YOGA FOR HAPPY FEET

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” Theodore Roosevelt

Nathalie Cadilhac-Duffy

RYT 200 Teacher training Project

Sun & Moon Yoga Studio

August 2016

After developing a mild case of plantar fasciitis and sharing this information with friends, I realized there were a lot

of people out there suffering from foot pain. I diligently followed my podiatrist recommendations to heal and found

out a lot of similarities between the movements he prescribed (see Appendix A: Family Foot and Ankle Centers

Heel Stretching Instructions) and warm up movements done in yoga “asanas”. That is one reason why I decided to

research the subject of yoga and the feet. Another reason is because feet in yoga are in a way the gateway to our

inner awareness. They are fascinating, not just because they are at the base of our entire support system but also

because when you start getting involved with the field of yoga, your feet are constantly in front of your eyes. It

starts with the removal of the shoes, walking barefoot, massaging and observing the feet, placing the feet

appropriately to find the energy rising with each movement from the feet to the crown of the head, or releasing the

feet to prepare for Savasana (Corpse pose). Our sense of awareness becomes instantly more acute as soon as we

step onto a yoga mat by simply removing our shoes and looking at our toes. This sense of physical awareness is the

base of a larger concept of awareness that is central to a yoga practice.

In a standing yoga pose it is recommended to start from the bottom up. Being grounded is the first step. In the

physical world, it often starts with the feet. Just as the foundation of a building, they need the strength and stability

to support all the body parts above them: legs, pelvis, spine, shoulders, arms and head. Without the proper support

and balance of our feet our entire mobility is compromised. Could the feet be a “forgotten chakras”? In the article

by the forum Healing Humanity, “small chakra vortexes can be found on the sole of each foot…” Those energy

centers facilitate the channeling of the Earth energies which might explain the benefits of walking barefoot

advocated by Dr. Mercola. Could our feet be also a reflection of other parts of our body? Tias Little in her article

“The importance of the Feet in yoga- On and Off the Mat” likes to teach that the soles of the feet and the pelvic floor

mirror each other. “Elasticity and postural tone in the feet help determine tone in the pelvic floor. Especially as we

age and the weight of the internal organs draws them down inside the abdominal compartment, building good tone

and lift in the feet helps tone the perineal muscles and prevent gravity from getting the best of us.”

Before exploring how yoga can help our feet, let’s review their anatomy and some vocabulary words involved in the

language of the feet.

1/ ANATOMY OF THE FOOT

The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. The 52 bones in your feet make up

about 25 % of all the bones in your body.

When we refer to the foot we refer to 3 parts of the foot: the forefront of the foot with its 14 phalanges and 5

metatarsals bones, the middle of the foot composed of 5 tarsals and the back of the foot with 2 of the 7 tarsal bones,

the talus and calcaneus.

The bones and ligaments of the feet are arranged to form 3 arches: the inner arch, the outer arch and the transverse

arch, creating a structure that is ideally shaped to distribute and absorb the weight of the body. The arches also help

the plantar surface of the foot adapt to uneven terrain while hiking and climbing. In a yoga class some teachers will

refer to the 3 corners of your feet in reference to those 3 arches. Other teachers like to refer to the 4 corners of your

feet differentiating the inner and the outer corner of the heel in order to create mentally a stronger stability when in a

standing pose.

To help develop awareness of the feet, it is helpful to consider each of the 3 planes:

1/ the sagittal plane: inner and outer foot

In his book “Yoga for healthy Feet” Donald Moyer says “how you stand on your inner and outer feet affects the

rotation of your legs, the health of your knees, and ultimately the symmetry of your whole body. If you stand

habitually on your inner feet, your legs will rotate internally, putting pressure on your inner knees…and if you stand

solely on your outer feet, your legs will rotate externally, putting pressure on your outer knees…Ideally when you

stand evenly on your inner and outer feet, your knees will point directly forward, with the heads of your thighbones

centered in your hip sockets, neither rotating out nor rotating in, but in a neutral position that best supports the

pelvis.”

2/ transverse plane: top and bottom of the foot

Working in the transverse plane helps to coordinate the action of the bones of the top of the foot (and the upward lift

that brings lightness and ease) with the muscles of the sole of the foot (that bring a feeling of being grounded).

“Finding the balance between stability and lift says M. Moyer depends to a great extent on the strength and

resilience of the muscles of the arch…In a well-balanced foot, the bones of the arch move down to meet the muscles

of the arch, and the muscles of the arch lift up to support the bones.”

