Chair Yoga Tree Pose: A Whole Body Exercise

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Tree Pose For Beginners: 5 Fun Ways To Practice With A Chair

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Today we will explore a standing chair yoga pose that has a lot of variations- Tree Pose for beginners: Vrksasana. I have touched on this pose in 5 Standing Chair Yoga Poses For Beginners and we used a yoga block to help us there. Today we will look at 5 variations of standing chair yoga tree pose for beginners using just the chair to help us. 

This is such a wonderful pose. Not only does it work on balance and focus, but it engages both the body, the mind, and our spirit. It forces us to bring awareness and attention to not just our stabilizing foot, but the core. It also strengthens the legs and opens the hips. It really engages the whole body! We can use our power of visualization to “grow our tree’ and add some arm movements as well.

There are so many variations that we can take here- the possibilities are really endless when practicing these variations of tree pose for beginners. We want to ensure that we are grounding through our standing foot evenly so that we can create that stability – keeping the pelvis neutral and lengthening through the spine will allow us to maintain our balance.

Tree pose can also be a really great way to check in with ourselves and see how balanced we are – both on the inside and the outside. It can be discouraging if we try something that is a bit challenging and we end up feeling like we have failed. But really, there is no failing in yoga. There is always another opportunity to try or another opportunity to learn or to find something that works and resonates with you.

If you are interested in learning more, keep reading for 5 Tree Pose for beginners variations. As always be mindful of your abilities and always check with your healthcare provider before starting this or any exercise program. Never force or strain. If you experience pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness stop immediately. 

Take a look at these 5 variations and see what you think. Start with the first one even if you feel as if your balance and strength are good. Really try to focus on the whole body. Feel the stabilizing foot grounding into the earth and bring awareness to your breath and your mind. Don’t rush it here. Then you can move on if you would like. Add the arms movements only if you feel balanced.

Chair Yoga Tree Pose For Beginners: 5 Variations

1. Tree Pose With Hand On Hip And Toe On The Ground

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand on the back of the chair, the other hand on the outside hip, and the inside leg externally rotated and raised up on the toes for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

  • Begin standing next to the back of a sturdy chair and hold for support
  • Place the opposite hand on your hip
  • Rise up onto the toes of the foot closest to the chair as you externally rotate the hip and open the leg to the side. 
  • Place the foot on the inside of the calf on the standing leg-toes stay on the ground
  • Hug the hip of the standing leg in to the midline and lengthen through the spine as you root through the standing foot and reach the crown of the head towards the sky
  • Stay here for 2-3 breaths, or as desired, and then gently release the foot back to the floor
  • Repeat 1-2 times or as desired and then repeat on the other side

2. Beginner Tree Pose With Arm Raised

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand on the back of the chair for support, the other hand raised above her head, and the foot closest to the chair externally rotated and up on the toes for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

  • Begin standing next to the back of a sturdy chair
  • Hold the chair for support and let the opposite hand rest at you side
  • Rise up onto the toes of the foot closest to the chair and externally rotate the hip and open the leg out to the side- place the foot on the inside of the calf on the standing leg with the toes on the ground
  • Hug the hip of the standing leg in to the midline and lengthen through the spine as you root through the standing foot and reach the crown of the head towards the sky
  • On an inhale begin to raise the arm that is by your side up in front of you. Reaching the fingertips towards the sky as able (Only raise the arms as high as you feel comfortable)
  • Stay here for 2-3 breaths or as desired and on an exhale, release the arm back by your side and the foot back to the ground
  • Repeat 1-2 times or as desired and repeat on the other side

3. Tree Pose With Foot On Chair With Or Without Arm Raised

A woman standing next to a chair with one foot on the seat, one hand on the chair for support, and the other hand on her hip for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand holding the back for support, one foot placed onto the seat of the chair, and the other hand raised up above the head for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

  • Begin standing to the side of a sturdy chair facing forward
  • Hold the chair for support and stabilize through the core and the supporting foot
  • Inhale as you lift the foot of the inside leg up and place it on the seat of the chair
  • Take 2-3 breaths here as you ground through the supporting foot, engage the muscles in the hip and core, and elongate the spine
  • You may choose to raise the non supporting hand up toward the sky if that is right for you
  • Wherever you are, on an exhale, release the foot back to the ground and take a deep breath
  • Repeat 1-2 times as desired and repeat on the other side

4. Tree Pose With Knee On Chair With Or Without Arm Raised

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand on the back of the chair, one knee resting on the seat of the chair, and the other hand on the hip for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand on the back of the chair, the inside knee resting on the seat of the chair, and the other arm raised overhead for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

  • Begin standing to the side of a sturdy chair-hold the chair with one hand for support
  • Lengthen through the spine and engage the core
  • On an inhale, lift the knee of the leg closest to the chair up
  • Exhale to place the knee on the seat of the chair
  • Ground down through the supporting foot and hug the hip to the midline
  • You may choose to keep the arm by your side, at your heart center, or raise it up toward the sky
  • Stay here for 2-3 breaths or as desired
  • On an exhale, gently release the foot back to the floor
  • Repeat as desired, then repeat on the opposite side

5. Beginner Tree Pose With Foot On Calf-  With Or Without Arm Raised

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand holding for support, the other hand on her hip and the foot of the outside leg resting on the calf on the standing leg for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

A woman standing next to a chair with one hand on the back of the chair, the other arm raised over head, and the outside foot resting on the calf of the standing leg for a chair yoga tree pose variation.

  • Begin standing next to the back of a sturdy chair
  • Hold the chair for support and place the opposite hand on the hip
  • Root down through the foot closest to the chair and engage the core
  • Inhale as you rise up onto the toes of the outside leg and open the hip
  • Exhale as you place the sole of the foot on the inside of the calf
  • Hug the hip of the standing leg in to the midline and lengthen through the spine as you root through the standing foot and reach the crown of the head towards the sky
  • Stay here or on an inhale begin to raise the arm that is on the hip up in front of you-reaching the fingertips towards the sky as able (Only raise the arms as high as you feel comfortable)
  • Stay here for 2-3 breaths and on an exhale, release the arm back by your side and the foot back to the ground.
  • Repeat 1-2 times or as desired and repeat on the other side.

Let me know what you thought of these and which one was the most challenging for you in the comments below. Let me know if you would like to see any other poses broken down like this as well.

Want More Grounding Exercises?

A daily journal practice can be a great way to help us stay grounded, you may be interested in these from Promptly Journals: Shop Gratitude Journals by Promptly Journals

Or, you may enjoy my simple Daily Gratitude Notebook

You may be interested in Root Chakra: 5 Chair Yoga Poses for Beginners

Or, take a look at Chair Yoga For the Feet

If you are interested in more standing chair yoga poses for beginners, take a look here: 5 Standing Chair Yoga Poses For Beginners

You may be interested in these standing exercises that help combat the effects of prolonged sitting

Visit The Peaceful Chair Etsy Shop for health and wellness related printable pages.

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Namaste!

Disclaimer: The Peaceful Chair and thepeacefulchair.com strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before starting this or any exercise program.The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not to be used in place of medical advice or information from your healthcare provider. Neither The Peaceful Chair, thepeacefulchair.com, nor any of its contributors shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information contained in any links, videos, or any content on this website.