Sthira Sukha - Standing Postures

I

am rooted

but I

flow

Debbie Avani - www.avaniyogaacademy.com

CONTENTS

Sthira Sukha.…………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………… 3

THE FEET Getting to know your Feet.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 4 Postural habits..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……………………… 5 Heel & Ankle mobility……..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 6 Medial & Lateral Strength of the Ankle.………………………………………………………………………………………………... 7 Function of the Feet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 The Bones of the Feet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………. 10 Plantar Fascia………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... 11 How the Feet Work…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Tripod Effect…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 Muscle Grouping……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19 Practices for the Feet………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Mini Yoga Practice…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 Full Yoga Practice……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 27 Potential problems with the Feet (plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, bunions)………………………………………….. 33 The Energy Body (Vata, Apana Vayu, Moola Bandha)………………………………………………………………………….. 42 Mudra practices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 48 Emotions / Physical symptoms in relation to the Feet & Legs...………………………………………………………..….. 49

THE LEGS Sthira Sukha Chant……………………………………………………………….....……………………...……………………………..….. 56 Standing Postures – Effects & Key Actions……………………………………………….....…………………………………..….. 57 The Leg Columns………………………………………………………………….....………………………………………………………… 61 The Joints……………………………………………………………….....………………………………………………………..……………...64 The Thigh Muscles….……………………………………………………………….....………………………………………….………..….69 Yoga Therapy for your Knees………………………………………………….……………………………………………………....…..70 Warrior Posture Tips………………………………………………….……………………………………………………....………………74 Triangle Posture Tips………….………………………………………………….……………………………………………………....…..79 Muscles move in Pairs!…………………………..……………………………….……………………………………………………....…..82 Protecting the Knees…………..………………………………………………….……………………………………………………....…..85 Issues in our Tissues…………..………………………………………………….……………………………………………………....…..88 Hip Instincts………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………..…....….91 Balancing Flexibility & Strength…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..93

2 Correct Alignment and the Alchemy of habits! Do you recall your Mother saying to you “if you keep making that face it will stay like that”!! Well to a certain extent she was telling the truth……. Habitual patterns of holding the body or moving in a certain way will encourage the muscles to remain or snap into that position automatically over time. This is beyond muscle memory or building new circuits between neurons in the brain. The muscle tissue begins to form in a certain way – which makes it even more difficult after time to correct the habit Which is why correct alignment is so important in all postures – way beyond an imaginary and distorted depth … Sthira & Sukha When practicing personally or guiding students always remind yourself and them of the importance of a healthy relationship between Sthira & Sukha! Cultivating Sthira requires a connection to the earth beneath us – a sense of grounding and rooting. It translates as stable, resolute, changeless. Sthira speaks not only of challenge, strength, endurance and fortitude but also vigilance, the ability to pay attention, to be present. It is the opposite of agitation and refers to both physical and mental stillness: a controlled, fully engaged body and a focused mind. By cultivating Sukha we incorporate a light, mindful approach to the postures – always maintaining a sense of ease and equilibrium that is free of force. Sukha translates as pleasurable, joyful, agreeable, easy, comfortable, happy, prosperous, and relaxed. It is the opposite of discomfort, suffering or pain (duhkha/unhappiness). Here we bring in the principles non-violence and self-acceptance. Sthira and Sukha are opposite – but equally important qualities to nurture on, and off, the mat; the delicate balance of yin and yang. A fine balance between finding stability in our foundation (Sthira) and mobility and movement within the posture (Sukha) – to create effortless effort, poise and grace. These complimentary poles teach us the wisdom of balance – we find inner harmony both in our practice as well as in our lives. With Sthira & Sukha as our compass we can explore equally places of limitation and liberation in every posture – encouraging a sense of celebration and discovery rather than force and defeat! If we push our bodies with strain and stress into a pose we cut ourselves off, both physically and mentally from one of the greatest sources of power that reside within ourselves – Prana! Better to observe the balance of Sthira Sukha and allow the pose to unfold organically being guided by the breath, letting go of the attachment to the pose itself………..

3 Getting to know your Feet

Flexibility of the feet is linked to the effectiveness of the internal organs and most body systems - if we think in terms of reflexology we can understand the importance of keeping the foot healthy and mobile – always try each day to walk with no shoes on…….

Massage your Feet as part of your daily ritual! Feet ache for many reasons - standing too long, walking too much, poorly fitted shoes or minor injuries. Self massage not only soothes the feet it helps to move blood and lymph, stretch muscles, and encourage flexibility to the foot. Maybe add this to your daily bathroom ritual before you go to bed or as you begin your day …

You can also work to alleviate imbalance in the foot and within the body using a simple techniques called trigger-point massage. This involves looking for tender spots in your feet and pressing on them while gently stretching and flexing the foot. These tender spots feel like little sore nodules or bands. • Use your thumbs to walk across the bottom of your feet inch by inch to find tender spots. • Hold each tender point with medium pressure - while you wiggle your foot until the point stops hurting. Then search for the next tender point until you have found them all on the bottom of your foot. • Repeat the thumb pressure on the top of your foot, walk across the top of the foot, around the ankles and between the toes, looking for trigger points. • Hold each trigger point with medium pressure, as you did on the bottom of your foot, and stretch and flex the muscles while you hold each point. How do you feet feel after self-massage and working gently with the trigger points?

4 Postural Habits! Little, seemingly insignificant posture habits may create problems, pain and injury if left un-checked. Part of paying attention to leg alignment is knowing what is happening at the feet. A toe-in, parallel or toe-out stance or gait pattern can dramatically change how the feet and ankles work and affect the stress placed on your knees and lower back. As a result of your everyday foot fitness habits, the muscles that are strong or weak in your feet and lower legs can be your own unique posture challenge. But half of what you need to pay attention to might be the direction of the feet and the other half is what’s happening at the hip. Standing, sitting, walking and running with your ankles rolled out (or in), or your feet toe-out (or toe-in) can create muscle imbalances, but it might not be your feet that hurt as a result. There’s a good chance that instead of foot pain the pain or injury will be at your knees, hips or lower back.