3/ the frontal plane: front and back of the foot

When we stand with the weight back on the heels, we tend to promote hyperextend (lock) the knees, tilt the pelvis

forward, and overarch the lumbar spine. When you stand with your weight on the balls of the feet, you may slightly

bend the knees, push the pelvis forward, and flatten the lumbar spine. By finding a good balance between the two,

“your knees are firm but not locked, your pelvis balances lightly on the heads of your femurs, and your lumbar spine

maintains its natural curve” says M. Moyer.

Ball of the foot: the padded portion of the sole on which

the weight of the body rests when the heel is raised.

Outer arch: it supports the 4th

and 5th

metatarsals

Heel

FRONT FOOT

MID FOOT

BACK FOOT

Inner arch: it supports the

first 3 metatarsals of the

inner foot

The big toe mound and the Tibialis Anterior muscle: When you press the big toe mound you activate the Tibialis

Anterior (TA) muscle. The function of the TA muscle is to dorsiflex and invert the foot (see definitions below).

The muscle inserts into the base of the first metatarsal bone in the foot, located just behind the big toe. “Muscles in

your big toes support the ligaments and bones that make up your arches. Healthy arches act like shock absorbers.

You can strengthen your big toe flexors by pressing evenly the fleshy part of the big toes into the mat in standing

yoga poses. The big toe is also composed of 2 joints. “Lightly pressing down with the big toe maintains stability in

those joints and activates the kinetic chain of muscles from the soles of the feet to the hamstrings and glutes” says

Dr. Long.

The little toe and the Fibularis/peroneus Brevis and Fibularis/peroneus Longus muscles: When you press the small

toe mound you activate the Fibularis Brevis FB (also called the Peroneus Brevis) and the Fibularis Longus FL. The

function of the Peroneals muscles is to evert the foot and assist to plantar flex the ankle. You use your Peroneals

when for examples you hike on a rocky trail (by doing small specific stabilizing movements of the foot), when you

ice skate or ski (eversion occurring at the end of a stroke) or when you scrape mud off the inside edge of your boot

(eversion of the ankle.)

2/ SIX BASIC FOOT AND ANKLE MOVEMENTS

Below are terms often used when referring to the feet and their mechanics. Understanding how our feet move help

in refining our yoga poses and self-correcting tendencies that might be detrimental to the health of our posture.

- Plantar flexion: Movement of the foot in which the foot or toes flex downward toward the sole.

- Dorsiflexion: Movement of the foot in which the foot or toes flex in an upward direction.

- Supination: Applied to the foot it refers to an outward rolling motion of the foot and ankle.

Inversion + adduction + plantarflexion

- Pronation: Applied to the foot it refers to an inward rolling motion of the foot and ankle.

Eversion +abduction +dorsiflexion

- Inversion: When the heel moves in the direction that the bottom of your foot faces inward.

- Eversion: When the heel moves in the direction that the bottom of your foot faces outward (you

evert the ankle when you scrape the mud off the inside edge of the boot)

3/ COMMON AILMENTS OF THE FOOT AND ANKLE

As our feet are used on a daily basis they are subjected to great stress which can bring all kinds of issues. Below are

a few that tend to be common among the long list of foot issues people might encounter:

Tendonitis/ Tendinitis: Inflammation or irritation of a tendon – any one of the thick fibrous cords that

attaches muscle to bone. The condition causes pain and tenderness just outside a

joint.

Bunion (Hallux valgus): Deformity of the joint connecting the big toe to the foot characterized by medial

deviation of the 1st metatarsal bone and lateral deviation of the hallux (big toe).

According to the podiatrist Glenn Copeland, abnormal pronation and heredity are two of

causes of bunions. Constrictive shoes are also contributing factors. According to Doug

Keller the collapse of the arches due to muscular imbalances (especially a weak Tibialis

anterior) accelerates the formation of bunions.

Shin splint (or MTSS Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome): Pain along the outer (lateral) edge of the shinbone (tibia)

usually caused by repeated trauma to the connective muscle tissue surrounding the tibia.

The tibialis posterior and anterior muscles are major antipronating muscles. When there

is abnormal pronation in the rearfoot, the muscles and tendons can become overworked,

particularly when the person who overpronates engages in exercise that places undue

stress on the legs and feet like running or high impact aerobics says Dr. Copeland.

