The wooden pose is a symbolic, balanced posture of yoga. It is known in Sanskrit Vrksasana (There is also a spelling Vriksasana and Vrikshasana), Tree Pose “is one of the first balance poses practitioners learn in yoga,” says Stephanie Sanders, body vice president of fitness content and certified yoga instructor.
It is appropriately named: your feet are the trunk of your tree pose, your standing legs are your roots, and your arms are the branches. Tree poses are easy to customize and have a standing balance suitable for students of all levels.
Tree pose (Vrksasana): Step-by-step instructions
- Tall in mountain pose (Tadasana) – Chest is raised, toes are touched, and heels are slightly apart. Place your palms together near the top of the mat in front of your chest.
- Shift your weight to your left leg and raise your right knee.
- Shake your right knee to the right and turn the sole of your right foot to the inside of your left calf or to your left thigh with the help of your hands. (Do not place it against your knees.)
- Keep your left foot strong and straight without locking your knees with a stationary target facing forward for balance.
- If you feel stable, bring your hands into place: in your heart (with Anjali Mudra It’s either directly overhead or come straight to your side, as demonstrated in this clip from the Yoga52.
- Hold at least five breaths, then switch sides and repeat.
How to make tree pose easier
Balancing in tree poses shouldn’t be easy when you’re doing it for the first time. That’s how you get stronger. Here are some tips to change this:
- If balance is difficult today (that happens!), pose for a tree next to the wall.
- It requires a certain amount of hip flexibility to bring your feet to your inner thighs. Sanders suggests keeping your feet under your knees or use them as a “kickstand” (right heel to your left ankle) on the ground until your hips open. This prevents you from having to tilt your pelvis to move your foot into place.
How to make tree poses more difficult
It’s easy to make tree poses (or balanced poses) more difficult. This is how you strengthen Vrksasana.
- To manipulate the lifted foot in place, use only the lower body and core strength, not the hands.
- With the lifted leg raised, stand up just inside your thighs or with the calves of your standing legs up without actually making them come into contact with them.
- Close your eyes and try to balance, or lift your toes.
- It balances the block or soft surface and forces the muscles that support the feet and ankles.
Beginner’s Tips for Tree Posing
New yogis often try to enter the “final” tree pose before their hips are ready. To place your foot on your legs, you need to work on rotating the femur externally with the hip socket. To keep your knees and hips safe and healthy, focus on opening your hips before placing your feet.
There are some additional considerations when performing tree poses, especially when you’re just starting out.
- Do not place your feet on your knees. Both are acceptable positions for higher or lower positions, but placing your foot on your knees puts your delicate joint at risk of injury.
- Please refrain from locking your standing knee. It may feel safer, but it’s not safe – especially if you start to shake. (And you will, no matter how much you practice.)
- Take a breath! Beginners tend to hold their breath in balanced poses.
- Don’t give up on the pose once you start to weaken. Don’t forget that the trees are swaying in the wind. And they usually manage to stay upright. The Wiggle and Shake are ongoing strength!
- If you lose your balance, take a breath and try again.
Benefits of tree pose
Whether you’re your first or 100th time you’ve done a tree pose, you can enjoy the next advantage of tree pose.
Promotes stability
“It can be frustrating at times, but balance affects all the other movements our bodies make,” says Sanders. “It helps to improve the quality of your movement and avoid injuries with balance training. Trees are the perfect place to start, and increasing stability and strength on the feet and ankles makes all balanced poses more achievable.”
Strengthen the lower body and core
To maintain balance, you need to activate the core and fire small muscles that support your feet and ankles.
“The tree pose helps maintain neutral alignment of the spine and pelvis using almost every muscle in the lower body. The lifted leg alone uses five different joint actions and at least nine different muscles.”
Your quadriceps and adductors, and the entire back of your feet, you will feel the wooden pose from your calves to your glut section.
Open your hips
To put your feet on your inner thighs, the hip socket should be able to rotate the thigh bones externally. Tight hips limit the ability to put more poses deeper, so include them Vrksasana With your regular yoga practice, notice how it starts to open your hips. (Make sure you do that on both sides!)