What’s happening to your Feet? Try these simple practices to begin to understand the postural habits & idiosyncrasies of your own feet – you can also observe this in your students to understand what’s going wrong in their postures or why they may experience pain elsewhere … • Walk around with bare feet for a while and then stop. Take a look down at your feet and see how they have landed … Do one or both of your feet turn out (or in) • Another good way of sensing into habits/weaknesses is to stand steady for a while and then begin to slowly raise one heel away from the floor as if your were about to practice a balancing posture – at the same time notice the tendency of the foot on the floor. Does it collapse inwards – outwards – do you grip the floor with your toes? Do you feel tension through your knee or hip? • Take a look at your shoes – where do they wear out first. This is a clear sign of how you are walking on a day-to-day basis.

5 Heel & Ankle mobility A really important task that our feet provide for us is balance. Medial (turning inwards) & lateral (turning outwards) heel mobility is critical for balance and keeps us from straining or spraining an ankle when practicing Yoga, or walking / running on uneven ground. The key concept here is medial / lateral heel mobility. If you tend to stand, walk or run on only the inside or outside of the foot, there’s a good chance that you have acquired a few muscle imbalance patterns in your feet and ankles – with the ankles potentially becoming ‘stuck’. These imbalances affect how your feet help (or hinder) you balance which can potentially affect knee alignment and leg swing from the hips for gait.

Heel & Ankle Mobility “Test”

• Stand tall with your legs in a parallel position, toes pointed straight ahead. Legs can be hip-width apart or close together. • Begin rotating the body like the agitator in an old-fashioned washing machine. • Allow the arms to swing and wrap around the waist as you twist from the right to the left. • Let the arms wrapping and unwrapping help initiate the spiral motion. • Breathe naturally. • Once you have a steady spiraling motion going from the bottom to the top of your body, shift your focus to your feet. • Notice where the weight is on both your right and left foot when you are turned to the right. • Notice where the weight is on both your right and left foot when you are turned to the left.

Does the weight stay the same on both feet regardless of your direction? Is it all on the outside of your feet? (Little toe and outer heel) Or is it all on the inside? (Big toe and inner heel) Or is it different on the right and left foot? Ideally if the ankle is mobile and heel is not “stuck,” you should feel the weight shift to the outside of the right foot, and inside of the left foot when you turn to the right. And it’s the exact opposite when you turn to the left The weight transfer should be felt at the forefoot from the big to little toe, and also from the inner to outer heel. You can practice this exercise as a self diagnostic (maybe get a friend to watch your feet) or use it to watch your students / private clients habits ….

6 Medial / Lateral Ankle Strength & Foot Mobility With every step we take there is a moment when the back leg has to lift off the ground and swing to the front and in this moment we are left standing on one leg! For most walking seems pretty effortless and often there is no concept of weakness or imbalance around the ankle or heel unless we challenge ourselves to balance on one leg for a prolonged period of time as we do in our Yoga practice. If your feet and ankles don’t have the right amount of strength, flexibility and mobility to keep you upright, chances are simple exercises balancing on one leg may challenging unless you’re holding onto something! So how can we improve our balance? Stretching the calf and soleus muscles are important for your lower leg and ankle flexibility, but just doing a plain old calf stretch probably isn’t going to dramatically improve balance because it is not the flexion (drawing the toes to the shin) and extension (pointing the toes) of the ankle that needs improvement as much as the lateral side-to-side strength and support.

Heel Exercise with Strap Try this very simple practice to improve lateral side-to-side strength – all you need is a Yoga belt or something similar. • Start by lying down on your back and put the strap over your heel • The other leg can stay bent, or you can straighten it out if you have enough flexibility. • If you have the flexibility, the leg with the strap should be straight up to the ceiling with your knee nice and straight. (If your legs are tight, lower the leg away from you to get the leg straight and use the strap to help hold the leg up.) • From this position, pull the strap with the outside hand to feel the inside of your heel go up and the outside go down, and then back to the centre. • Then, the inside hand pulls to take the inside of the heel down and the outside of the heel up, and back to the centre. • Repeat this several times and then change feet The challenge with this practice is to keep the leg and foot perfectly straight and to feel as if the heel, as well as the ball of the foot are moving. If you turn your leg in or out to assist the movement, then you’re cheating ;) Moving your heel from side to side will give you a different stretch down your calf and back of your leg than just putting that strap across the ball of the foot and pulling your toes down. This is a great practice if you have tight heels, calves, and hamstrings! As well as strengthening the sides of your shin to better support your foot and knee

7 Postural imbalance can happen due to daily habits that we are blissfully un-aware of - you may sit at your desk all day with your ankles rolled out, or stand and constantly shift your weight to one hip, which shortens the inner heel. We can counter this habit with a simple “Pigeon-toed” practice. And while this isn’t a great leg alignment position for walking, there are some good benefits for both hip and heel mobility to be able to comfortably turn the legs in and have some movement of the legs and ankles in this position.

Pulse Power – Pigeon Pulse Exercise • Stand tall and rotate the legs inward from the hips so that the toes are pointing towards each other. • Bend the knees as far as you are comfortable. If you have a good range of motion at the hip you will be able to bend and have the knees gently touching to a “snow plow” position. • Ideally the weight stays evenly distributed on the whole foot (big toe, little toe, inner and outer heel) • Using the muscles of the hips and the hamstrings begin to slightly straighten and bend the knees in a mid-range pulsing action. Don’t take the legs all the way straight, only go half-way up, and back down to the “snow plow” position. • Repeat for 3-10 breaths.

If the calves are tight and heels need more mobility you might notice a different type of stretch in this position than you get with a typical calf stretch. If it bothers your knees to be in a pigeon position, you might start with the Heel Stretch with a Strap first and then progress to the Standing Pigeon Pulse practice. There are lots of great benefits for our feet by having the ability to work in a toe-out, parallel, and pigeon position! Try adding these simple isolated practices to enhance stability to your standing postures.

