To reap the greatest benefit from your yoga practice, first consider your feet. Compared to the arms, legs and abdominal muscles, feet may seem tangential to proper yogic alignment and strength; however, solid and balanced grounding in all four corners of the feet, awareness of space between the toes and the ability to stretch the muscles of the feet are all essential for an effective and therapeutic yoga practice --- not to mention for healthier arches, ankles, knees and back. The next time you hit the mat, attend to your feet with the following poses to reinvigorate your entire body and find greater power in your practice.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Few yoga postures provide a greater sense of the feet as physical roots than Tadasana. Stand grounded into your feet, placed hip-width apart, and focus on distributing your weight evenly across the heels, outer edges and balls of the feet and toes. Lift your arches as you ground through the toes, creating a sensation of opposing forces, "Yoga Journal" magazine instructs on its website. Allow this sensation to travel up through the calves and shins, thighs, abdominal muscles, shoulder blades, head and neck, and notice how proper attention to the position of the feet affects overall body posture and solidity.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
The ubiquitous "downward dog" is popular for a reason: This grounded inversion posture is universally beneficial, stretching and strengthening all parts of the body --- and the feet are no exception. Begin on your hands and knees, then tuck your toes and press back through the thighs while lifting your weight up and out of the arms through the shoulder blades. As you continue to activate the thigh muscles and ground through your hands, focus on your feet; make sure they are hip-width apart, toes evenly spread, heels pushing toward the floor and arches lifting upward. Adho Mukha Svanasana stretches the muscles of the feet and reinforces the balanced grounding practice in Tadasana, according to the Sun & Moon Yoga Studio.
Virasana (Hero Pose)
Virasana, a seated pose, stretches the top of the foot and ankle, counteracts flat feet and serves as a balancing stretch for poses like Adho Mukha Svanasana. Sit on your knees with your feet tucked beneath you, using a block between your legs, if needed, for support. Reach behind you to your toes and ensure that they are aligned parallel to one another, toes reaching straight outward and back. Sit on a blanket if this posture is uncomfortable; over time, the pressure exerted on the tops of the feet in Virasana will allow the feet to stretch and toes to spread more easily.
Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
Test your understanding of balanced, grounded feet and wide-spread toes with a standing balance pose like Vrksasana. Shift your weight into your right foot, ensuring that the toes are facing forward and spread evenly and that your big toe is aligned with your ankle and shin. Lift your left foot onto your right thigh, grounding through the right leg, lifting through the arch of the right foot and squaring your hips forward. Place your hands on your hips or, if you feel solidly balanced, raise your arms straight overhead. Hold and breathe, concentrating your eyes on a fixed point in front of you and breathing into the stable base of your foot. Release and repeat, this time balancing on your left foot.
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