Parvatasana (mountain pose)

Procedure

• Sit on the ground with your head and spine erect. Extend your legs forward such that your knees and heels are placed together. With the help of your hands, place your right foot on the left thigh and then your left foot on the right thigh. Try to touch the knees to the ground and turn the soles of your feet upwards. See the Lotus Posture (Padmasana) for more details.
• Bring your palms together overlapping the fingers of your hands. Starting at the chest level, extend your arms slowly upwards along the central vertical axis of the body till they are over your head. Ensure that your arms touch your ears and are not bent at the elbows. Ascertain that your upper body is fully but comfortably stretched from the hips to the fingers.
• Remain in this final posture breathing deeply and uniformly with your eyes closed for about 1-2 minutes (in the early stages) or your breakpoint*. Increase this time gradually.
• Repeat the above steps except that you place your left foot on the right thigh and then your right foot on the left thigh. This will ensure that both legs are built uniformly.

Benefits

• The Mountain Posture (Parvatasana) helps in sublimating the vitality in the performer's body because of the total stretch of the vertebral region. Further, the spine is straightened with height gain observed in children and adolescents.
• The posture develops various muscles (biceps, triceps, and brachioradialis) of the arms.
• The deep and uniform breathing in this yoga pose helps the performer freely expand the lungs and chest. Thus, it benefits those with respiratory disorders such as asthma.