up through the spine, lengthening down through the tail bone and opening up the chest. The shoulders drop away from the ears whilst the shoulder blades draw together and down the back. The arms come a little way away from the body and are rotated so the palms face forward, energy through the fingers. Keep the neck long and let the gaze softly focus ahead.  

Other Options 

From this basic stance you can choose to stretch the arms up, maybe with a deep breath in. Release the arms slowly down as you breathe out. You can reach one arm up and the other down the side of the leg, then lean gently sideways towards the lower arm – making a side curve, like a moon shape. Or you might enjoy taking that side stretch with both arms lifted and the palms together overhead – a bit more challenging. Make sure, if you stretch one way, that you go the other way too! See which variation of this pose feels good each time you are here. From the centred basic stance, you may feel that a small arch through the upper back feels nice, lifting the chest as though there is a string holding up the breastbone, with or without the arms extended. There are options for however you feel today.

Arm variations of the pose.

If getting down on the floor is not for you, then this pose can be taken sitting in a chair. Plant feet firmly below the knees as for the standing pose and sit up tall from the hips. Keep the spine long, engage the shoulder blades and turn out the arms just as for the standing version. The same arm options and stretches can be taken from here. 

Another option that might work for you is to take the standing pose near a wall or next to the back of a sturdy chair, so you can use it for support.

Chair-based variation of the pose.

How to breathe in the pose

You’ll find that the front body is nice and open in this pose, so breathing can be deep and full through the whole lung area. Initially you can observe the breathing, seeing whether you are breathing just up around the collar bones, and noticing how slow or fast you are breathing. You can choose to gradually slow and deepen the breath, and you may find that you can allow the breath to move down from the collar bones so the ribs lift and fall. You may choose to stay breathing here for a while and then you could let the breath move further down into the lowest part of the lungs, letting the belly expand out as you breathe in and then helping the breath to be expelled by drawing the tummy button back in towards the spine as you breathe out. Try keeping the breath nice and even and slow as you breathe here, both in and out through the nose, if you can.

New and Full Moon Yoga Prints by Moon Phase Studios

Moving on

We can move into all sorts of other poses from here. It may simply be a step forwards, but we might take a longer stride out, or a balance, or perhaps a step to the side to move into Goddess pose, for example. Whenever you are about to move the feet though, you’ll be best to shift your weight off the moving leg and onto the foot that is staying put, slightly before you begin the move. That will help to keep your balance. So long as you know there is nothing on your mat in the way, then you won’t even need to shift your gaze – you can continue looking out as you make your transition, which often feels very powerful in itself. 

Make sure you always look after yourself when doing yoga. 

It’s important to always listen to your body and only work within your personal limitations. You are fully responsible for your own safety and wellbeing. Make sure your surroundings and your practices are safe. Do not attempt to take a physical posture that is outside of the scope of your practice. If you have any specific medical conditions, injuries, surgeries or are pregnant you should check with your GP or appropriate medical professional before starting any exercise. Keep in mind that yoga might be challenging at times, but it should never be painful. You must stop if you experience any pain, and you should consult your GP if you experience anything untoward such as dizziness or feeling faint. Rest or leave anything out that you need to avoid or that does not feel right. 

Louise xx