Trees ground us, shelter us, and encourage us to reach higher.
They provide food, fresh air, and can be a wondrous natural playground.
Trees are incredible and, in my opinion, so soothing all year round. They are also an amazing source of inspiration for our yoga practice - can you guess how many species of trees are found all over the world?
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60,000! That’s a lot of different types of trees! With Brazil being the most diverse, home to 8,700+ species, our colder climates closer to the Arctic mean that we have only 1,400 species of trees - but still, that’s a lot of trees! (BBC News)
So how can we take inspiration from these majestic living things in our tree pose / vrksasana?
Start in your mountain pose / tadasana - feeling steady, tall and strong.
Root into your left root, and bend your right knee, opening it wide like the root of a tree. Toes can stay grounded or float further up your “trunk” to rest along the inseam of your standing left leg.
Hands can come to heart, feeling the energy of your tree and the “beat of the jungle” (as I sometimes call it.) Once steady, with a long and tall spine, reach your arms high towards the sun, just like a tree’s branches would.
Feel your strength, your ease, and blow in the breeze if you’d like! Be sure to follow up with the opposite side, and try this pose lying down for a more restful “fallen tree” pose.
My favourite way to tree pose is in the forest, surrounded by other trees.
From one tree hugger to another,
Sara