Vrkasana - Tree Pose

"What did the tree learn from the earth 

to be able to talk with the sky?"

- Pablo Neruda

I love this quote. It is the essence of tree pose for me: being rooted firmly to the earth, yet still open to the wonder and possibility of what lies above and beyond our current selves. To me, the juxtaposition of the pose is exactly how I want to live my own life - based in reality and accepting/content with that (santosha!)...but working towards a higher end goal.

And, one cannot deny the beauty of the pose. Even though I am working on gazing at the ceiling and/or closing my eyes in Tree, I still like to sneak a peek at the yogis around me. The surge of energy flowing out of their grounded and free limbs can be electric. If someone was to peek back at me, they would find me grinning. Yep, Tree is definitely my favorite.

I prefer to enter Tree via Tadasana, Mountain Pose. Taking a moment to feel my feet grounded into my mat and focusing my thoughts on the here and now is key. Letting go of the expectation of what Tree will be, and just enjoying the way my hips feel and how my entire posture improves as I settle in. It's like I just grew an inch, maybe two. Hands in Anjali Mudra to begin and then when my mind is ready, I raise my arms and open up to the possibility of being stationary and free, all in the same breath. 

The nuts & bolts:

Vrkasana (vrik-shahs-anna) (From Yoga Learning Center.com and Yoga Journal.com)

Vrksa = tree

In the nature of a tree, the standing leg grounds itself to the earth like roots of a tree as the upper body lengthens upward like the branches. Ancient yogis of India were known to stand in this posture for many days on the banks of the Ganges River while meditating and chanting. The Yogi's say that if you can hold Tree Pose with comfort and ease, it mirrors your emotional and mental states.

Health Benefits:

• Develops awareness, balance, concentration and poise.
• Revitalizes spine as well as the body and the mind.
• Strengthens the entire leg, ankles and feet.
• Increases flexibility in the thighs and hip.
• Steadies and calms the mind.
• Fortifies your Muladhara (The First Chakra or "Root" Chakra. It is located at the base of the spine and the closest Chakra to the ground and controls our sense of stability and security in this life. It is where we get our footing, stand our ground and find our strength.)

That bit about the Muladhara really resonates with me. It's not how adept you are at physically balancing. Oh no! It's about the mental balancing. That's good stuff, yes?

I leave you with this from Yoga Journal:

Though praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow may come and go like the wind (as the Buddha said), happiness comes if you can "rest like a great tree in the midst of them all."

Namaste.