Have You Ever Tried Yoga For Your Feet?

When we think of yoga we tend to imagine full-body poses such as downward-facing dog, warrior one, or cobra in which the entire body is engaged in order to complete the pose but there is another side to yoga, one that focuses on single anatomical features. Type the phrase ‘yoga for’ into YouTube or Google and you will reveal thousands of yoga videos and articles centered around single parts of the body. Yoga for the back and yoga for the neck are two of the most commonly searched anatomical yoga videos but hidden amongst these more popular variants you’ll also find yoga videos for virtually every other part of the body, including today’s focus, yoga for the feet. 

Why practice yoga for your feet?

Our feet take a beating on a daily basis, carrying us from a to b, being crammed into (often less than ideal) footwear and all the while getting very little TLC of their own. Although the feet are an integral part of many yoga poses, there’s something altogether more special about taking the time to truly focus on connecting with your feet, stretching out tight arches and massaging sore muscles, giving your feet some self-love. Before we get started, you may have found your way to this blog post because your feet are hurting, and although yoga may be able to provide some relief, it’s also important that you rule out any underlying foot issues - a corn under your foot can be very painful and no amount of yoga will be able to treat that for you. So if you are in pain, please do reach out to a health care professional who will be able to advise you on the best course of treatment. 

How to practice yoga for your feet?

The good news is, that yoga for your feet is incredibly simple and is a practice that can easily be conducted at home regardless of your yoga experience level. A good place to start is by searching YouTube for a Yoga for Your Feet video, but here are three poses you may want to try.

Mountain Pose

The first thing you can do for your feet is to take your shoes and socks off, to ground yourself hip-distance apart, to take a big, deep breath in and to stand tall and then to let out a big exhale. Really focus on feeling your feet as they ground into the earth or mat beneath you as you take big breaths in and out. From this pose, you can now begin playing with your feet, start to lift your toes, wake up the muscles and consciously connect with each small movement your feet make. 

Frog Pose

From mountain pose, take a slow forward fold and then walk the feet out wide to drop down into frog pose. Send the hips down and lift the heels, opening your chest and feeling the stretch in your feet. From here you can rock side to side, rocking back and forth as you breathe deep, down into the feet. 

Downward Facing Dog

You’ve probably conducted a downward-facing dog countless times, but have you ever done it whilst focusing on your feet? On all fours, push your hips back and lift your tail bone up as you take the downward-facing dog pose, this time focusing on the stretch you feel in your feet, pedaling your feet back and forth, pressing down into your heels. 

So there you have it, will you give yoga for your feet a try?