Yoga_Journal_-_December_2014_USA

35

december 2014

yogajournal.com

YOGAPEDIA

practice well

PHOTOS: JEFF NELSON; MODEL: CLAIRE MISSINGHAM; STYLIST: EMILY CHOI; HAIR/MAKEUP: AHMANA ARYAN-SAFI; BRA AND TANK: LORNA JANE; TIGHTS: TEEKI

vrksa = tree · asana = pose

Tree Pose

Vrksasana

Poses of the month

How to move from Vrksasana

to Svarga Dvijasana

}

DON’T place your

foot on the opposite

knee. Keep it above

or below the knee,

on the inner thigh

or side of the shin,

to protect the knee

of the standing leg.

Benefit

Establishes strength and

balance in the legs, and

helps you feel centered,

steady, and grounded

Instruction

1 Stand with your feet

together, inner ankles and

inner knees touching. Find

a straight line of energy

through the center of

the body, from the inner

arches up through the

crown of the head. Bring

the hands together at the

center of the chest in Anjali

Mudra. Exhale, root down

through your feet, and feel

steadiness, firmness, and

grounding in Tadasana, or

Mountain Pose.

2 Shift your weight onto

your right foot. Bend your

left knee, and move it into

the chest. Keeping a long

spine, reach down and

clasp your left ankle. Place

the sole of the left foot on

the inner right thigh.

OUR PRO Teacher and model

Claire Missingham is an international

yoga teacher based in London. To

find out more about her, please visit

claireyoga.com or follow her on

instagram.com/clairemissingham.

3 Lengthen your tail-

bone toward the floor to

stand tall and bring your

drishti, or gaze, to the wall

directly in front of you to

help you balance.

4 Press your left foot into

the inner right thigh and

your right thigh into your

foot in an effort to main-

tain your midline.

5 Square both hips to the

front of the room, keeping

your left knee moving out

to the left.

6 Firm your outer right

thigh by contracting the

quadriceps muscles, or

the front of the thighs.

Zip your belly in and your

lower ribs together. Lift

the chest and bring the

shoulder blades down.

7 Take 5–10 deep

breaths, finding length on

each inhale and rooting

down with each exhale.

8 Exhale and release the

left leg back to Tadasana.

Repeat on the other side.

By Claire Missingham

DON’T turn out the

foot on the standing,

supporting leg. This

will misalign the sup-

porting knee and hip.

Vrksasana

modifications,

page 36

Svarga Dvijasana

prep, pages 38-39

Svarga Dvijasana,

Vrksasana pages 4o-4 1