Foot Focus: How To Develop Proper Arches
By Kylie Bailey 2018
Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher – West Coast Yoga – Piha, Aotearoa
In Iyengar yoga, practicing to encourage flexible feet and properly developed arches is key to achieving symmetry and extension in asanas. The feet are a vital platform and maintaining strong feet helps to build a solid foundation for almost every pose.
In yoga, our feet are everything. Think about it – a standing pose in yoga begins from the feet. If we can use asana to develop symmetry in the feet this will permeate through all facets of the posture.
I’ve become particularly interested in my own feet, since beginning Iyengar yoga teacher training in November 2017. What I have noticed over this time is that on the left foot, the arch/in-step is particularly droopy. It actually falls into the middle of my foot. Through practice, what I’ve come to realise is that this drop in the in-step is causing the tightness throughout my entire left side of the body. What I have noticed is that it is my left foot, where the drop of the arch is most pronounced.
This is an interesting observation because the tightness in the entire left side of my body begins at this point with my standing weight dropping into the inner foot, collapsing the arch.
This observation was also made much clearer when last year, I stepped off a bed, hard onto my heel, straining my left ankle and calf muscle. The tightening that resulted from this injury made the dropped arch on the left foot more obvious and that’s why I decided to study it more intensely for this assignment.
Reflecting back on my many years as a ballet dancer, I never experienced lightness in my leaps and often struggled with repetitive jumps. I believe now that this may have been because of the natural deformities in the arches of my feet. It lead to a lack of power and flexion in the feet. Now working with an Iyengar yoga practice I have an opportunity to address this imbalance.
I have spent the past few months diligently following the sequences that B.K.S Iyengar has so eloquently laid out in his book Light On Yoga for proper foot development. This includes his flat foot series on page 496. This has included daily practice of foundational standing poses, such as tadasana and utkatasana. I have also practiced virasana with arm variations daily and have found this to be incredibly useful and effective.
What I have observed visually is that by practicing these specific asanas, the left arch of my foot is becoming stronger and is beginning to lift up. This is bringing relief and freedom to the entire left side of my body, in particular to the front of my left thigh and the inner left groin, which has been particularly tight since last year’s injury.
Interestingly, the practice designed to develop properly formed arches in my feet, is also having a noticeably positive effect on my brain. As my feet become more flexible, I notice I am able to focus for longer periods of time and don’t experience the same volume of erratic thoughts. In short, this practice is effectively helping me to develop a more one-track mind.
As B.K.S Iyengar explains in his book, Light on Yoga,
“Āsana brings steadiness, health and
lightness of limb. A steady and pleasant posture produces mental equilibrium and presents
fickleness of the mind.”
Why having flexible feet is so important?
The human foot is a fascinatingly complex mechanical structure. There are 26 bones,
33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated) and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
The feet are divided into three sections:
The forefoot contains the five toes (phalanges) and the five longer bones (metatarsals).
The midfoot is a pyramid-like collection of bones that form the arches of the feet. These include the cuneiform, cuboid and navicular bones.
Meanwhile, in the hindfoot, the talus bone at the top and the calcaneus bone in the heel support the leg bones (tibia and fibula) to form the ankle.
Why do we need strong, symmetrical arches?
The arches of the feet, specifically, are formed by bones, ligaments and tendons. They are really
important because they provide space in the sole of the foot to contain and protect the muscles,
nerves and blood vessels of the sole, while providing support and flexibility to the foot.
Using yoga practice to develop flexible strong arches is key to ensuring our musculoskeletal structure is positioned on a foundation that is balanced and symmetrical. The arches of our feet act as the locomotive part of the body in walking and running, helping us to distribute our body weight evenly. If there is imbalance in one part of the arch, it can cause imbalance throughout the entire side of the body.
How can yoga be used to develop strong feet and arches?
Given that in the western world, we spend most of our time sitting down, yoga is an opportunity to get up on our feet and reconnect with our foundation. The core standing poses are all excellent for correcting deformities in the feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs and hips. In Light On Yoga, B.K.S Iyengar recommends vīrāsana as an excellent tonic for correcting issues with the feet. Meanwhile, Ardha Bhekāsana is also a pose I’ve tried and tested with success. What I have noticed is that by practicing this sequence, my feet experience feelings of lightness and grace, as opposed to their usual heaviness. This is a long practice so can be broken up into two parts.
Foot Focus Asana Sequence
1. Supta Vīrāsana
2. Adho Mukha Vīrāsana
3. Vīrāsana (seated on block for support and going through all arm variations)
4. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana
5. Salamba Śirṣāsana I
6. Uttānāsana
7. Utkatāsana
8. Virabhdrāsana I (foam block to the wall)
9. Virabhadrāsana III (using chair as support for arms)
10. Prasārita Pādottānāsana
11. Utthita Trikonāsana (using wall as support)
12. Utthita Pārsvakonāsana (using wall as support)
13. Ardha Chandrasana
14. Parivrtta Trikonāsana (using wall as support)
15. Parivrtta Pārsvakonāsana (using wall as support)
16. Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana
17. Uttanasana (resting)
18. Ardha Bhekāsana (using bolster as support)
19. Triang Mukha Paschimottānāsana
20. Paschimottānāsana
21. Baddha Koṇāsana
22. Malāsana
23. Supta Padangusthāsana I
24. Supta Padangusthāsana II
25. Supta Padangusthāsana III
26. Anatanāsana
27. Halāsana
28. Salamba Sarvangāsana I
29. Savāsana