Root to Rise

If you’ve participated in a yoga class—in-person or even online—a teacher’s phrase “root to rise” echoes. While battling breath work, proper alignment, individual aches, and essential position, such a popular cue may have gone in one ear and out the other. Sometimes there’s just so much to remember!  

“Root to rise,” though, is a game-changer in your body-mind yoga practice. Think of “root to rise” as a verbal cue to unify with the ground, with your skin pressing against the bones, with your ability to expand and stay firm, with blending oppositional balances.

For years I was a shaky mess from Warrior Prep to Warrior I. But it looked so easy? How? Why was I such a “mess”? I cringed and hoped nobody else noticed my bouncy slackline-ish waver from floor to stable lift. Part of me wanted to float from prep to asana with a glide, like a vulture in a thermal. I couldn’t glide, however, until I firmed up the touchpoints on the mat (like a sprinter in the starter blocks) and learned to press my inner thighs to the midline as I emerged into a standing asana.

The oppositional action available in “root to rise” can work in numerous refinements to help you find stability. Here are some examples of when and how to use the cue: