"The tree embodies all of yoga's teachings, and so trees make a wonderful guru...Where tree meets sky is the spaciousness of yoga. Where tree connects with earth is the groundedness of yoga. Where tree stands in space is the peaceful centredness of yoga. The tree stands at the centre of its own circle, and daily life rotates around it. Even within the frantic rush of city life we can always find a moment of peace when we rest our gaze upon a tree."
​
From "Yoga Through the Year", Jilly Shipway

The Celtic Tree Ogham

The Celtic Tree Ogham (pronounce "Oh am") was an early alphabet used by the Druids and the Celts. The Ogham symbols were used to classify, memorise and store information that encoded both practical and spiritual wisdom. In the Tree Ogham or Celtic Tree Alphabet, each letter was associated with the name of a tree.Each tree has its own unique symbol and old Irish name which gives it its letter, and describes the essence of the tree and its signature qualities. The Celtic year had thirteen months and each month was associated with a particular tree.

Initially, at the start of this project, I had intended to choose a tree for each of the 8 Celtic seasonal festivals that corresponded with the tree for that month in the Celtic Tree Ogham. However my muse took me in a different direction, and in the end I followed my intuition when choosing a tree for each of the seasonal chapters of the book. 

​Each of the 8 seasonal chapters in Yoga Through the Year contains a tree wisdom section. Over the year previous to writing my book I went on a tree pilgrimage. On this pilgrimage I visited valleys, wildflower meadows, woodlands, cornfields, gardens, city sidewalks, churchyards, mountains, hillsides, and wild moorlands. From this experience I was inspired to compose seasonal tree meditation poems, intended to help the reader to connect on a deep spiritual, emotional, and physical level with trees. 
Each tree taught me a valuable lesson and gave me a gift, which is reflected in the meditation poem I have written about it:

• The Willow Tree taught me to listen to the wind whispering that spring is here.
• The Apple Tree taught me how to stay effortlessly in touch with that which is light, pure, beautiful and graceful within me and how it is possible to blossom in a world that is neither perfect or pure.
• The Oak Tree has taught me about the strength and generosity contained within the circle of life, death, rebirth, and renewal.
• The Crab-apple Tree has taught me that contained within the ordinary, everyday world, there is concealed a secret, magical, beautiful core that is ripe with potential and possibility.
• The Sycamore Tree has taught me to simply be in the midst of all the doing and to stay at the centre of the circle and let all things take their course. 
• The Yew Tree has taught me to look for the sacred and holy within nature and that healing will naturally follow.
• The Holly Tree has taught me to dance through the seasons and to stay connected to my joy even on the darkest and coldest days of winter.
• The Rowan Tree has taught me to create an extraordinary, magical gift out of ordinary, everyday ingredients and to keep on giving that gift the whole year round. 

Standing Like a Tree

This exercise can be found on page 22 of the Yoga Through the Year book. It can be used at any time of year as a stand-alone exercise, or as part of your yoga practice. It can be used as a way of centring and grounding yourself at the start of a yoga practice. In daily life it is particularly helpful for those times when you feel thrown off balance by a situation, and need to regain your equilibrium, and ground yourself. 

Stand tall like a tree. Your feet are parallel and about hip width apart; your knees are soft; your face relaxed; shoulders down away from the ears; your tailbone feels heavy as though it is weighted; and the crown of your head feels light and floats skyward. Picture in
your mind’s eye a tree that you love or feel a connection to.

​Bring your awareness to your feet. Be aware of where your feet are in contact with the earth beneath you. Allow your toes to spread and your heels to drop down into the earth. Imagine that there are roots growing from the soles of your feet, going deep down into the earth below you; spreading in a wide circle, and giving you stability. 

With each inhale imagine that you are drawing healing energy and nourishment up though your roots, into the soles of your feet, up through the legs, torso, and to your lungs. 

With each exhale imagine that the out breath is travelling down both legs, through your feet, and back down into your roots. Imagine with each exhale that you are letting go of anything that you do not wish to hold on to; letting go of tension, worries, anxiety, persistent thoughts, discomfort, or pain. Imagine that any negativity that you let go of is then cleansed and purified by the soil.

Inhale: healing energy
​Exhale: letting go 
Repeat over several breaths, until you feel centred and grounded.

"Trees are beautifully present, complex beings, deeply interconnected with the natural world around them, and the flow of the year's seasonal cycles."
From "Walking With Trees", Glennie Kindred

Tree Inspiration

Books:
Earth Wisdom, Glennie Kindred (Hay House)
Walking With Trees, Glennie Kindred (Permanent Publications)
The Celtic Wisdom of Trees, Jane Gifford, (Godsfield Press)
The Hidden Life of Trees: What they feel, how they communicate. Discoveries from a secret world, Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Books Ltd.)
Websites: 
Glennie Kindred's website has a wonderful month-by-month guide to our native plants and trees, their edible and medicinal uses, and includes seasonal recipes for foods and drinks made from what you can gather in the garden or from the hedgerows.