Tree Pose:
vrksasana, tree pose, and this posture is about stability, poise, reestablishing our deepest connection earth through our commitment to finding balance. It's a simple asana yet tree pose is deceptively difficult in performance, and to me it seems to hold the entire essence of yoga as stated in Patanjali's sutras - chitta Vritti nirodha, that yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind, or regaining our most natural composure.
standing as a tree,
rooted to earth.
reaching through the sky.
it's a beautiful posture, and for a minutes hold on both sides I am sometimes blessed with just an instant of true poise, my breath grown soft, spine long and arms stretched upwards, balanced on a single foot with the other one pressed strong against my thigh. Of course if I even think of celebration I am immediately thrown from the pose, having lost my sense of poise to ego, and once more need to reestablish my connection. What I find is that if I reach that moment of balance, when everything seems to flow towards an ease of strength and balance, a subtle smile plays natural against my lips, spontaneously, as if the earth itself is smiling through me.
there's no ego involved.
at least for the moment of that smile.
the vast majority of my practice is spent falling, physically from a postures hold, and mentally from nirodha, stillness of the mind. What I truly practice is returning, coming back to a posture countless times and reconnecting with my inner smile, one that signifies my deep connection.
it never matters how often I might fall...
nirodha always waits for my return.
~
Peace, Eric
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