8 Function of the feet - The triangle like shape of the foot provides the body with large, efficient stable contact with the ground. - The foot acts as a lever for locomotion and transmits thrust – it also absorbs shock and helps distribute the load of gravity

Dome shape of the foot

- Each foot forms a half dome shape – put these together and they create a full dome - This shape provides a stable and adaptable contact with the ground allowing for freedom & ease of movement

Imagine the strength and adaptability of a sink plunger when placed on a surface it adheres to. Its base is steadfast but the stick part is totally mobile. This could be likened to our feet and the dome they create when placed together! Our feet are steady but everything above is given the freedom to be mobile & fluid …

- The half dome is composed of two arches (see picture above) - one that runs the inner length of the foot from the heel to the ball of the foot (medial or inner arch) - one that runs along the outer edge of the foot from the heel to the base of the fifth toe! (lateral or outer arch)

N.B It could be argued that there are indeed three arches – a minor arch running from the base of the first toe to the base of the fifth toe (transverse)

- Part of the unique nature of arches is that weight transmitted to an arch increases its stability and therefore reinforces its ability to bear weight (think in terms of the structure of bridges here)

9 The Bones of the foot

- The basic dynamic load-bearing dome is its skeleton – in this instance the 26 bones of the foot - There are 3 regions of the foot - the hind foot which requires large thick stacked bones due to it receiving the majority of weight bearing and grounding force – these are the Calceneus (heel bone) & the Talus which sits on top of the heel bone and attached the foot to the leg - the mid foot transmits the load to the fore foot. This requires stout cubular type bones laid out in an arch like shape – these are the Cuboid, Navicular and 3 Cuneiforms - the fore foot disperses the load bearing and transmits thrust – literally balancing and propelling the body forward. This requires long tubular bones that act as levers – these are the 5 metatarsals and 14 phalanges. There are also over 30 synovial joints in each foot (a synovial joint is one in which the ends of the bones are enclosed in a capsule containing a thick, slippery liquid called synovial fluid)

10 Plantar Fascia

- Plantar fascia is thickened fascial tissue that connects the hind foot to the fore-foot on the plantar surface (sole of the foot)

- In addition to the bones , the plantar fascia is the key structure that helps maintain and stabalise the 2 arches and the domed shape of the foot by creating a dynamic tension across the sole of the foot

NOTE – it is important to understand that extending the toes adds tension to the fascia, which increases the stability of the arch. Now think what naturally happens when we are working with a challenging balance or standing posture – many tend to grip the floor with the toes, which only decreases stability!

11 How the feet work They are load bearing – they absorb all the weight of the body • The quality of the feet creates significant effect on everything else up the chain – in essence if there are problems with the feet there is likely to be problems through the musculature of the body • A student with a lack of awareness in the feet – without consciously spreading the load – would have less adaptability in the legs and torso – maybe lots of tension which in Yoga is counter productive! • When our feet are accurately aligned and evenly balanced in standing/balancing postures there is greater ease and cohesion through the rest of the body. This in part is due to activation of the muscles that lift the arches of the feet - the peroneus longus and brevis and the tibialis posterior—three of the extrinsic foot muscles as shown below.

The muscles that lift the arches of the feet are divided into the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the foot. • The intrinsic muscles originate from and insert onto bones within the foot. • The extrinsic muscles originate from the lower leg and insert onto the bones of the foot. Contracting the peroneus longus and brevis muscles tilts the foot outward (eversion).

Engaging the tibialis posterior muscles tilts the foot inward (inversion).

All three muscles can be used to strengthen and deepen the longitudinal arch of the foot.

12 Standing on our own Two Feet!

Nothing lasting can be built on a shaky foundation! Many students new to yoga find it's not so easy to do the seemingly simple actions, like balancing the weight evenly on the inner and outer edges of the foot, lifting the arches, or spreading the toes! And many advancing practitioners can also forget the feet as they extend the range of postures they practice! To learn how to properly activate the feet it helps to understand the four basic foot and ankle movements that are most important in yoga, whether the feet are bearing weight or not. • You can experience these movements while either sitting or standing, and you may want to practice each one a few times in both positions to get a feel of whether you have a tendency to any.

Plantar Flexion of the ankle occurs when you stand on your tiptoes. If you're sitting with your legs out in front of you, plantar flexion of the ankle happens when you point your toes.

Dorsiflexion occurs when you stand on your heels with the balls of the feet lifted off the floor. If you're sitting, dorsiflexion happens when you push your heels away from you and pull your toes toward you.

Supination occurs when you stand with your weight rolled onto the outer edges of your feet, lifting the arches and the base of the big toe. Non-weight- bearing supination happens when you sit with your legs out in front of you and turn the soles of the feet so they start to face each other.

Pronation occurs when you lift the outer edges of your feet as you stand, collapsing your arches. In sitting postures, pronation occurs when you press out through your inner heels and the bases of your big toes.

13 Shift Into Neutral To begin developing awareness in your feet, sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you.

- Let the muscles of both legs and hips completely relax. If you're like most people, your legs will probably roll out and your feet will rest in some degree of plantar flexion and supination. - This natural alignment helps give spring to your step and absorbs impact when you walk: The foot is in supination as it hits the ground, moves into pronation as it takes your full weight, and returns to supination as the foot leaves the ground.

To deepen your understanding of the neutral position, try this experiment:

- Sitting on the floor, strongly point your toes. You will feel a stretch in the tops of your feet and ankles and compression at the backs of your ankles, just above the heels. - Then strongly press your heels away from you and draw your toes toward you. You'll feel a stretch in your calf muscles and Achilles tendons, while the front of your ankles will feel tight and short. - In the ideal neutral position—without dorsiflexion or plantar flexion—you should feel neither compression nor a major stretch at the front or backs of the ankles.

Next, endeavor to balance supination and pronation. If you naturally supinate at rest— most people do, unless they have flat feet—you can balance that tendency by pressing out through both the inner heel and the base of the big toe.

- To find neutral, imagine that the balls of your feet are touching a wall and that you want your big toes to touch it with the same amount of pressure as the little toes.

