Vrikshasana

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Detail of the “Departure of the Ganges ” monument in Mamallapuram

Vrikshasana ( Sanskrit वृक्षासन vṛkṣāsana ; in German: Tree pose ) is a classic yoga exercise and one of the 84 main exercises of Hatha Yoga . The Sanskrit name is formed from the words vṛkṣa (वृक्ष) (meaning: "tree") and āsana (आसन) (meaning: "seat" or "posture").

The Asana is obviously part of the sculpture "departure of the Ganges " in the temple area of Mahabalipuram , which the World Heritage Site of UNESCO belongs. It is also described in Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā , a 17th century Sanskrit text on yoga.


Physical execution

Vrikshasana, the "tree" pose

One starts from the mountain position (Tadasana), that is, “standing upright”. The weight is then shifted to one foot (here as an example the right one) in order to loosen the other (here the left one) from the floor. The left heel is placed either on the inner right calf or on the inner side of the right thigh (but NOT on the right knee) with the left toes pointing down. The left knee should point outwards to the side. The right heel is "rooted" to the ground, the right toes a little apart. The entire heel remains in contact with the ground. The hands are brought into the Namaste at the beginning and then (if possible) over the head. The position is held for up to 2 minutes and then the leg is changed.

The gaze remains fixed at a point in front of the person a little further on the floor. This helps in maintaining balance. Advanced users can also close their eyes. The focus can be on the Ajna or the Anahata chakra .

Effects

A two-month research in Chennai , India, with 20 depressed patients is said to have shown an increase in self-confidence and self-worth .

Web links

Commons : Vriksasana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Search results "vRkSa". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  2. "Asana" search results. In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  3. Official name English Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram , French Ensemble de monuments de Mahabalipuram , German name according to the World Heritage List. In: www.unesco.de. German UNESCO Commission, accessed on February 1, 2018 .
  4. Srisa Chandra Vasu (translation): Gheranda Samhita . Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi 1979, pp. 18 ( archive.org [PDF]).
  5. Mehta Silva, Mehta Mira, Mehta Shyam: Yoga: The Iyengar Way . Dorling Kindersley, 1990, p. 21 .
  6. Vindhiya Varshini, S. Preetha: Effect of Vrikshasana on depression patients . In: Drug Invention . 2018. p. 21