Plantar fasciitis: A disorder that results in pain in the heel and bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia is

located at the bottom of the foot, and it is the tissue that connects the toes to the heel bone

(calcaneus). The pain is usually most severe with the first steps of the day or following a

period of rest. Pain is also frequently brought on by bending the foot and toes up towards

the shin and may be worsened by a tight Achilles tendon. The condition typically comes

on slowly. It can occur when an individual has flat feet, too high of arches, gains a

sudden amount of weight in a short period of time, is extremely obese, pulls the plantar

fascia while exercising and/or has a tight Achilles tendon and calf muscles. According to

the podiatrist Glenn Copeland, overpronation is one of the causes of plantar fasciitis.

Foot cramps: The causes of muscle cramps are numerous and can include lack of hydration, problems

of nutrition, side effects of medication, the wrong shoes, overexertion but also poor

circulation and not stretching enough.

The pregnant foot: When a woman is pregnant she produces a hormone that causes her ligaments to be more

flexible so they can expand to produce space for the fetus. All the ligaments expand

including those of the feet. The feet become naturally wider and flatter allowing the

woman to carry extra weight. The blood content is also higher which contributes to the

swelling of the feet and legs.

4/ THE BENEFITS OF BEING BAREFOOT

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” Khalil Gibran

The benefits of being barefoot at a physical level are obvious. You have a better grasp of the floor, your toes are

able to move more freely and by being exposed they tend to get more “tender, love and care”. When you walk

barefoot, you massage your feet more efficiently and you also learn to care and embrace your feet simply the way

they are. By becoming more aware of your feet you increase the ability of the body to know what it is doing and it

helps you to make different choices for your wellbeing. In his book “Yoga for Medicine” Timothy McCall says that

it helps our “proprioception” (our ability to feel where our body is in space, even with our eyes closed) which allows

us to become more in tune with our body and increases our sense of awareness. Yoga helps developing our

proprioceptive capacities and by becoming more attuned we can penetrate deeper parts of our body.

At an energetic level, walking barefoot outside can help our body to balance our internal bioelectrical environment.

We are electrical beings producing positive charges says Dr. Mercola and if those charges are excessive it could be

detrimental to our health. The Earth surface is negatively charged and by being in contact with our feet, it can help

regulating our system. In his article “Why walking Barefoot Might be an Essential Element of Good Health” Dr.

Mercola states that “The effects of grounding appear to be so profound that researchers suggest health practitioners

prescribe outdoor barefoot sessions.” If for a reason or another being barefoot is not possible, similar effects can be

achieved by grounding ourselves with our hands (for example hugging a tree) or touching “grounded beings” like

pets who walk outside. According to Reflexology, an alternative medicine involving application of pressure to

different parts of the feet (or hands), different areas of the foot (and hand) correspond to areas of the body and by

pressing on certain parts of the foot (hand) you can open the energy channels to its corresponding body part.

At a mental level being barefoot brings an instantaneous feeling of freedom, stress relief, and openness. By

becoming more aware physically we become more aware mentally which helps to develop our inner wisdom and tap

into our ability to know ourselves better and reach answers on our own. In his book “Yoga and the quest for the true

self” Stephen Cope says that “in infancy and childhood we all develop certain deeply unconscious physical postures.

These are neuromuscular and energetic postures that arise inevitably as embodiments of our feelings, and chronic

mental states”. He says that “we each have a unique postural signature” shaped by how we process life, our

thoughts and emotions. By looking at our feet we might not only connect more deeply with our body but start

understanding as well feelings and emotions that impacted our feet shape and condition.

Many spiritual traditions believe the body and soul are connected. In many traditions devotees wash or even kiss

the feet of their spiritual teacher as a way to show respect and love. Washing feet is considered in some religions a

way to clean our spiritual being. Many sacred spaces are entered barefoot as a sign of respect.

5/ STRETCHES FOR HAPPY FEET

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln

In a yoga class you will probably hear “lift your toes” “press on the ball of your feet or on the big toe mound” ,

“activate your arches”, “press on the 3 or 4 corners of your feet”, “press your heels down”, “pedal your feet”,

“activate the outer edge or inner edge of your foot”…etc. Those are few examples illustrating the involvement of

the feet in yoga poses. To prepare ourselves for a yoga practice involving our feet, here are few stretching exercises

to warm up our toes and ankles.

