Root to rise

You may hear the expression "root to rise" in your practices. Here is an overview of the how and why this is a relevant cue.

🌱 Physical Benefits

1. Improves Stability & Balance

Grounding through the feet, hands, or sits bones creates a solid base, helping you balance better in poses like Warrior I/II, Tree, or Handstand.

2. Enhances Alignment

When you root down, your body naturally organizes itself—joints stack properly, muscles engage correctly, and postural alignment becomes safer and more efficient.

3. Builds Strength

Rooting activates stabilizing muscles (feet, legs, core, shoulders), helping you develop strength from the ground up.

4. Reduces Risk of Injury

Stable foundations protect knees, hips, wrists, and the spine, especially in weight-bearing or asymmetrical poses.

Energetic & Breath Benefits

5. Encourages Better Breath Flow

Grounding creates space in the torso, which supports deeper and more controlled breathing—promoting calm and reducing tension.

6. Promotes a Sense of Centering

Energetically, rooting down helps you feel anchored and steady, especially in balancing or challenging poses.

Mental & Emotional Benefits

7. Builds Mindfulness

Focusing on foundations brings presence to the moment, enhancing mind–body connection.

8. Reduces Anxiety

Grounded body → grounded mind. Rooting techniques help regulate the nervous system and offer a sense of stability.

9. Cultivates Confidence

Feeling stable and connected to the ground allows you to safely explore more expansive or challenging shapes.

In Practice: Where You Use Root to Rise

• Standing poses (Mountain, Warrior, Triangle): press down through the feet to lift through the spine.

• Balancing poses (Tree, Eagle): root through the standing leg to rise through the crown.

  

  Garudasana - eagle pose

  
  

• Arm balances (Crow, Handstand): press the palms firmly down to lift the hips and core.

• Backbends (Bridge, Wheel): root through feet and arms to lift the chest.

• Forward folds: root the legs to lengthen the torso.