14 The muscles you use to control the foot's tendency to supinate (roll onto outer edges) are the peroneus longus and peroneus brevis. They originate on the fibula, the outer and smaller of the two lower leg bones. These muscles travel down the outer calf, and their tendons go behind the outer anklebone. The larger and stronger of the two muscles is the peroneus longus, and its tendon crosses under the arch of the foot to attach to the underside of the arch on the medial (inner) side. When the peroneus longus contracts, it pronates the foot (moves inwards); if you're standing, it presses the base of the big toe into the ground. If the muscle is well developed, contracting it will create a visible groove on the outer calf from just below the knee to the outer ankle.

Taking a closer look at the feet! Sit on the floor – you can lean against a wall or in a comfortable position on a chair depending on your mobility.

- Place the foot on the floor and look at the arches – both inner and outer. These differ in appearance on most feet, some are high, and some are low. Gradually move the foot around – let the inner arch slowly collapse – then the outer – all the while feeling into the foot. Feel what happens when you grip with the toes or extend them. - Take one foot in your hand and place fingers on/around the inner arch lightly. Slowly flex and point the toes and feel the fascia under the foot respond.

15 Tripod Effect

The feet and arches manage the downward and upward forces in the body. - Awareness should be spread over 3 points – like a TRIPOD - Maybe resist saying / thinking spread equally over 4 corners as this creates a feeling of unmoving solidity! - Think about this in terms of movement & adaptability within postures and how the foot is always making small micro movements to spread the load. Take the foot in your hands once again

- Feel around the ball of the foot - Feel around the base of the little toe - Feel around the heel bone – recognise that it has lots of padding to bear the weight of the body - Take the thumbs and place them at the ball of the big and little toes – then work them to meet in the middle Recognise this as a minor arch that allows for the play of weight distribution in all standing postures. NOTE – Think in terms of downdog and how you use the hand (root of the thumb – root of the little finger & little finger are like a TRIPOD - Once again run the thumbs along the arch of the foot and feel the fascia or connective tissue – moving the foot to see how it responds

Re-Cap on the importance of 3 points – TRIPOD!

Why focus on these three points? - This tripod absorbs gravitational weight that descends from the head and allows even distribution through the body Why do we have the arches in our feet? - To provide shock absorption & rebound so that we can actively draw energy up from the floor The importance of a balanced perspective! - When practicing and teaching we should always be looking to create balance. As we ground we can access the mechanism of lifting up. Imagine how it would feel if we just let the weight of the body crush down from the head to the feet. Try it now!!

16 - To ground down (push) - But to also pull up (yield) - Can also equate to the inhalation and exhalation

STHIRA SUKHA

STABILITY MOBILITY

3 POINTS OF FEET REST OF BODY

The well-balanced foot!

Ideally, the weight of your body should be evenly distributed between the outer and inner foot and between the heel and ball of the foot. As you stand, become aware of the three points of the foot: the base of the big toe, the base of the little toe & the point in the middle of the heel.

From underneath the foot this awareness can form a triangle on each foot – the triangles can be joined to feel the size and shape of the base of support for Tadasana. The plumb line that passes through the body’s centre of gravity in this position is shown as the dot in the drawing. This should be felt as a tethering force in all postures & can create a strong connection with Moola Bandha – as if pulling from the floor up through the pelvic floor to create a dynamic seal, further enhancing stability!

17 The Tibialis Anterior

The tibialis anterior, one of the main muscles that supports the arch, lies along the outer surface of the shinbone. Ideally, you should be able to sense a balance between the tibialis anterior lifting the arch and the peroneus longus grounding the base of the big toe.

It's easier to begin work on the feet in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) than in one-legged balances. - Begin by noticing your toes, a very important part of your balancing mechanism. - Make sure they are spread on the floor to give a wide base of support. - Notice that if you shift your body weight forward, the toes tend to grip the floor, and if you shift your weight backward, the toes lift off the floor.

The toes are a very clear indicator of your anterior-posterior (forward-backward) centering.

• Keep them relaxed as you lift the arch; at the same time, press down the base of the big toe to counter the tendency to shift too much weight to the outer foot. • Now practice shifting more weight onto one foot, without disturbing its balance. • As you take all your weight onto one foot, any bad habits you have will become more obvious, such as collapsing the arch or gripping with your toes. • Did you shift your body weight too much forward to help balance? • Taking a moment to establish your foundation in your feet before coming up into a balance pose can help your balance considerably.

18 Muscle Grouping

The power of the foot starts outside the foot being driven by external muscles of the front and back of the leg – this can be understood and felt in terms of groups of muscles working together – synergy!

Muscle grouping happens all over the body specifically around joints. We have large muscles that provide horse power/or raw energy – and then smaller/local muscles that fine-tune or provide direction for that energy to be distributed.

Thinking in terms of our feet - The larger calf and shin muscles that cross the ankle joint (tibialis anterior & peroneus longus) – provide horse power whereas the local muscles under the foot act as the rudder to steer energy in both directions – they fine tune what comes in as gross power and enable it to be lifted and utilized.

Think about this in terms of practice and teaching - A bit like macrocosm/Microcosm philosophy! - Gross and Subtle actions - We can be aware of the whole body and stability but also shine our spotlight of awareness into the small areas to fine tune and release energy and understanding!

Understanding the role of the Ankle The ankle is a hinge joint

- Pick up one of your feet and begin to feel around the inside of the anklebone - Move this exploration to the outside of the anklebone - Now place the fingers just in front of the outer anklebone and point/flex the foot. Do you feel as you point the toes a hard edge come towards you – and as you flex the toes it moves away?? - This is your TRUE ankle joint – the hinge – a meeting point of bones from the foot and the large bone of the front of the leg which are tied together with ligaments

The Achilles does not attach to the bone we were just moving – rather it attaches to the underside of the heel bone. - This is important in terms of the foot have slight rotational movement; even thought it is a hinge joint! - The Achilles signals the meeting point of the ankle bones to the actual foot bones.

19 - This is known as a SUBTALAR joint, which allows for subtle rotation

NOTE – Think of this allowing those subtle movements in standing & balancing postures. We don’t need to overthink this when practicing and teaching – it is enough to understand this anatomical function and focus on the 3 points of contact…….