A- Massage of the feet

- With your hands: 1/ First pull your toes one at a time and squeeze them gently. Then bring your fingertips

in between each toe to separate them and start sliding each finger in between your toes. 2/ Make few

circles with your ankle in both directions. 3/ Next you will massage the entire foot with your hands. Do

both sides. It helps not only to stretch the fascia of your feet, help spreading the toes but according to

reflexology by pressing on certain parts of your foot you relieve their corresponding body parts (see picture

below). 4/ Finally using the heel of your hand, push hard as you slide along the arch from the ball of the

foot toward the heel and back again.

Weaving the fingers of one hand between each of the toes and massaging the toes helps relieve symptoms

of bunions says Carol Krucoff in her article “Best exercises for Healthy Feet”. Doug Keller also says that

tightness in the sole of the foot contributes to the formation of bunions and causes the toes to be cramped.

He also says that it is difficult to strengthen the arch or work with the toes when they are stuck together

- With a golf or tennis ball: Roll it under the ball of your foot for few minutes. It is recommended for people

with plantar fasciitis, arch strain or foot cramps.

B- Point, Squeeze and Flex

Lay down in a comfortable position with arms on the side. Point your right toes firmly, then bend your foot up and

curl your toes back. Repeat few times on each side. Then make few circles with each ankle. It helps with stiff

ankles and tight calves. It stretches the muscles, tendons, fascia and ligaments. Ligaments connect bone to bone,

tendons connect muscle to bone, fascia is the supportive connective tissue, and muscles move bones. This exercise

can also be done in a chair. Rest your heels on the floor. Flex your toes on an inhale and bring space between the

toes. On the exhale squeeze the toes into a toe fist. Repeat 5 to 10 times. In her article “Best exercises for Healthy

Feet’ Carol Krucoff recommends this exercise for relieving bunions and hammertoes and increasing flexibility of the

feet.

C- Towel Scrunches

Sit with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent at 90 degrees, with a towel or thin blanket spread under your feet.

Scrunch your toes to grab bits of the towel and pull it toward you, inch by inch, so it bunches into your arches. This

exercise, says Doug Keller, activates the tibialis anterior which plays a major supporting role in the power of the big

toe. He also recommends lifting the big toe, while keeping the mound of the toe grounded and intentionally lifting

the arch from behind the big toe mound.

D- Runner’s Stretch

Come into a low lunge with your right foot forward. Tuck the toes of your back foot under and lower your back knee

to the ground. Shift your hips back to sit on your back heel. Your right leg should be straight in front of you. Relax

your torso over your front leg. Stay here for 5 long deep breaths. Bring yourself back to your lunge and do the

same on the other side.

E- Sit on heels, toes tucked

Sit on your heels so your shoulders are aligned with your hips. Next, tuck your toes and sit on your heels for a nice

stretch for the arches of your feet. Relax your hands on your thighs and stay here for several breaths.

F- Doug Keller’s stretching exercise

In his article “9 poses to prevent bunions and relieve bunion pain”, Doug Keller recommends the following exercise

to battle bunions:

• Keep the lift of the arch. This provides the resistance you need to strengthen the muscles along the instep of the

foot. Ground your big toe mound and inner heel to keep the arch strong, and avoid simply inverting the foot.

• Reach out through the big toe, as if you’re trying to extend it forward to push a button as it comes down. This is

quite different from just pressing the tip of your toe down into the floor, which just scrunches the toe. After lifting

and extending your big toes several times, you’re likely to feel the muscle that runs from your inner heel through the

inner arch to your big toe (the abductor hallucis) begin to tire. That’s your target muscle. …watch how the big toes

move as you lift and extend them. When you lift your big toes, they will likely point away from each other as they lift.

When you extend them forward and down, they should draw more parallel to each other through activation of the

abductor hallucis. If your big toes refuse to cooperate, join them with a rubber band to help pull them toward each

other as you lift and extend them. You may want to put padding between the mounds of the big toes to avoid

irritating the bunions.

To go further in strengthening your feet as a whole, raise all of your toes, and then extend only your little toes out

and down to the floor. This works the muscles running from the little toe along the outer shin and even along the

outer thigh, strengthening the alignment on the little toe side of the foot, while building and stabilizing healthy

arches. Weakness and tightness in this side of the foot and ankle often accompanies hyperextension of the knees, as

well as pronation of the feet, or fallen arches. Strengthening your outer ankles and shins in this way helps your

knees, particularly if you have flat feet.

