Step by step 

• Stand with your feet hip distance apart.

• Spread the toes then lower them back down and connect with the ground.

• Engage the quadriceps to help stabilize your knee, without locking the knees back.

• From the hip, slightly internally rotate your legs. 

• Find a comfortable neutral position with your pelvis; neither over-tucking your tailbone, nor over-arching in your low back. 

• Lengthen your lumbar spine up out of your waist. Crown of your head lifting up, keep your chin parallel to the floor and lengthen your cervical spine in the neck.

• Engage your core to create stability, but not rigidity. From your navel to your pubic bone, draw the abdominal wall back. 

• Draw your shoulder blades towards one another (towards your spine) to open your chest, top of sternum lifts towards the ceiling. Keep the low ribs in line with your front hip points- don't puff out your chest like a bird ruffling its feathers. This posture can be done with the arms lifted above the head (extended) or with the arms down along side the body.

• Soften the face, especially the eyes and the jaw.

Benefits 

• Prepares the body for all other standing poses.

• Helps to identify imbalances in the body.

• Improves posture.

• Calms the body and mind. 

Pay Close Attention 

• Find a balance between effort and ease in all your postures. Keep the body steady and engaged, but not stiff or rigid. 

• Keep a wide stance between your feet, as wide as your hips, to help with balance and stability. 

• Maintain the normal curvature in your spine. 

Contraindications

• If acute shoulder injury or discomfort lifting arms above your head, keep your arms along side your body.