20 Standing Poses

It is important to pay attention to the foot alignment and muscle tone in all yoga poses, especially during standing poses when the feet are not only the foundation of the pose, but also the connection to the earth grounding us energetically. Standing poses emphasize establishing a firm base of support through the legs so the spine can be relaxed, light, and free. • To create proper foot alignment, evenly distribute your weight between the big toe mound, the baby toe mound and the heel. • Finding a balance between supination and pronation is also a key action for the front foot, which tends to pronate in poses like Trikonasana (triangle) and Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2), but may over supinate in Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch).

Take It Forward Seated forward bends also benefit when you extend out through the legs and the soles of the feet, emphasizing the action of the peroneus longus to press through the inner heel and the base of the big toe.

• If your legs roll out, your feet will supinate, so be sure to press the inner thighs down until your kneecaps point straight up; then lengthen from your inner groins through the inner portions of your feet. • The foot should dorsiflex to stretch the entire back of the leg – but to balance this action the ball of the foot should extend forward gently and the toes spread . • To work on this action, bring your attention to the back of your heel. Check that you are on the center of your heel, rolling the leg neither in nor out. • Then—again emphasizing the inner heel to keep the foot balanced between pronation and supination—press your heel firmly forward so the Achilles tendon lengthens and there is less daylight between the tendon and the floor. • This action will help ensure that your forward bends stretch the major muscles of your calves, the gastrocnemius and the soleus, as well as your hamstrings

21 Spread the Toes You have muscles in your feet that are designed to spread your toes just as the muscles in your hands spread your fingers. If your toes stay glued together no matter how much you try to spread them, the muscles are probably atrophied from lack of use, and the toes themselves may have lost flexibility. • Sitting in any way you find comfortable, put the palm of your right hand onto the sole of your left foot. Insert your fingers between the toes. • Bending your fingers onto the tops of your feet, gently squeeze your foot as if it were a sponge. • Repeat for a minute or two, then remove your fingers and try spreading your toes again. • Have patience, even if you don't notice a big difference immediately. • Over time, this exercise will begin to wake up your toes and your feet will become part of the healthy whole that is a yoga pose.

Simple movements for the feet

Listed below are a few movements for the feet to help wake them up, allow them to come alive and become more responsive to the more challenging yoga poses involving foot action. These are also a gentle way to work through some of the years of tension held in the feet. Also great for developing awareness of the feet and for those that are new to Yoga (and experienced ;)

Toe strengtheners – (trickier than you think!)

Toe strengtheners can increase flexibility, muscle tone and control of the toes. • From standing, drawing the big toe up and pressing the four little toes down. • Draw the four little toes up while pressing the big toe down. • Draw the big toe and baby toe up as you press the three middle toes down. • Draw the three middle toes up while pressing the big toe and baby toe down. • Lift each toe individually.

Point and Flex Foot

From Dandasana, point the toes away from the body and flex the foot by drawing the toes towards the body. This creates mobility in the ankle as well as strengthening the muscles of the feet and ankle.

Ankle Circles

Slowly take the ankle in circles in both directions clockwise and counter-clockwise. This can be done from sitting in a chair, seated on the floor or standing. This action stretches and strengthens the foot and ankle muscles while maintaining mobility in the ankle and foot joints.

22 Interlace Fingers between Toes

From a seated position, interlace your fingers between your toes. This stretches the muscles of the toes and allows them to spread. This action can be very challenging for some people due to confining shoes.

Tennis ball roll

Roll the entire sole of the foot on a tennis ball. This helps to warm up the feet as well as breaking up any tension being held in the feet. This exercise also accesses many important pressure points on the sole of the foot. The gentle pressure on the muscles and connective tissue can relieve tension and regain fluidity.

Picking up marbles with your toes

By using your toes to pick up marbles not only strengthens the foot muscles but also promotes the use of using toes as individual entities as opposed to a group.

23 Yoga postures for foot health

Virasana - Hero Pose

Virasana is an important pose for foot health. It stretches the top of the foot and ankle while toning the sole of the foot. This pose is very therapeutic for flat feet as strengthening the muscles in the feet helps recreate the arches. Virasana also, over time, reconstructs the alignment of the tarsal bones by having pressure on the tops of the feet and allowing the toes to spread.

Vajrasana – Kneeling Pose

Vajrasana has many of the same benefits of Virasana as it helps to recreate or maintain healthy arches, increase flexibility in the ankle as well as reconstruct the alignment of the tarsal bones.

Baddha Konasana - Cobbler Pose

Baddha Konasana is a great pose for feet. While in Baddha Konasana pressing the four corners of the feet together and drawing the toes away from each other strengthens the foot muscles and activates the arches.

Toe Stretch (knees on floor)

Kneeling with the toes tucked under (bottom on the heels) is a great way to stretch the bottom of the feet. This can be a very intense stretch for beginners as it breaks up tension in the sole of the foot. A softer version of this is to stand with the toes of one foot against a wall.

Squat

Squatting with the knees apart strengthens the muscles of the feet, toes and lower legs, which help the overall health of the feet.

Adho Mukha Svanasana - Downward Facing Dog

Adho Mukha Svanasana is another great pose for the feet. The feet muscles are working as your arches lift, while stretching the soles of the feet. By lengthening the plantar muscles and fascia the downward extension of the heel to the floor will develop with time. There is also a deep release in the Achilles.

24 Final Word on Anatomy before we practice feeling our feet ;)

Understanding anatomy doesn’t mean we need to reel off 50 names that our students wont understand – think about how often you use Sanskrit names for Yoga postures in your classes! We all enjoy learning in different ways – so if it is your way to study in depth the names and associations of each bone, ligament, tendon and muscle – that is fine! But try not to learn in a disassociated or disembodied way. As Yoga practitioners and teachers we need to be able to feel it in action. To experience it fully so we are able to relay the technique and understanding to our students so that they in turn can embody that understanding. All good instruction comes from feeling – let the names begin to grow over time ……

25 Mini Yoga Practice for your Feet

Cat-dog – Cobra Vinyasa x 3 (hands & knees-baby-hands & knees- cobra-hands & knees- D/dog) (to warm up) – D/Dog (pause & play – then…)

- lift all toes off floor - gradually press big toe, second toe, third toe etc down onto floor

Visualise this even if it is difficult to happen

• Knees down – knees/ankles together – curl toes under/sit on heels – for up to 1 minute / or as long as is comfortable for you! BREATH and bring to mind Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam Duhkham Anagatam – Pain that has yet to come is avoidable (endeavor not to think of past experience or associate with past sensations – stay with the breath and the NOW – chuckle – breathe – but don’t hold beyond your limitations) • Lean forward & tap the top of the feet gently • Vajrasana – FEET & HEELS together (use strap if necessary) – lift one knee slowly & pause – then other – then lift both knees • Lean forward & tap the top of the feet gently • Sitting on your bottom, release legs out in front - fingers between toes – heel of hand on ball of foot - squeeze on exhale like a sponge – release pressure on inhale - circle feet / flex & extend (keep fingers in toes/use hand to assist movement) - press tips of fingers into base of toes (clearing sinus, eyes & ears) - pull fingers slowly out through the toes (clearing) - tap bottom of foot (wakes digestion and internal organs) Repeat other side – then lengthen legs and shake through the ankles • Lay on back – knees bent – hold on to one thigh - Flex and Point – 3 to 10 times (hold once in between) - Flex (spread toes) & Point (scrunch toes) - Rotate ankle each way Repeat with other leg – release legs – shake out – come to seated – how do they feel? Too often we are blissfully unaware of our feet unless they hurt………

26 Full Yoga Practice – finding our feet!

• Gomukasana legs - place the thumbs under the balls of the feet deeply massage around the ball working to the ball of little toe (don’t need to say distal head of the fifth metatarsal!) – back along the arch to the heel (explore!)

• Forward bend

• Xtend legs in front – flex & point toes – spread & scrunch toes - hands/finger tips behind – lean back a bit so not too challenging – feel all connecting muscles large and small and what’s at work.

• Gomukasana legs(other side) - place the thumbs under the balls of the feet deeply massage around the ball working to the ball of little toe – back along the arch to the heel (explore!) – creating sensation heightens awareness in the brain to that body part!

• Forward bend

• Xtend legs in front – flex & point toes – spread & scrunch toes - hands/finger tips behind – lean back a bit so not too challenging – feel all connecting muscles large and small and what’s at work – look at the shin muscles, see them at work if they are not covered up! • X legs to Down/Dog - be aware of the feet and the principles we have been discussing – doesn’t matter if the whole foot is on the floor • Kneeling - sit on heels – lean back – feel tops of feet • Toe balance / knees bent-heels to bottom-balance on balls of feet (keep hands down) - feel hinge in the ankle/maybe move back and forwards – be aware of the stretch of the plantar fascia • Kneeling - hands on thighs – lean back a bit • Toe balance (keep hands down) - let the heels go heavy – feel fascia stretching right into the toes

27 • Standing Forward Bend - look at the feet – feel where the majority of weight is – DON’T change it, just be aware – do you lean to the outer or inner edges or are you centred – is there a difference between the left and right foot – look, breath and feel – DON’T judge – merely notice if there is a tendency – just feel and be mindful, gently and slowly correcting to balance – really feel into this process • Step back to Down/Dog • Kneeling - tuck toes under – sit on the heels – right elbow on top of left (eagle arms) – lean back on heels if able • Down/Dog - look to toes – try to lift them slowly – feel how this effects the ankle & muscles in your legs • Kneeling - tuck toes under – sit on the heels – left elbow on top of right (eagle arms) – lean back on heels if able • Down/Dog - ground through the ball of the foot and push hands away – feel how this anchors the legs • Kneeling – place front of right ankle arch over left foot – then sit down - we are feeling into the plantar fascia and stretching it – interlace fingers – raise above head – creating a sensory imprint • Down/Dog - lift and spread the toes • Kneeling – place front of left ankle arch over right foot – then sit down - interlace fingers – raise arms above head – back to that sensory input ;) we can listen to instructions of feel the arch of the foot etc but with a posture like this there is no getting away from it! • Down/Dog

28 • Step right foot forward (short lunge/foot behind hand) – left knee to floor - lean forward until the heal lifts off the floor/walk hands a bit forward to bear the weight so no pressure on the knee - look to the right ankle and recognise the hinge joint at play here – let right heel go heavy towards the floor – notice the angle without judgment • Down/Dog - notice if there is a different feeling between the right and left leg • Step right foot forward (short lunge/foot behind hand) – left knee to floor - lean forward until the heal lifts off the floor/walk hands a bit forward to bear the weight so no pressure on the knee - actively press the heel down without force – feel into this action • Down/Dog - look to feet and let the neck relax • Standing Forward Bend - make sure you can see feet and ankles (roll trousers a bit if necessary) – notice and feel the alignment of the feet – roll back on to the heel a bit – notice what the toes do – feet will respond to anything that is happening above it – now lean as far forward as is comfortable – feel…. • Bring the feet together - Come into CHAIR slowly – shallow/not too deep - hands to prayer at heart to concentrate on feet – GO DEEPER – notice what the feet do – are the evenly planted – play with the depth of the posture – coming in and out if needed – keep moving the upper body either forward or back until you feel balanced through the feet – raise the arms – keep adjusting • Standing Forward Bend (feet hip width) - slide a finger or two under the outside arch – just a little, not too much – lift up through the hands and feel into this arch – take hands out and still feel it happening • Spinal extension – Lunge – Down/Dog - come onto balls of the feet – feel the calves engage – now reach the heels to the floor – bring the toes towards the shins and feel the effect

29 • Right leg Lunge – Forward Bend – Spinal extension – Forward Bend – Sama - as you lift to samasthiti feel the pressure down in the feet • Tree (right foot up) - stages or straight in – notice the micro movements of the foot and how it effects whats above it – hands to prayer then raise above the head • Standing Forward Bend - do a couple of spinal extension to free the spine – notice the feet – do the supinate or pronate – try to stay centred – think of the TRIPOD • Samasthiti • Tree (left foot up) • Standing Forward Bend – Left foot lunge – Down/Dog - lift heels – heels down – bend knees – play and feel effect on feet/legs and upper body • Left leg Lunge – Forward Bend – Spinal extension – Forward Bend – Sama - simple transition with awareness • Block between feet – Prayer – Arm Raise – Forward Bend – Hand Hips - Sama - squeeze, feel effect up through legs • Once again – Prayer – Arm Raise – Forward Bend – Hand Hips – Sama - evenly balanced through feet • Remove block – repeat movement – remember to hug in slightly • Arm raise – F/Bend – Lunge – Down/Dog – PLANK (pause) - feel feet as if pushing back through heels slightly / resting on front of balls • Ashtangasana – Cobra – Down/Dog - imagine straps around ankles – gently pulling back – whilst lifting through tail

