Vrikshasana

Vriksha is the tree, and the Gheranda Samhita gives the instruction in one breath: stand on one leg, set the other foot against the thigh, raise the hands above the head, and remain steady like a tree. The teaching image is exact — the tree does not avoid the wind; it sways and returns. Classically the standing balances train ekagrata, one-pointedness: the mind cannot wander and the foot cannot wander, and each is steadied through the other. It is the first standing pose many students learn and the one they never outgrow, because the wobble it reveals is never in the ankle alone.

1. Stand tall and shift the weight into the left foot.
2. Place the sole of the right foot against the inner left thigh or calf — never the knee.
3. Bring the palms together at the chest, then raise them overhead like branches.
4. Fix the gaze on one unmoving point and breathe evenly.
5. Hold for five to ten breaths, lower the foot with control, and change sides.

Single-leg standing balances are among the best-supported exercises in all of movement research: they improve proprioception, ankle and hip stability, and balance confidence, and in older adults they measurably reduce fall risk. Research on balance training also shows a consistent secondary effect — the concentration required produces an immediate, though temporary, quieting of self-reported mental chatter, which is precisely what the tradition built the pose to do.