For the last exercise, keep your middle toes lifted and your toes spread, and extend only your big toes and little toes

out and down toward the floor. This builds the transverse arch at the front of the foot, as well as strongly working

both the inner and outer edges of the foot, which energizes and balances the inner and outer arches.

6/ SOME YOGA POSES FOR HAPPY FEET, BRINGING ALIGNMENT, STRENGTH

AND STABILITY

प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्तसमापत्त्तभ्याम ्prayatnaśaithilyānantasamāpattibhyām — Yoga Sutra 2.47

“By relaxing effort and fixing the mind on the infinite [asana is perfected].”

A- Aligning and bringing stability and strength on symmetrical

standing poses

In symmetrical standing poses such as Mountain Pose, Toe-holding Pose, Chair pose, Standing forward bend, Wide-

Leg Standing Forward Bend, and Downward-Facing Dog, Donald Moyer In his book “Yoga for healthy feet”

recommends to align the feet so that the second metatarsals are parallel to each other and the second toes point

directly forward. However in certain occasions “allowing the feet to turn in encourages internal rotation of the

thighs and can relieve sciatic pain that results from a tight piriformis muscle” Moyer says.

Doug Keller also recommends having the middle two toes pointing forward (the base of the toes) in a symmetrical

standing pose but the feet need to be in a position so that when knees are bent they track forward parallel to each

other. In order to find the right alignment for your body he suggests lifting the heels up, bending the knees until the

knees track parallel to each other and in line with the hips. Your feet will align in a way that works for your body.

Keller says that an anatomically neutral stance for feet is a stance where generally the feet tend to be a little out.

Finally he recommends fully realigning the four corners of the foot—big toe mound, little toe mound, inner heel,

and outer heel. “When the heel bone and toes are properly aligned at these corners, your foot functions well in

forward-moving actions such as walking, just as a car drives best when its wheels are properly aligned” he says.

Aligning the feet in standing poses isn’t enough to keep our feet healthy. It is important to combine alignment with

stability of the feet. Although aligning the feet will start the process of becoming stable on our feet, more elements

can be added. Mark Stephens in his book “Teaching Yoga” calls the process of creating stability in the feet “Pada

Bandha.” (Pada means “foot” in Sanskrit). Although bandha is usually translated as “lock”, it also implies a

“binding” or “harness” that can be used to draw energy upward.

Below is a summary of Stephens’ method to teach Pada Bandha:

1/ Bring the feet at the front of the mat 2/ Look down at the feet and spread the toes wide apart 3/ Keeping the toes

lifted, feel the inner edges of the balls of the feet and press that point firmly down into the floor 4/ Release the toes

down and lift them up while keeping the inner edges of the balls of the feet rooting down, noticing how, with the toes

lifted, the inner ankles and ankles automatically lift. 5/ While trying to keep the inner arches and ankles lifted try to

feel how this creates a sense of lifting the center of each foot like a pyramid, awakening pada bandha. The

challenge arises in trying to maintain this awakening of the feet while allowing the toes to release softly down and

spread into the floor. 6/ With pada bandha active, draw your attention to the rebounding effect, feeling the stronger

activation of the leg muscles, awakening of the inner thighs, and lengthening up through the entire body.

Interestingly bringing the weight of the body on the outer heels versus the big toe can have different impact on our

stability or flexibility. Doug Keller says that when we put our weight in the outer heels, it contracts the buttocks and

hamstrings and increases our stability. When we bring our weight in the big toe, it pulls the siting bones toward

heels and it increases our flexibility. Depending on the stiffness or flexibility of the students the placement of the

weight of the body on the feet is going to differ.

In Hatha yoga a lot of movements both contract and lengthen muscles at the same time and then slowly releasing

while maintaining some degree of muscular engagement. Doug Keller calls this work, “eccentric” work and says

that this is the kind of strength and suppleness demanded of the tibialis posterior (see chap 1 on anatomy) as it works

to maintain the arches of the feet.

A- Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

“The plantar fascia is connected with the muscles of the calves via the Achilles ‘tendon and by extension, the

hamstrings” says Dr. Ray Long. He also states that “forces that stretch the plantar fascia are distributed along these

muscles and tightness in those muscles can adversely affect the function of the plantar fascia and thus the arch of the

foot.” Poses like Standing Forward Bend or Downward facing dog can help stretching all those muscles connected

to the plantar fascia. A few rounds of Sun Salutations are a way of working with the plantar fascia and maintaining

a healthy foot arch.

