available on yogibathandbeauty.com
Ta ke GREAT
care of your hair,
naturally!
- Increase Awareness of Your Feet
Stand in mountain pose with your eyes closed
and observe where the effort of your feet is felt.
Shift all the effort into the balls of the feet, then
back into the heels, then over to the left side
of your feet, and over to the right side of your
feet. Shift from the inside edges of your feet to
the outside edges of the feet and back again.
Then, bring your awareness and effort so that
it evenly distributed from front to back and
side to side of each foot and both feet. - Build Ankle Strength
While you are sitting in staff pose (dandasana)
or even in a chair, dorsiflex the feet by pulling
your toes toward your knees. Then plantarflex
the feet by pointing your toes away from the
body. Invert the feet by drawing the soles of
the feet to-ward each other. Then evert the feet
by pressing the soles of feet away from each
other. Do three to five rounds of this practice. - Boost Your Balance
Any standing balance will do here, but I prefer
to stick with a simple tree pose. Shift the effort
of the body onto one foot, and create a kick-
stand with the opposite foot. (Like a tree pose
with the toes on the ground). Create a strong
foundation by distributing the effort evenly from
front to back and side to side in the standing
foot. And then begin to lift the opposite foot to
a comfortable place on the stand-ing leg (above
or below the knee). During this pose, embrace
the wobble and the movement from side to
side in the ankle! This movement in the joint is
actually strengthening the muscles and creating
a supple responsiveness. Switch sides. - Increase Your Dexterity
While In mountain pose, establish a strong
foundation in your feet. Press your toes
strongly into the floor. Then lift all the toes
away from the floor, creating a strong arch in
the feet. Relax the toes. Press the big toe and
pinky toe into the floor simultaneously while
lifting the middle three toes. Switch feet.
These practices serve us well in our daily
activities and strengthen our ability to maintain
balance in our feet—and in all areas of our lives.
Jenn Tarrant is a Yoga Therapist and Yoga Teacher,
Ayurvedic lifestyle coach, and YogaFit Senior Master
Trainer: jenntarrant.com
Attention on our feet
helps us develop
better balance.