Should my feet be together or hip-width apart?

Either works. The traditional cue is big toes touching with the heels slightly apart, while a hip-width stance gives a wider base that is easier to balance on, especially when you rise onto the toes. Choose the stance that lets you stand still without wobbling.

Isn't Mountain Pose just standing?

It looks like it, but the point is to stand deliberately, with the weight even across both feet and the joints stacked from ankles to head. The rise onto the toes with the arms overhead adds a balance challenge and calf work, and the same alignment carries into poses like Tree Pose and Chair Pose.

How long should I hold Mountain Pose?

Hold the arms-down stance for 5 to 10 slow breaths, roughly 30 to 60 seconds. For the lifted finish, hold the top for a few seconds, lower the heels, and repeat 5 to 10 rounds.

How is this different from Upward Salute?

Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana) raises the arms overhead with the heels grounded and the palms facing each other or pressed together. This version interlaces the fingers, turns the palms to the ceiling and lifts the heels, which makes it a calf and ankle balance exercise as well as an overhead stretch.

What should I do if I feel dizzy in Mountain Pose?

Lower your heels, soften your knees and keep breathing, and sit down if the feeling does not pass. Shorter holds with the heels down and a wall within reach are a safer way to build up.

Mountain Pose

What Is the Mountain Pose?

Mountain Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the lower legs, with the calves holding the body up on the toes while the shoulders and upper back keep the arms reaching overhead. It is a beginner-level movement that starts as a quiet, aligned standing posture and finishes with the fingers interlaced, the palms turned to the ceiling and the heels lifted.

Mountain Pose, or Tadasana, is the base that most standing yoga poses are built from. It teaches you to spread your weight evenly across both feet, stack the knees, hips, ribs and head over the ankles, and stand tall without stiffening. It opens and closes many standing sequences and sun salutations. The Sanskrit name is translated two ways: in the Iyengar tradition it is Mountain Pose, a flat-footed stance, while several Indian schools teach the same name as Palm Tree Pose, raising the interlaced hands overhead and coming up onto the toes. This page covers the whole sequence, from the arms-down stance to that lifted finish.

The arms-down stance is low effort. The soleus and gastrocnemius make small, continuous corrections at the ankle to keep you upright, and the trunk muscles work only lightly to hold the spine tall. Rising onto the toes turns those small corrections into a sustained calf contraction on a much smaller base, with the peroneus longus helping to keep the ankle from rolling outward. Reaching the arms overhead works the deltoids and upper trapezius and lengthens the lats and the long head of the triceps along the sides of the body. Standing with the feet together makes the balance harder; a hip-width stance makes it easier.

The pose suits complete beginners, people warming up for a yoga or mobility session, and anyone who wants a simple balance drill that needs no equipment. If rising onto the toes is too unsteady, keep the heels down and do the arm reach only, or rest a hand on a wall. Building calf strength with the Bodyweight Calf Raise makes the lifted finish easier to hold, and Tree Pose is the natural next step for single-leg balance.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Gastrocnemius (Lateral Head): Primary
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Primary
Soleus: Primary
Deltoid: Medium
Peroneus Longus: Medium
Upper Trapezius: Medium
Erector Spinae: Low
Latissimus Dorsi: Low
Rectus Abdominis: Low
Triceps Brachii (Long Head): Low

Instructions

Stand with your feet together or hip-width apart, toes pointing forward and arms relaxed at your sides.
Spread your weight evenly across the heels, the balls of the feet and the outer edges of the feet.
Straighten your legs without locking the knees, keep the pelvis neutral and stack your ribs over your hips.
Relax your shoulders down, lengthen through the crown of your head and look straight ahead.
Interlace your fingers and rest your hands on top of your head, elbows pointing out to the sides.
Fix your gaze on a point slightly above eye level.
Inhale and straighten your arms overhead, turning the palms to face the ceiling with the fingers still interlaced.
At the same time, rise onto the balls of your feet, keeping the ankles straight rather than rolling outward.
Hold for a few seconds, reaching up through the hands without flaring the ribs or shrugging.
Exhale, lower your heels slowly and bring your hands back to the top of your head.
Repeat for 5 to 10 rounds, then release your arms to your sides and finish standing in the arms-down position.

Common Mistakes

Locking the knees
Pressing the knees back into hyperextension makes the stance rigid and shifts the load onto the joint instead of the leg muscles.
Tucking or tipping the pelvis
Tucking the tailbone under or letting the pelvis tip forward pulls the spine out of its neutral curves, so keep the hip bones stacked over the pubic bone.
Flaring the ribs
Arching the lower back to get the arms higher pushes the front ribs forward and turns the reach into a backbend.
Shrugging the shoulders
Hunching the shoulders toward the ears as the arms rise tenses the neck instead of lengthening the sides of the body.
Rolling onto the outer toes
Letting the ankles drift outward as the heels lift puts the weight on the small toes and makes the ankle easier to roll.
Bouncing up and down
Springing onto the toes and dropping straight back down skips the balance work, so rise and lower the heels slowly.

Injuries

Mountain Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The arms-down stance places very little load on any joint. Most problems come from the lifted finish: losing balance on the toes, cramping in the calves or arches, or shoulder discomfort when the arms reach fully overhead.

Some people feel light-headed after standing still for a long time, especially those prone to low blood pressure. Keep the knees soft rather than locked, keep breathing evenly, and keep holds short at first. If balance is a concern, stand with the feet hip-width apart and close enough to a wall to touch it.

To make the pose easier, keep the heels on the floor and do only the arm reach, or leave the interlaced hands resting on top of the head if raising the arms pinches the shoulders. To make it harder, bring the feet together, lift the heels higher and hold the top for a few breaths, then move on to Tree Pose.

Stop and lower the heels if you feel dizzy, your vision changes, a calf or foot cramps, or the reach causes sharp pain in the shoulder. If dizziness keeps returning, sit down and check with a health professional before continuing.

Overview

Primary Focus: Calves
Equipment: Body weight
Modality: Yoga
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Mountain Pose

The Mountain Pose is also known as:

Tadasana
Palm Tree Pose

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should my feet be together or hip-width apart?: Either works. The traditional cue is big toes touching with the heels slightly apart, while a hip-width stance gives a wider base that is easier to balance on, especially when you rise onto the toes. Choose the stance that lets you stand still without wobbling.
Q: Isn't Mountain Pose just standing?: It looks like it, but the point is to stand deliberately, with the weight even across both feet and the joints stacked from ankles to head. The rise onto the toes with the arms overhead adds a balance challenge and calf work, and the same alignment carries into poses like Tree Pose and Chair Pose.
Q: How long should I hold Mountain Pose?: Hold the arms-down stance for 5 to 10 slow breaths, roughly 30 to 60 seconds. For the lifted finish, hold the top for a few seconds, lower the heels, and repeat 5 to 10 rounds.
Q: How is this different from Upward Salute?: Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana) raises the arms overhead with the heels grounded and the palms facing each other or pressed together. This version interlaces the fingers, turns the palms to the ceiling and lifts the heels, which makes it a calf and ankle balance exercise as well as an overhead stretch.
Q: What should I do if I feel dizzy in Mountain Pose?: Lower your heels, soften your knees and keep breathing, and sit down if the feeling does not pass. Shorter holds with the heels down and a wall within reach are a safer way to build up.