B- Chaturanga Dandasana

Another pose that helps stretching the plantar fascia is Chaturanga dandasana Dr. Ray Long illustrates in the picture

below. It is important to keep the shoulders over the wrists, upper arms parallel to the floor and the shoulders

shouldn’t dip lower than the elbows. Reach back through the heels and make sure they are stacked over the toes and

that the toes are curled under.

C- Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukah Svasnasana)

Like in Standing Forward Bend, Downward Dog stretches both the hamstrings and the heel cords which help

working with the plantar fascia. To allow the heels to lower to the floor, Dr. Ray Long suggests to attempt to draw

the surface of the feet towards the shins. It contracts the tibialis anterior muscle, dorsiflexing the ankles. It also

signals the muscles of the backs of the calves to relax through reciprocal inhibition, enabling the heels to lower to

the floor. Keeping a microbend in the knees prevent them from locking. Using a wedge under the heels or rolling

the mat under the heels can help if they aren’t reaching the floor.

D- Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Doug Keller recommends this pose to strengthen and lengthen the tibialis posterior (TP) and the hamstrings in order

to reduce pain and soreness in the feet from damage caused by fallen arches. Below is an excerpt of one of his

articles explaining the pose in details:

“To begin, step the feet wide apart and parallel. Avoid the common tendency to turn your feet out too much, which

tightens the lower back and limits mobility in the pose. With a microbend in your knees (to avoid locking them), fold

forward at the hip joints and, if possible, touch the floor with your fingers while maintaining a straight spine.

Experienced practitioners can come into the ultimate expression of the pose, touching the crown of the head to the

floor (making the necessary adjustments to the distance between the feet) with only a slight rounding of the spine.

Prasarita padottanasana is obviously a stretch to the hamstrings, but a big part of the stiffness that holds us back

from fully expressing the pose comes from tight adductors. These inner thigh muscles pull the thighbones toward

each other, tightening and even locking the hip joints. And you will find that what goes hand in hand with tight

adductors is the inability of the tibialis posterior to keep the arches of the feet lifted. As the arches fall, the outer

ankles can begin to feel pinched. Or if you overcompensate by putting too much weight on the outer edges of the

feet, your outer ankles may feel overstretched.

Take a moment to look at your feet and knees in prasarita padottanasana. Are your arches collapsing and your

knees turning inward—or are you turning your feet out to help you bend forward? In either case, reposition your

feet so they point straight ahead, keeping an imaginary line from the middle of your ankle to your second toe

parallel. If your arches are collapsing, if your knees are turning inward at the kneecaps, or if your hips feel locked

or tight at your inner thighs, bend your knees more. Draw your inner thighs back so that your sit bones move back

and apart and your lower back arches more, like a football player at the scrimmage line.

While keeping your inner heels and the balls of your big toes firmly grounded, begin to lift the instep of both feet just

as you did against the resistance of the elastic exercise band. Your weight will begin to shift toward your outer heel,

but don’t let the inner heel slide forward or rotate, twisting, inverting or sickling the foot (so that it ends up in an

abnormal crescent shape).

Draw the energy all the way from your inner arches through the inner knees and thighs so that your inner thigh

muscles firm, lift, and press outward. Press your thighs apart as if you were sitting on a balloon that was inflating.

At the same time, keep your upper inner thighs drawing back, so that your lower back does not round. If you are

very flexible, engage the middle of your gluteal muscles by pressing into the floor through the center of your heels.

This will protect your hamstrings while helping to engage your quadriceps and inner thighs.

Watch the connection between (a) your arches lifting, and (b) the shins and thighs (just below and above your

knees)rotating slightly out in harmony with each other. Your kneecaps should be in line with the second toe of each

foot. Straighten your legs slowly and smoothly, maintaining the actions of these muscles; don’t allow your knees to

lock or turn inward, and don’t let your lower back round. Firm and lift your lower belly just above the pubic bone,

and you will be able to fold more deeply into the pose.

If you practice this pose with attention to the lift of the arches, you will strengthen the tibialis posterior and restore

proper tone to its tendons, reducing pain and soreness in the feet from damage caused by fallen arches. Prasarita

padottanasana has the added bonus of realigning and protecting the knees against damage from rotation of the

bones. All of the standing poses in hatha yoga involve the same work for the tibialis posterior in both feet: focus on

keeping the inner heel anchored as you work this muscle to lift your arches. As it gets stronger, you’ll experience

less soreness in your feet—and a newfound lightness in your step”.

