How to improve your balance in Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

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Tree Pose (Vrksasana) is a simple yet challenging foundational yoga pose that strengthens your legs and core muscles, stretches your inner thighs, and improves your balance. However, as an asymmetrical pose, it can be hard to find your balance and stability while performing it—especially for those with body asymmetries or leg length discrepancies. If that’s you, check out my post on how to do the pose.

How to Do It

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

  1. Start in Mountain Pose (Tadasana), with your feet together and arms at your sides.

  2. Bend your right knee, bringing your right foot onto your inner left thigh, calf, or ankle, and externally rotate your leg so your knee turns out to the right side.

  3. Press the sole of your right foot into your standing left leg and keep your right knee pointing straight up towards the ceiling.

  4. Avoid collapsing into the hip of your standing leg, finding evenness in your hips, and lengthen up through your spine.

  5. Bring your hands together in prayer position (Anjali Mudra) at your heart or raise them up by your ears.

  6. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing evenly and noticing the gentle sway of your body.

  7. To come out of the pose, exhale and lower your right foot back to the ground. Return to Mountain Pose and repeat on the other side.

As this is a challenging balancing pose, it may feel like there is a lot of wind around you, shaking your tree. This is absolutely normal. Here are seven ways to find more stability and balance in this pose:

1.      Find your roots. Prepare your foundation by pressing your standing foot into the ground evenly through all four corners.

2.      Engage your core. Activate your lower abdominal muscles by pulling them up and in. As you build that abdominal wall, your lower back will lengthen and your posture will be better supported.

3.      Press toward the midline. Generally, we think of pressing the raised foot into the standing leg. However, to improve your stability in this pose, also press the standing leg back into the raised leg.

4.      Use your glute muscles. Use your glute muscles on the raised leg to externally rotate your leg out to the side. Increased muscle activation helps support the pose and increase your strength and stretch.

5.      Look at a fixed point. A focused gaze, also called drishti, centers the mind and promotes concentration and therefore your balance. Look at an unmoving point several feet in front of you.

6.      Use props. Hold a wall, chair, or hanging straps to help you stabilize yourself.

7.      Practice regularly. You can start slowly, but with regular practice your balance will improve.