The Tree is one of those poses that causes people a lot of problems, mostly because is requires you to do several things at once, and most of us find just doing one hard enough. It was a pose that took me a couple of months to be able to do well.

The balance poses in yoga exercise many of the small muscles that we don't get to use much in our modern world with flat floors and lifts and clunky shoes. As we get older and less active they also tend to weaken, which is one of the reason old people are more prone to falls. That means jumping straight in and trying to do a pose like the Tree is likely to end in ignominious failure as you topple over repeatedly, which will do you no good.

However, the great things about yoga is that for many of the poses you don't have to do the whole thing straight away, just going as far as you feel comfortable will still have a positive impact, and you will find that you can gradually go further.

You need to work up to doing the full Tree pose gradually, to give both those rarely used control muscles, and your sense of balance, a chance to tone up a little. Unfortunately Wii Fit only shows you how to do the full pose, so here I'm going to give you the basic steps to perfecting the Tree, one bit at a time.

Some general tips before we begin

• Keep your foot relaxed (I know easier said than done). Your toes should be flat on the floor, not scrunched up as you try to grip the carpet
• Try to stay relaxed and don't panic if you feel you are losing your balance. Keep breathing, and try to smile
• Imagine you are being pulled up by an invisible thread from the top of your head, stretching your spine up straight, and keeping your bum tucked in.
• Take it easy and don't rush. It's better to do half the Tree well, than fall over trying to do the full thing.
• Never place the foot of your bent leg against the knee of your straight leg, the sideways force it applies can damage the knee joint if you are not careful. Keep the heel of the foot well above or below the knee, never on it.

A simple tip for helping your foot stay in place

A lot of people find that the foot of their bent leg tends to slip down, as there is not enough friction to keep it in place.

A simple trick I discovered this morning is to wet the soles of your feet with a little water first, this helps you foot stick to your thigh.

It also tends to work better if it's against bare skins, so shorts tend to work better than trousers.

Of course holding onto your leg is fine as well.

Step 1 - the shrub (unofficial title )

Stand with all your weight on your flat foot, and gently rest the heel of your other foot against your lower calf, with your toes just touching the ground to give you stability.

Start with your hands by your sides, if that's comfortable more them to the payer position, and if that's easy, try joining them together overhead.



Step 2 - the sapling

Place a chair, or other study object to your side so that you can hold onto it.

Balancing on one foot, place the sole of the other against your calf, with the toes just above the ankle bone of your balancing leg.

If that all feels comfortable, try letting go of the chair and bringing your hands to your chest in the prayer position, and from there to above your head. If you feel unsteady at any point, just lower your arm and hold onto the chair.



Step 3 - The Hedge

Holding onto the chair with one hand, hold your bent leg in place with your other hand holding on to the ankle. Try to get your foot as high as is comfortable, but don't strain your knee. Experiment to find a spot when your foot fits naturally against your straight leg. The heel of the bent leg normally fits snuggly into a dip on the inside of the straight leg up near the groin.

You will find that your bent leg stays in place better if the muscle of the straight leg is nice and firm, giving is something to push against.



If you are comfortable there, try and let go of the chair and balance. If all that seems nice and natural, try raising your free arm up.



Step 4 - The Tree

If you have got to the point where you can keep your bent leg in place, and can balance without the chair, try bringing both hands together into the prayer position. From here you can quickly drop your hands to grab the chair or your bent leg.



Once you are happy doing that, all that's left is to raise your arms to the ceiling for the full Tree pose


And then you are done

Hah, I even do step one when I'm balancing on my left leg and step four when I'm balancing on my right leg. XD Thanks Paul!

Thanks Paul, that's really helpful to break it down like that. One of my main problems (other than falling down) is keeping my foot tucked into my thigh without holding it, as I usually have bare feet my foot slips. I'll try just keeping it below knee level as you suggest.
And one day I may be able to let go of the mantelpiece !

I've just updated the guide with a neat little trick I discovered this morning: wet the soles of your feet a little before you begin.

With these very cold mornings we are having I'm not sweating at all, so my feet and legs are totally dry, so there's absolutely no friction between them. Wetting the soles makes them a little bit sticky, keeping your foot in place.

I hope that helps. Once your feet start staying in place, it gets much easier to do the rest, as you can concentrate on staying upright

I wonder if wetting the foot is bad for the balance board? I remember the wii board telling me in one of it's many daily ramblings that it does NOT like being wet.......

I lost an very expensive digital weigh scale after only a year because I kept it in the bathroom. Apparently the dampness that bathrooms usually have -- it damaged the digital parts.

When I say wet your foot, I don't mean soak it, just get it damp

Basically it should be about as damp as if you'd worked up a little bit of a sweat. It's like wetting your finger to turn the page in a book. When your fingers are very dry, they have no friction, but wetting them makes the page stick so you can turn it.

When I first saw the "tree" pose I laughed so hard!

I stand around like this alot...not with my hands over my head but just like it and balance that way at home in the kitchen talking or making dinner...so

when it came up on the TV everyone yowled! "Oh you'll be able to do this one!" and I can, but better yet is the teen can too...growing up watching me do it all these years!

funny

the most difficult poses are the ones where my head has to be facing another way so I can't see if I am anywhere in or near the yellow circle....

Oh I am SO glad I'm not the only person having major trouble with this one. Mostly when my left leg is the standing leg, I do somewhat okay standing on my right leg but at this point can barely do the "shrub" on my left leg.

Hehe, yeah. even now that I can do it pretty well, I still find it much easier on one leg than the other, but it is getting better the more I do it.