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Yoga For Mind and Body
Part 1
This is the first in a series of columns offering yoga postures for men, women, and children to practice at home, school, on the road or in the office. With special thanks to Ross Pottinger of Wink Photo Design in Brisbane, Australia for the photos and the support in this project. And many thanks to Louisa Dick for inspiring and taking part in the project. If you have a posture that you would like to see in this column, I welcome your suggestions. Namaste, H!
Vrksasana: The Tree Pose
- A simple but powerful posture that improves balance, grounds and centres the mind and body, and promotes poise and elegance in the body, and steadiness of the mind.
Focus: Single-mindedness of thought. Balances mind and body, left and right, yin and yang.
Imagine: you are a tree, you do not end where your foot meets the ground or at the top of your head, instead imagine that you can feel your ‘roots’ reaching into the ground for support, nourishment and strength. You can feel your ‘branches’ reaching up into the sky for sun and rain and air. Imagine you are a strong, flexible, ancient tree that can weather any storm. Allow your body to be soft but strong, relaxed but active, and focus on reaching down into the earth and lifting up into the sky simultaneously.
Modifications: Face a mirror to assess your posture and balance the left and right sides. You may find that one shoulder dips lower than the other, or that you are lifting your shoulders to your ears, or that you are pushing your buttocks backward. Allow the mirror to reflect to you what adjustments can be made in your posture, and make your adjustments slow and subtle.
 To Begin: Start in Tadasana, the mountain pose, and take a few deep breaths in and out through your nose before you begin. In your imagination see yourself in the posture, balancing in a strong and relaxed tree and breathing deeply. When you feel ready, move into the posture.
 The Pose: Stand with feet together and find a point at eye level at least 2 metres ahead of you to focus your gaze on. On the left side, spread your toes of your left foot, lift your kneecap up into your thigh to create strength, tuck your pelvis under slightly to point your tailbone to the ground, and then draw the right foot up to rest on the inside of your calf (Ross-left), your inner thigh (Heather-right) or fold your foot up to your hip and squeeze your knee back and down (Louisa-front).
Bring your palms together at your heart, or for more intensity bring your arms overhead. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. Ensure that you do not rest your foot on your knee joint. And, focus on lengthening through your waist, and creating a straight line from your ear, through your shoulder, through your hip, to your ankle bone. Hold for at least 5 deep breaths, then release, rebalance in Tadasana, then repeat on the opposite side
Update: If you are interested in personal, semi-private, group or corporate classes in Toronto or North, please contact Heather at heather@yogatrinity. Thank you
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