E- Hero (Virasana) and Thunderbolt (Vajrasana)

Those 2 poses help stretching the fascia sheath at the front of the ankles. Doug Keller says that freeing these

muscles helps to facilitate drawing the toes toward the front of your shin (dorsiflection).

F- Seated forward Bend (Janu Sirsasana)

This pose helps to lengthen the heel cords. Dr. Ray Long describes below the step-by-step technique to help with

the process:

Step one: Bend the knee about 15 degrees to release the gastrocnemius muscle at its origin on the posterior femur.

Step two: Use the hands to gently draw the ankle into dorsiflexion and stabilize it in this position by engaging the

biceps to flex the elbows. The cue I use for this is to "draw the top of the foot towards the front of the shin

(dorsiflexion)."

Step three: Hold the foot in place and gradually engage the quadriceps to straighten the knee. Ease into this

position. Maintaining the ankle in some dorsiflexion with the arms and extending the knee distributes the stretch

throughout the calf muscles (the gastrocnemius and soleus) as illustrated here.

Figure 1: The myofascial connection between the plantar fascia, heel cord and calf muscles.

You can add a facilitated stretch to the calf by gently pressing the ball of the foot into the hands for 8-10 seconds

and then taking up the slack by further dorsiflexing the ankle. This activates the Golgi tendon organ at the muscle

tendon junction, resulting in relaxation of the contractile elements.

Figure 2: Steps to release and then lengthen the calf muscles in Janu sirsasana.

Doug Keller recommends placing a block at the sole of the foot and a strap around the block so that you can work on

pressing the toe mound.

G- Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

This pose connects the big toe to the core through the kinetic chain of muscles and connective tissue, from the soles

of the feet through the back of the legs. While the feet are stable this pose dorsiflexes the feet and bring them closer

to the shins. It allows the Achilles tendons to release and lengthen without tensing the top of the foot. In his book

“Yoga for healthy feet” Donald Moyer recommends to do Chair Pose for a few breaths after each standing pose. As

the Achilles tendons lengthen, one might feel the muscles of the arch soften and lengthen as well. This exercise is

particularly helpful for people suffering of Plantar Fasciitis. A wedge can be placed under the toes to help dorsiflex

the feet. It also helps strengthening and lengthening the toes. Donald Moyer recommends placing the wedge so that

the tips of the toes are higher than the necks of the toes. Check that the 2d metatarsals are parallel to each other and

that the balls of the big toes are close but not on the wedge.

H- Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta

Padangusthasana)

Stand in Mountain Pose. Balancing on your left foot, elevate your right knee. Wrap your right index and middle

fingers around the right big toe and actively flex your toe against your fingers as you slowly work to straighten

your leg. Bring your awareness to the connection of your right big-toe flexor’s origin on the back of the lower right

leg. This pose actively strengthens and stretches your big-toe muscles. Hold for at least 5 breaths before switching

sides.

I- Four-limbed Staff PoseLegs-up-the-wall Pose (Viparita Karani)

This pose is excellent to drain excess fluid from the feet, ankles and legs. Glenn Copeland, in his book “The Good

Foot Book”, says that when an ankle swells because of water retention, poor circulation, or even pregnancy, the

tarsal tunnel syndrome (the small bony passage-way for the posterior tibial nerve and the lateral plantar nerve gets

constricted and the nerves get squeezed and entrapped) can occur. This pose can help with this condition.

In conclusion many yoga poses offer wonderful exercises to stretch, strengthen and overall care for the feet. Each

body is unique and among all the methods available for keeping our feet healthy, the first one to consider is bringing

awareness to our own individual feet, then playing with all the other suggestions and observing what works for our

own body. Our feet need care. They have an impact on the rest of our body and each person has within themselves

the solution that works for them. I also like to think that flexibility and strength of the body bring the same

characteristics to the mind, allowing us to continue our journey with a “light foot”. Ultimately the goal of yoga

poses is to keep us healthy so we can be led with steadiness and comfort, strength and ease, to the higher goal of

yoga which is to connect more deeply with our inner self and like Sarah Powers says so beautifully “ to experience

the challenging dualities of life without falling into dualism…engendering the possibility of broadening our capacity

for connection and inclusion.”

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APPENDIX A