Tree Yoga: Exploring the Wisdom of the Trees
When we pause beneath the canopy of trees, something shifts in our breathing, our posture, our presence.
The trees omit a grounding, balanced and harmonious energy. The rhythms and flow of nature can make us feel calm and reassured. This feeling of connection transports us away from the busyness of everyday life and can be deeply healing.
Feeling drawn to the trees
Like most children I loved being with trees, particularly climbing, hanging, and feeling the safety of their presence. One summer my dad built us a treehouse in the cherry tree in our garden. This became a favourite place to play and hide from the outside world.
During summer holidays visiting grandparents in Scotland, I was given more freedom than the city and so I roamed the farm and woods. The woods always felt a natural playground and place of wonder.
My daughter curiously looking at an oak sapling growing on a rock
Feeling a connection to the trees meant that I sought their presence and felt disturbed when they weren’t around, although it has taken me until adulthood to make that connection.
Witnessing deforestation
I have been fortunate to travel, study and work around the world, and it was whilst working for an NGO in Madagascar between 2009-2011 that the brutal effects of deforestation really dawned on me.
An international photographer called Ed Kashi visited to document the effects of climate change, and we travelled together around the south-east region of the country. Ed’s photographs (shown below) really helped me see the linkages between the issues of climate change, poverty, livelihoods, and deforestation.
We saw first-hand how reliant local communities were on charcoal and resources from the forests, yet the forests were shrinking to tiny fragments.
Traditional slash and burn agricultural practices and desertification were contributing to wildfires and scaring of the land. International corporations were wiping out biodiversity with mono-crop plantations and huge mining operations. And the swelling population were struggling to access to clean water, food, health care, education, and other services.
“I felt the precarity and could see how the unfolding ecological crisis was being sped up by climate change. ”
Nature as a sanctuary
During the global Covid pandemic, nature became a sanctuary for many people, myself included. Suddenly being told to stay at home and having limited access to green spaces, made me appreciate being in nature so much more.
During that time, planes were grounded, the streets were quiet, and the sound of birdsong was joyous and so much louder. In the midst of the fear of Covid I remember thinking ‘What if this is our last ever spring?”. A thought that provoked love, gratitude and grief towards nature.
Discovering Tree Yoga
I discovered tree yoga accidentally. I was running regularly with a friend through a nearby forest and we began pausing to admire the trees. That turned to meditating whilst resting on a tree and then feeling an opening up of connection.
I noticed I would slow to match the energy of the tree. This made me feel deeply grounded and calm, and I began visiting particular trees more frequently. My love of the trees grew, alongside my Tree Yoga practice.
Leaning up against a favourite oak in her local woodland
My excited inner researcher began seeking knowledge on trees. From books on tree identification, to shamanic texts connecting with tree spirits, and writings on the social behaviour of forests and the Celtic Ogham, the ancient tree alphabet.
I felt like I suddenly woke up to the trees being sentient beings and wanted to learn everything I could so to understand them more. However, my deepest learnings have come from practising yoga with the trees.
“I felt like I suddenly woke up to the trees being sentient beings and wanted to learn everything I could so to understand them more.”
Practising Tree Yoga inside and out
Tree Yoga at home
Over time I realised I could practice Tree Yoga both in the woods and at home. I took inspiration from the trees to set intentions for my yoga practice. This began to enhance feelings of connection with the natural world, the seasons and life cycles.
I found if I practised Tree Yoga at home, it helped me retain feelings of connection during the days when I couldn’t get to the forest.
Creating Tree Yoga Experiences
I started sharing Tree Yoga with others. Weaving together somatic practices, forest bathing techniques and traditional yoga poses with Celtic wisdom to build experiences that inspire feelings of connection, to the body, the trees, nature, and Mother Earth. At first I integrated aspects of Tree Yoga into my classes, then I created immersive sessions in nature.
Teaching Tree Yoga at Buddhafield Festival
The effects of Tree Yoga
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The trees encourage us to slow down and root into the earth, leaving us feeling calm and grounded.
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The trees teach us the importance of being present and flowing through the seasons.
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The trees possess medicinal and energetic wisdom, which can support us with our healing journey.
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The Celts revered trees for their ways of being, their innate wisdom and for being portals into other realms. Through the trees we can gain insights to explore the layers of the Self.
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A forest cooperates as a super organism. The ecosystem of the forest can inspire us to reflect and grow our community connections.
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When we remember our inseparable connection to the trees, we feel gratitude and the urge to reciprocate as an earth guardian.
Tree Yoga and eco-activism
Through deepening our physical and spiritual connection with trees, Tree Yoga naturally evolves into a form of embodied activism. As practitioners develop a more intimate understanding of trees through movement and meditation, they often become powerful advocates for forest protection and environmental conservation. This transformation from personal practice to ecological action manifests in various ways – from participating in tree planting initiatives and forest conservation projects, to engaging in community education about woodland ecosystems, to joining campaigns for local tree protection. The practice thus serves as a bridge between individual wellness and collective environmental responsibility, turning heightened awareness of our connection with trees into meaningful action for their preservation. Our practice can therefore guides us to act as Earth Guardians.
Discovering the Self
When we reconnect with the trees, we remember that we are nature. The trees encourage us to slow down, connect to our roots, draw awareness into our trunk, feel into our heartwood (core) and explore space with our branches.
The trees teach us that if we root deep into the earth, it opens space to access our intuitive wisdom from the higher self.
In tree pose on a fallen tree in the forest
Through journeying and practising yoga with the trees, we can explore the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual layers of the Self. We can see ourselves through the life, characters, and stories of trees, their cyclical rhythms, and the ways in which they are interconnected with the web of life.
We can feel the awe and wonder we felt as children, and rekindle our love for being in nature.
Tree to Tree Yoga session in the woods
Practising Tree Yoga
If you feel inspired to practice tree yoga, perhaps give any of these a go:
Follow your heart to a tree, listen to your intuition and explore connecting.
Try a mini Tree Yoga practice, such as the one in this article or this Tree Salutation that can be practised at home.
Come along and experience a Tree to Tree Yoga class . If you wish to immerse more deeply come along to an event or get in touch if you would like a bespoke experience either indoors or outside in the woods.