yoga:: Find Balance in Tree Pose

If you’re a seasoned yogi, or even if you’re just starting to develop your practice, you know that balance is the key to successfully maintaining a pose. In order to go deeper into a yoga posture, you need a combination of balance, coordination, and relaxation to reach your yogic “aha” moment.

Tree pose is one of the most important postures, or asanas, in your yoga practice (and a great hip opener!). However, it can be pretty tricky for many people because they require shifting your weight from one foot to another. The secret to mastering these poses is to achieve balance within your body, which requires an inner focus and an outer stance. When you balance on one foot, you are essentially moving your body mass to one side. If you find that you frequently fall to the right or left when standing on one leg, your hips may be uneven. If you tend to fall backwards, your hips, pelvis, and shoulders are not properly aligned.

So, how do you achieve balance in your body? When practicing tree pose, draw your right leg up and place the food against your inner left thigh. After your leg is securely in place, make sure to keep your gaze forward without pushing your chin up or stretching your neck. If your leg is wobbly, hold it up with your left hand, but try not to divert your gaze. The key to successfully balancing on one leg is to keep your eyes focused on one static object so you will be able to better concentrate on being still.

The raised leg with the bent knee can also help you hold the pose. The knee should be pointing sideways and downward as a counterbalance to the standing locked leg. As a result, the thigh becomes perpendicular to the standing leg and creates balance in the body. you’re just starting out with some of these standing balancing postures and feel a little tense, don’t worry! Initial tension is perfectly natural, and will go away with practice. Remember that yoga is essentially conscious breath, so make sure to breathe while you’re in your posture! When you raise your shoulders and hold your breath during a complicated asana, you create unnecessary tension in the torso. If you find yourself stressed, each time you exhale, drop the shoulders down and back while taking deep breaths.