Lower back, hips, knees and ankles

Tree Pose: Lift & Lower

A gentle first step toward standing on one leg: you simply shift your weight and lift the other foot a little, teaching your body single-leg confidence without a long balance hold.

How to do it

1. 1

   Stand with a wall or chair within reach

   Feet about hip width apart, weight even, one hand free to touch support if you want it.

2. 2

   Shift your weight slowly across onto one foot

   Move the whole body across rather than tipping at the waist. Let the standing foot go quiet before anything else happens.

3. 3

   Lift the other foot a little, then lower it

   A centimetre or two is plenty. The weight shift is the exercise, not the height of the lift.

4. 4

   Alternate sides at an unhurried pace

   One shift, one small lift, one landing. Keeping the toes brushing the floor is a fine version of the lift.

5. 5

   Keep going for thirty to sixty seconds

   Fewer repetitions with a slower shift beats more repetitions in a hurry. Keep a hand on the wall for as long as you like.

What to watch for

Hopping the foot up before the weight has actually travelled across. Slow the shift down until the standing foot is settled, then lift.

Ways to adjust it

• Hand on wall
• Smaller shift
• Reduce reps
• Toes stay on floor

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Tree Pose versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

• Tree Pose: At Wall
• Tree Pose: Classic
• Tree Pose: Foot on Chair
• Tree Pose: Holding Chair
• Tree Pose: Side-Lying
• Tree Pose: Toes on Floor

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.