Foot yoga

Foot problems can alter the foot's structure and trigger pain elsewhere in the body.

In fact, experts say one of the most important reasons to treat foot problems early is to prevent them from throwing the knees, hips, back, and shoulders out of whack. When you treat foot problems with yoga, you end up treating back pain, hip pain, all kinds of structural problems. Not only does it stretch out the muscles and lead to a greater range of motion, but it helps heal the root issue of inflammation as well.

The way your feet connect with the earth can correct foot and ankle problems that have repercussions throughout your body. For example, phonated feet (which roll inward from the ankle down) tend to cause knee problems.

Tennis Ball Rolls

Using a tennis ball, roll it back and forth under your foot, working the toes, the ball of the foot, the arch, and the heel.

Vajrasana

Thunderbolt or Diamond Pose brings balance to the feet and ankles. It is the best way to lengthen the feet, ankles, lower legs and knees.

Sit back on your heels. Lengthen your spine from your tailbone to the crown of your head. Place your hands on your thighs. Hold the pose for 10 to 20 seconds. Slowly increase your time in the pose to 2 minutes.

If you experience discomfort in the feet or ankles, place a rolled up towel under the ankles.

If your knees are tight and your buttocks do not touch your heels, place a cushion under your buttocks and on top of your heels. This will protect your knees from overstretching.

If one or both knees hurt, take a rolled up washcloth and place it behind your knee. Hold the washcloth right into the joint. This makes more space in the joint and can make the difference between effective and painful stretching.

Never hold the pose if you experience pain in your knees.

Kneeling foot stretch

Begin in vajrasana. Turn your toes under. Sit on your heels. Hold for a breath or two. This pose stretches the sole of the foot. It is the best way to lengthen the plantar muscles, which, when contracted, can become inflamed, leading to plantar fasciitis and back pain.

Pronation and Supination of the foot

Pronation is the inward roll of the foot while walking or running. Those who overpronate tend to push off almost completely from the big toe and second toe. As a result, the shock from the foot’s impact doesn’t spread evenly throughout the foot and the ankle has trouble stabilizing the rest of the body. Over pronation may have secondary effects on the lower legs, such as increased rotation of the tibia, which may result in lower leg or knee problems.

Several studies have shown that walking or running barefoot can decrease pronation on the foot’s impact with the ground. This is thought to be because running shoes have extra weight for cushioning at the heel of the shoe, causing you to heel-strike more, which in turn results in increased pronation during the step.

Supination is the opposite, and occurs when the foot impacts the ground and there is not enough of an “inward roll” in the foot’s motion. The weight of the body isn’t transferred at all to the big toe, forcing the outside of the foot and the smaller toes which can't handle the stress as well to take the majority of the overweight instead. Supination can result in iliotibial band syndrome of the knee, achilles tendinitis, or plantar fasciitis. 

Yoga Toes

Alternate between pressing the big toe down while lifting the other four toes up, then lifting the big toe up while pressing the other four toes down. Easier said than done!