1. Stand with your feet together. Big toes touching with the heels resting behind the second and third toes. (There will be a slight space between your heels). Press the 4 corners of the feet (big toe mound to pinky toe mound, inner heel to outer heel) into the floor. The weight should be evenly distributed through the feet. Lift the inner arches up and firm the outer ankles in.

2. Pull the kneecaps up to firm the thighs. (Feel the front and back of the thighs hugging the femur (thigh) bones to support the knees.)

3. Press the tops of the thighs back. Slightly roll your upper inner thighs in and lengthen your tailbone to your heels (be sure to keep the knee caps facing forward over the toes.)

4. Lengthen through all four sides of the torso and firm the outer hips.

5. Broaden the collarbones and relax the shoulders away from the ears. Soften down through the front of the rib cage. Feel the shoulder blades widen and slightly firm to the back ribs. Let the arms hang freely by your sides. (Slightly externally rotating the upper arm bones will draw the shoulder blades in to the chest (shoulder retraction) releasing the trapezius muscle.)

6. Keep the neck long and even on all four sides. Make the chin parallel to the floor and balance the crown of the head over the center of the pelvis. (Sense the plumb line of the body - an imaginary line that travels down the center dissecting the body into two hemispheres). Keep the tongue soft in the mouth and feel a slight space between the top and bottom jaw.

7. Keep the eyes soft and the gaze wide as you breathe in and out through the nose with awareness and ease.

 

Modifications:

For greater stability this posture can be done with the feet at hip width apart