“The foot is the foundation to the temple of the body” Tias Little
"A man’s tracks tell quite a story." Ida Rolf
“Vande gurunam charanaravinde…”
In the yoga tradition, a practitioner, in the presence of a revered teacher, will touch or kiss the feet of that teacher. It is an act of reverence and acknowledgement of the ancient teachings that have been, as Tias Little says, “stepped down through time on the feet of the learned ones”. Even the first line of our invocation expresses this honoring:
Vande gurunam– honors the lineage of teachers who have come before us who have continued the tradition of yoga.
Charana– feet
Aravinde– lotus flower
By invoking the blossoming feet of the learned ones, the practitioner seeks to awaken within him/herself the wisdom of the ancient teachings.
We have bandhas in our feet! Our feet are energetically connected to our first (root) chakra at the pelvic floor. The soles of our feet and the pelvic floor mirror one another. The ball of our foot and the heel of our foot relate to our pelvic floor bones (sitz bones, pubic bone, tail bone), while the arches of our foot relate to the pelvic floor muscles and mula bandha. In an upright (standing) position our feet are the “roots” supporting the upward lift of the “trunks” of our legs. Elasticity and tone in the feet help determine tone and awareness of the pelvic floor.
Our feet are a map for the landscape of the body.
Our entire body is mapped on the soles of our feet (foot reflexology). Our soles of our feet relate particularly to the back of the body. When we both ground and lift through the feet, we awaken the feet (lotus flower) and we enliven and align the legs, hips and spine.
Taffy feet are happy feet!
The plantar fascia is like taffy. You can stretch the “taffy” lengthwise and laterally, providing malleability to the sole of the foot. The fascia becomes a strong and pliable webbing that serves to draw energy up through the legs to tone the pelvic floor and align the spine. We want to establish a triangular rooting through three major points on the sole of the foot: the heel (calcaneous), the inner ball of the foot (below the big toe), the outer ball of the foot (below the little toe). The grounding of these three points helps to “vault” the center of our feet up, allowing our feet to act like trampolines sending energy up from the ground all the way to the back of the palate and up through the crown of the head. Spreading the webbing of our toes helps to engage the intrinsic muscles of the feet, giving lift to the arches of our feet.
Establishing Foundation
The standing poses in yoga are very important. The standing poses, when done well, can rebuild stability and spatial tone in the feet. This energizes the legs to support good posture.
Waking Up Our Feet
Step onto a tennis ball and massage the foot. This will break up tight, crystallized areas of the connective tissue, bringing more tone and suppleness to the sole of the foot.
Kneel, curl the toes under and sit back on the heels of your feet to stretch the underside of your feet. This releases blocked energy and begins to open the energetic pathways up the back of your body.
Sit in Virasana to stretch the muscles along the front of the feet.
Put a piece of cloth on the floor. Using your toes, gather up the cloth to strengthen the muscles of your foot.
Spend time at home barefoot. In warm weather walk barefoot in the grass!
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