YOGA FEET

Lately I thought I had a foot injury in my right foot because I was having pain right below the large toe and it looked funny and swollen. Now I realize that the shape of my feet has changed. If you ever look at the feet of people who have practiced yoga, like an Ashtangi for a long period of time, their feet look much different than the normal person stepping into a yoga class.

Our feet, for the most part, lead very inhibited lives, constrained for the most part in shoes that do not adapt to our feet, but really the opposite. The feet conform to the shape of our shoe preference. I had an aunt who wore NOTHING but pointy toe high heels and the shape of her feet looked like the shoe in her later years. She lived until age 92with bunyons and toes that turned in from both sides. She never complained of pain either but when she aged her body weight moved FORWARD because of the shortness of her step. She was a pretty tough old bird though.

The popularity of athletic shoes probably took women down a few notthes from the high heels but tight shoes still constrain the feet and don't offer much for the natural curves in the foot. Flip flops may be worse. Flip flops are fashion shoes now but people tend to take a shorter steps and a more pronounced step. Also the wearer tends to scrunch the toes, which is not entirely disimilar to the old tradition in China of binding the feet. Ouch. No thanks.

So what to wear? I normally buy brands that promote comfort and fortunately they are not all ugly any more. Dansko and Born are two popular brands and they even have dress options. The best tool for retaining the health of your feet is awareness. I know my awareness of feet in yoga has shifted a lot in the past year of my yoga practice. Thus the shift in something, not sure what it is yet, is causing some temporary discomfort but now seems to be adjusting into a new shape. My feet are definitely wider.

Here are some yoga tips for healthy feet.

1. Keep the focus on the feet first in standing poses. Really assess whether the whole foot is planted.

2. Notice where the weight shifts in poses. Does it shift to the right or left? This could cause or be the result of pelvic instability and thus can affect your low back.

3. Can you spread the toes and move them around easily. The wider the ability to spread the toes and root them, the more you have control of the finer muscles and tendons in the feet. The foot is complex, not simple.

4. Can you lift the arch of the foot? This also affects pelvic stability and the energy livens up the inner thighs all the way up to the front of the lumbar.

So the feet affect the back. Who knew?

Finally, do you struggle in balance poses after years of practice? If so, go to the feet first. Try to stabilize the feet. Without stability in the feet, there is no balance pose. So start from the bottom and work it upwards.