Ground yourself. Feel the earth at your feet. Spread your energy all the way through your finger branches and to the sky just like trees do.
Pose Instructions
- Begin in Mountain. Imagine roots growing out of your feet, connecting to the earth.
- Bend one leg and place the sole of that foot on the inside of the standing leg, anywhere between your ankle and thigh.
- Bend your right knee and press your foot against the inside of your left leg. As your balance grows stronger, you will be able to raise your foot higher on your leg.
- Bring your hands to your chest, palms together in Namaste position, raise your arms and stretch them out wide like the limbs of a tree. Separate your fingers and stretch those little finger branches. Balance.
- Hold for as long as you can and then slowly lower your foot to the floor and change sides.
Note to Parents and Teachers
This pose fosters balance, concentration and focus when practiced regularly. Make a family or class forest in the morning or at the end of day to keep you all connected. Make your group Tree pose a sharing circle.
Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom
Reading Comes Alive with Yoga
Celebrate the strength and unity of trees with books like The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein or The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry. Go to the library with your children and find other “Tree’ titles, and develop the lifelong library habit early on.
Visual Vignettes
Draw a family tree and teach your children about their ancestors.
Ecological Echoes
Take your children on nature walks. Read under a tree about trees when the weather permits. Hug trees. Talk to trees. Balance upon their sturdy trunks and honor them with your beautiful self and the tree pose too.
Body Benefits
This pose develops strength and balance in the legs and torso. The reaching and stretching of the arms and fingers improves fine motor coordination too. Trees live on light and water and so do we. Imagine drinking water through the roots of your feet just like a tree. Water hydrates trees and our bodies too.
Nutrition Notes
Drink lots of WATER, clean water – either bottled or filtered. Most tap water contains chlorine, fluoride and sometimes even lead. The body is 75% water and needs to constantly be replenished. Dehydration can be the cause of a variety of symptoms including low energy, sugar cravings, dry and rough skin, fatigue, lack of focus and headaches. Water helps children stay alert and focused in the classroom and at home.
How much should you drink? That depends on you. We recommend keeping a bottle of water with you and your children throughout the day. Experiment and pay attention to how your body feels. Try starting your day with hot water and lemon and drinking a glass water before every meal and snack. Children can decorate their water and enhance the flavor with healthy lemon, orange, cucumber slices or even a jelly bean or other treat. Whatever helps them drink more H2O. Enjoy!