Sometimes busy teens need to feel grounded and a yoga tree pose is a great way to to just that. Tree pose, or vrkasana, takes its name from the tree like shape it resembles, with one foot planted firmly on the ground, the other affixed on the standing leg and the arms reaching upward like branches.
Feel off balance, take a tree.
Balance is a function of the mind as much as it is a function of the body; it can be easily affected by what’s going on in your head on any given day. Mind racing from a hectic day at school? Stressed out over an upcoming test? Sluggish from a night of lackluster sleep? Your balance might be off. And that’s ok. Take a tree pose.
Tree pose can be simple in that there are only a few steps needed to step into the posture. It can be tricky, though, because balancing goes beyond the physical realm and into the mental, necessitating a quietness of the mind, a tuning out distraction and a honing in on the task at hand.
Tips for Tree Pose:
- First, stand in mountain pose or Tadasana – toes are touching, tailbone is tucked under, naval drawn in and up, palms facing outward and shoulder blades press together. Take a couple deep breaths. Maybe close the eyes. Take the time to shut out distraction and get a sense of really being in your body.
- Take a small step forward, root down through all parts of the foot, making contact between the floor and the heel, ball of the foot, and outer edge of the foot. Think about pouring your weight into the left foot and leg as you step forward.
- Next, draw the right foot to the left ankle or upper left thigh. You can use a hand to guide the foot to the inner thigh. Keep in mind that the foot should never rest of the knee of the standing leg; it will place too much pressure on the knee joint to push outward and can set you up for injury. The knee is designed to hinge forward and back, not side to side.
- If the right foot is placed on the left thigh, press the foot into the thigh and then press the thigh back into the foot. This counter action is important; it creates tension that will help provide stability.
- Press the palms together in a prayer gesture, right in front of the sternum. Set your focus, drishti, on a fixed point in front of you. Keep your eyes glued to this unmoving point.
- Make sure not to sink your weight into the standing hip; think about rooting down from your base (standing foot) and lifting up, sending a long line of energy from the solid base out through your fingertips.
- If you feel stable here, take the arm position of your choice, perhaps reaching arms towards the sky (as in warrior I), pressing the palms together behind the back in reverse namaste, extending one arm forward and the other arm back, sliding hands to your hips or keeping them at your heart center. Get creative!
- If you crave a bit more support in tree, stand with your back against the wall, or position yourself beside a wall, about an arm’s length away, so that you can reach out and hold on. There are so many directions you can go with in tree pose. Make tree pose your own by creating unique variations that feel fun and challenging to you.
Maintaining Balance
As a teacher who incorporates tree pose into her classes on a fairly regular basis, whether as a standalone posture, or as part of a flowing sequence, I can definitely attest to just how tricky getting into tree pose can be. It can feel breezy and effortless one day and nearly impossible the next. Balancing on one foot is sometimes easier said than done, and isn’t something that can be forced. Faltering in balance postures can feel like failure but really isn’t; a bit of wobbling a provides an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves. But think about it... real trees aren’t completely immobile – their branches sway in the wind.
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Tara Cousineau, Ph.D.
