Be barefoot. Stand with the feet together. Extend your toes; don't grip the floor or mat. Balance evenly on the front and the back and the sides of the feet. Be active in the thighs to lift the knees. Do not push the knees back. Rotate the pelvis back to take tailbone toward the floor. Feel the spine lenghten out of the sacrum, stretching each vertebra away from the vertebra below it. Lift the sternum. The shoulders stay relaxed and down. Rotate the upper arms outward. The palms of the hands face the thighs. As the neck stretches upward, keep the neck, throat, and jaw relaxed. The chin is parallel to the floor. Visualize a straight line running from your chin, to your sternum, to your pubic bone. Soften your gaze; quiet your hearing; relax your jaw. Breathe evenly and comfortably through your nose.