Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Vrksa means tree and asana means posture, so the name is simply tree posture. You stand on one leg, rooted through the foot, and grow tall through the crown of the head.
At a glance
- Sanskrit name
- Vrksasana
- Pronunciation
- vrik-SHAHS-uh-nuh. The first syllable is short, and the stress falls on the second.
- Family
- Balances
- Practised in
- Vinyasa yoga
- In pregnancy
- Adapt
- After birth
- Adapt
Tree Pose is one of the first balancing shapes most people learn, and it turns up often in a Vinyasa lesson between the standing postures. It asks very little flexibility. What it asks for is attention.
In Vinyasa at home with a private teacher, a wall nearby makes the first attempts calmer, and the lifted foot can rest at the ankle like a kickstand.
When Tree feels steady, Dancer Pose, a balance with a backbend asks the same standing foot for a little more.
How to do Tree Pose
Stand in Mountain Pose with your feet hip-width apart and your weight spread evenly across both feet.
Shift your weight into your left foot. Press the big toe, little toe and heel down, and keep a soft bend in the knee rather than locking it.
Lift your right foot and place the sole on your inner left calf or inner left thigh, above or below the knee but never on the joint itself.
Press the foot and the leg into each other, and turn the right knee out to the side without letting the right hip lift.
Bring your hands together at your chest, or reach them overhead if your shoulders are happy there. Rest your gaze on one point that does not move.
Stay for five to eight slow breaths, then lower the foot with control and repeat on the other side.
My cues
- Grow the standing leg down into the floor as if it had roots. The more you press down, the taller you get.
- Keep both hip bones pointing forward, like headlights. I would rather your knee turned out a little less than have your hips swing open.
- Wobbling is part of the pose. Let the ankle make its small corrections, and keep breathing through them.
Modifications
- Keep the toes of the lifted foot on the floor and rest the heel against the standing ankle, like a kickstand.
- Stand with one hand on a wall or the back of a chair until the balance feels steady.
In pregnancy. Adapt. Your balance shifts as the belly grows, so practise next to a wall with a hand ready to steady you, keep the foot low on the calf, and widen your stance a little if you need to. Check with your OB or midwife before you start.
After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you to exercise, start with the toes on the floor and a hand on the wall. Your balance and your core may take a while to feel familiar again, and that is normal.
Common mistakes
- Pressing the foot into the side of the knee. It puts sideways pressure on a joint that is not built for it, so go above or below.
- Letting the standing hip jut out to the side. Draw it back in line so the weight sits over the middle of the foot.
Pairs well with
- Mountain PoseTadasana
- Warrior PosesVirabhadrasana I, II and III
- Chair PoseUtkatasana