30 • Left leg back for Lunge – Warrior 1 - back foot in a comfy position – remember TRIPOD – play with releasing front leg whilst feeling back foot – lift toes, feel how this enlivens the leg – raise arms – still keeping full contact with the feet on the floor • Straighten front leg – Bowing Warrior - is the weight even through the feet – what do you need to do to make this happen – what adjustments do you need to make – make them! • Down/Dog – Left foot forward for lunge – Warrior 1 - play to find the perfect balance – notice how if you loose contact with the floor you loose stability! • Raise Arms – straighten front leg – Bowing Warrior - even though major sensation in hamstring try to stay focused on full contact of the feet with the floor • Down/Dog – right foot forward – Warrior 2 - play with lifting toes/grounding • Triangle - consider using blocks – feel into back & front foot – look to front foot – where is the weight?? • Lunge – Down/Dog – left foot forward – Warrior 2 - remember feet are far away from the brain – if there is much to do in between and you forget about them then simplify the posture – for instance bring hands to waist and straighten legs to establish awareness of the feet – understand how easy it is for students to disregard feet and focus on depth/upper body/hands etc and then wonder why they feel unstable….. • Triangle - feel into front foot – if more weight on the outside of the foot – bend the knee until you can ground evenly – then slowly straighten the leg again. • Lunge – Down/Dog • Kneeling – top of right foot over left arch – sit down – right arm on top of left (eagle arms) • Down/Dog - lift heels then slowly lower them

31 • Kneeling – top of left foot over right arch – sit down – left arm on top of right (eagle arms) • Down/Dog – Left foot back for Lunge – Warrior 1 (hands hips) – Bowing Warrior – USE BLOCKS – Revolving Triangle - watch front foot • Down/Dog – left foot forward for Lunge – Warrior 1 (hands hips) – Bowing Warrior – USE BLOCKS – Revolving Triangle - DON’T sacrifice STABILITY for MOBILITY – counterproductive as body becomes tense……. • Down/Dog – Bowing Triangle - by looking at the feet as teachers we can gauge the amount of force and distribution of energy in the legs and get an idea of where the student may be feeling tension etc • Lunge – Forward Bend – Side step to SQUAT - feel feet – ankles – and lower legs • Release bottom to floor – Badda - hands behind – let hips and inner thighs relax • Extend right leg – Forward bend - hold foot at base of big & little toe – equally push into hand – like pushing gently on the accelerator in your car – resist slightly with your hand • Arm raise – Swap sides & repeat • Arm raise – Extend legs – Lower on to back – Keep knees bent/Feet wide - rest until the back and hips have relaxed – then straighten legs • Savasana - nice long relaxation – work through whole body to release and relax all body parts especially the feet and the legs

32 Potential problems with the feet! Well as you can imagine there are many things that can go wrong with the feet the worst in my mind is that many people simply do not pay attention to them and take them for granted on a daily basis! I cant cover all potentials here so have chosen a couple that I have personally come across in private practice. Plantar Fasciitis Plantar fasciitis means inflammation of your plantar fascia. Your plantar fascia is a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from your heel to your middle foot bones. It supports the arch of your foot and also acts as a shock-absorber in your foot. What causes plantar fasciitis? Repeated small injuries to the fascia (with or without inflammation) are thought to be the cause of plantar fasciitis. The injury is usually near to where the plantar fascia attaches to your heel bone. You are more likely to injure your plantar fascia in certain situations. For example: • If you are on your feet for a lot of the time, or if you do lots of walking, running, standing, etc, when you are not used to it. • Also, people with a sedentary lifestyle are more prone to plantar fasciitis. • If you have recently started exercising on a different surface - for example, running on the road instead of a track. • If you have been wearing shoes with poor cushioning or poor arch support. • If you are overweight - this will put extra strain on your heel. • If there is overuse or sudden stretching of your sole. For example: athletes who increase running intensity or distance; poor technique starting 'off the blocks', etc. If you have a tight Achilles tendon (the big tendon at the bottom of your calf muscles above your heel). This can affect your ability to flex your ankle and make you more likely to damage your plantar fascia. How common is plantar fasciitis? Plantar fasciitis is common. Around 1 in 10 people will get plantar fasciitis at some time in their life. It is most common in people between the ages of 40 to 60 years. However, it can occur at any age. It is twice as common in women as it is in men. It is also common in athletes.

33 What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis? Pain is the main symptom. This can be anywhere on the underside of your heel. However, commonly, one spot is found as the main source of pain. This is often about 4 cm forward from your heel, and may be tender to touch. The pain is often worst when you take your first steps on getting up in the morning, or after long periods of rest where no weight is placed on your foot. Gentle exercise may ease things a little as the day goes by, but a long walk or being on your feet for a long time often makes the pain worse. Resting your foot usually eases the pain. Compare the options » Usually, the pain will ease in time. 'Fascia' tissue, like 'ligament' tissue, heals quite slowly. It may take several months or more to go. However the following may help Rest your foot This should be done as much as possible. Avoid running, excess walking or standing, and undue stretching of your sole. Gentle walking and exercises described below are fine. Footwear Do not walk barefoot on hard surfaces. Choose shoes with cushioned heels and a good arch support. A laced sports shoe rather than an open sandal is probably best. Avoid old or worn shoes that may not give a good cushion to your heel. Heel pads and arch supports You can buy various pads and shoe inserts to cushion the heel and support the arch of your foot. These work best if you put them in your shoes at all times. The aim is to raise your heel by about 1 cm. If your heel is tender, cut a small hole in the heel pad at the site of the tender spot. This means that the tender part of your heel will not touch anything inside your shoe. Place the inserts/pads in both shoes, even if you only have pain in one foot.View more Patient.co.uk videos » Stretching Regular, gentle stretching of your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia may help to ease your symptoms. This is because most people with plantar fasciitis have a slight tightness of their Achilles tendon. If this is the case, it tends to pull at the back of your heel and has a knock-on effect of keeping your plantar fascia tight. Also, when you are asleep overnight, your plantar fascia tends to tighten up (which is why it is usually most painful first thing in the morning). The aim of these exercises is to loosen up the tendons and fascia gently above and below your heel.

