try being part of a banyan tree

Banyans are remarkable trees. From their branches, they send down root-like tendrils. And when those tendrils reach the ground, they do indeed become rooted, and slowly grow into new trunks. So that a single tree can end up with many trunks, allowing it to grow out widthwise, much further than would be possible otherwise.

They are to be found throughout India, and are revered as sacred trees. I'm in Auroville, in the south of India, in Tamil Nadu, where there are several banyans, including two magnificent old specimens. But I'm standing underneath a younger, smaller banyan.

And this is what I'm suggesting you try: try standing right underneath one of these tendrils that has not yet reached the ground. I like to find one that's just above head height, and stand directly beneath it, so that it aligns with my crown chakra – the top of my head. Try standing in bare feet, if possible. And then close your eyes and sense the energy.

For me, this is a beautiful experience. Firstly, I notice my crown chakra opening, an energy there. And then I also notice, a quite subtle energy flowing in a very steady way up my body from the ground. And I feel my feet growing into the ground as roots. My whole body has become one of these trunks, and I am rooted.

This feeling brings with it a feeling of aeons, a great age. And it's as if I'm also feeling into the future, from the past to the future; and from deep within the ground, right up into the branches of this magnificent tree. There's a great stillness in it, and a timelessness, too.

So try it: try being part of a banyan tree.