Lesson 02 · About 5 minutes

Gentle Yoga with a Tree

Bring a little comfortable movement into your time with a tree. Begin with steadiness and a small range of motion that suits you today.

An introductory adaptation from the original Tree Yoga School book.

Preparation

Choose your way to practice.

Choose a permitted place with firm, level ground, enough room, and no hazardous branches overhead. Keep your usual mobility aids and supports. This introductory sequence stays beside the tree without using it to bear weight. Stop any movement that causes pain, dizziness, or unsteadiness; rest instead.

Seated

Use a stable chair, bench, or your usual seat. Keep your normal supports and feet supported. The small arm movements can be practiced here.

Standing

Stand comfortably with both feet supported and eyes open. Use your usual support. Skip an arm movement if it would require letting go of support you need.

Practice

Read once, then explore.

Choose your starting position. Begin with your arms at rest. Choose seated or standing, keep your usual supports, and use only the small movements described below. Illustration for this adapted lesson; it does not demonstrate the arm movement sequence.

Find your steady position
Notice your feet or seat. Let your posture feel comfortable, with space to breathe. Observe the tree without leaning on it.
Bend and straighten gently
Keep your upper arms relaxed beside you. Slowly bend and straighten one elbow a few times within a comfortable range, then the other. Let your breath remain natural.
Explore a small arm movement
If comfortable, move one arm slightly forward and return it to your side, a few times. Keep the movement small; there is no need to reach overhead or behind you. Repeat with the other arm, or skip this step.
Become still again
Let your arms rest. Notice how stillness feels after movement. Look at one detail of the tree, then finish at your own pace.

These are invitations, not requirements. Shorten the practice, skip a step, or finish whenever you need to.

Optional · Original teaching with Alex Julian

Watch the original chapter lesson.

Who and How · 31:56. This longer chapter video accompanies the original book. It provides wider context; it is not a step-by-step demonstration of the shorter adapted practice on this page.

The video connects to YouTube only when you choose to load it.

Watch on YouTube

Captions were unavailable in the source player when reviewed on October 17, 2026. A verified transcript is not yet available here. The Read section gives complete written instructions for this adapted practice; it is not a transcript of Alex’s video.

Explore the original chapter companion

Time away from the screen

Put the screen aside. Explore a few small movements, then return to stillness.

Keep your device available whenever you need it for access, navigation, or communication.

Reflection

Which movement or position felt most comfortable and steady today?

Reflect quietly or write a sentence in your own notebook. Nothing needs to be submitted or shared. Repeat this lesson as often as you like.

Roots of this lesson

Sources and adaptations.

This is a new introductory sequence informed by Mountain Pose and the book’s elbow and shoulder movement references. Seated options, smaller movements, natural breathing, and avoiding tree-supported loading are adaptations. It is not a reproduction of the book’s flows or circle exercises.

Original teaching: Chapter 5 includes Mountain Pose and elbow and shoulder movement references on printed pages 53–54 and 66–68.
New adaptation: The new sequence uses eyes-open steadiness, usual supports, small arm movements, and a seated alternative. It does not ask the tree to bear your weight or reproduce the book’s flows.

Chapter 3, printed pp. 16–17: Choosing a suitable tree and setting.
Chapter 5, Mountain Pose, printed pp. 53–54: Steady positioning beside a tree.
Chapter 5, printed pp. 66–68: Elbow and shoulder movement references, simplified for this lesson.

Developed with AI assistance for the renewed digital school. This lesson makes no medical or healing claims.

Return to the course Next: Tree Yoga Hiking

Explore a particular tree: Pine in the Tree Library, or follow the teachings through the book.