34 Weak or fallen arches Fallen arches can result in tendonitis and contribute to the development of bunions, shin splints, and pains in the knees and hips. They can even affect the lower back, neck, and shoulders. The strength of your arches depends upon two factors: the tone, or tightness, of the ligaments that hold the bones of the feet together, and the strength of supporting muscles. When the ligaments are loose, or become loosened over time, we must make an extra effort to strengthen the supporting muscles.

Tibialis Posterior The muscle most immediately affected by the collapse of the arches due to loose ligaments is the tibialis posterior, a deep muscle that runs along the back of the shinbone and down to the inner arch of the foot, which lifts the inner arch of your foot.

The Tibialis Posterior in Action The tibialis posterior not only lifts the instep of the foot at the medial malleolus, but also inverts the foot (pulling the inner edge of the foot toward the body) and medially rotates the foot (turning it toward the midline of the body). If your tibialis posterior is very short and tight, you may have a pigeon-toed stance, with the weight of your body resting on the outer edge of your feet. The misalignment of the legs in this posture—with the knees and feet turned in—tends to increase the tightness of this muscle by causing it to work overtime. A short, tight tibialis posterior can also be at play in the opposite situation, in which the arches are fallen and the feet turn out. In this case the arches are so structurally weak that the tibialis posterior is pulled down with them—and the tight tibialis posterior pulls down on everything above it, affecting the knees and hips, as well as straining its own tendons in the soles of the feet. An excessively lifted instep and an excessively collapsed instep are two sides of the same coin: the tibialis posterior exerts a strong pull in both cases—in one case upward, the other downward. And in both cases you’ll find the knees turned inward, though the appearance of the legs will be different. The pigeon-toed individual will appear to be more bowlegged, while someone with flat feet is likely to be more knock-kneed.

35 Build Strength in Your Arches The muscular work we do in hatha yoga strengthens and lengthens our muscles at the same time. • The essence of theses exercises is to learn how to keep the inner heel and ball of the big toe grounded while lifting the arch, and not throw all of the weight to the outer edge of the foot. • As you reach out through these two points at the inner edge of the foot, you also keep the tibialis posterior long and extended, even while it’s hard at work. • The key to exercising this muscle correctly is to resist inversion and medial rotation of the foot by keeping the ball of the big toe and inner heel grounded while still working to lift the arch. The practice

• Place the band around the outer ankle of one foot. • Step on the band with the other foot and adjust the tension so that it pulls the foot toward pronation (i.e., toward a fallen arch). • We want to restore proper tone by working the tibialis posterior to lift the arch, against the helpful resistance of the band. • Keep the knees slightly bent to protect them • Now lift the inner arch, contracting the tibialis posterior so that the ankle presses out against the band. • This is more than just shifting your weight to the outer heel; while the inner heel and ball of the big toe stay grounded, the lift comes from the inner ankle. • To protect the knee as you lift the arch of the foot, engage the muscles of the inner thigh so that they lift and press out against the bone.

Step by Step: Prasarita Padottanasana – Bowing Triangle This posture offers us an excellent opportunity to strengthen and lengthen the tibialis posterior, using the action we just explored with the elastic band. Sometimes people complain of ankle pain in this pose, usually in the form of pinching or pulling at the outer ankle. Both kinds of pain are indications of a collapsed ankle (due to a flat foot) or overstretched ankle (i.e., pigeon-toed); by lifting the tibialis posterior in coordination with the rest of the leg, this discomfort can be eliminated.

36

• To begin, step the feet wide apart and parallel. Avoid the common tendency to turn your feet out too much, which tightens the lower back and limits mobility in the pose. • With a microbend in the knees (to avoid locking them), fold forward at the hip joints and, if possible, touch the floor with your fingers while maintaining a straight spine.

Prasarita padottanasana is obviously a stretch to the hamstrings, but a big part of the stiffness that holds us back from fully expressing the pose comes from tight adductors. These inner thigh muscles pull the thighbones toward each other, tightening and even locking the hip joints. And you will find that what goes hand in hand with tight adductors is the inability of the tibialis posterior to keep the arches of the feet lifted. As the arches fall, the outer ankles can begin to feel pinched. Or if you overcompensate by putting too much weight on the outer edges of the feet, your outer ankles may feel overstretched.

• Take a moment to look at your feet and knees • Are your arches collapsing and your knees turning inward—or are you turning your feet out to help you bend forward? • In either case, reposition your feet so they point straight ahead, keeping an imaginary line from the middle of your ankle to your second toe parallel. • If your arches are collapsing, if your knees are turning inward at the kneecaps, or if your hips feel locked or tight at your inner thighs, bend your knees more. • While keeping your inner heels and the balls of your big toes firmly grounded, begin to lift the instep of both feet just as you did against the resistance of the elastic exercise band. • Draw the energy all the way from your inner arches through the inner knees and thighs so that your inner thigh muscles firm, lift, and press outward. Press your thighs apart as if you were sitting on a balloon that was inflating. At the same time, keep your upper inner thighs drawing back, so that your lower back does not round.

37 Watch the connection between (a) your arches lifting, and (b) the shins and thighs. Your kneecaps should be in line with the second toe of each foot. • Straighten your legs slowly and smoothly, maintaining the actions of these muscles; don’t allow your knees to lock or turn inward, and don’t let your lower back round. • Firm and lift your lower belly just above the pubic bone, and you will be able to fold more deeply into the pose. If you practice this pose with attention to the lift of the arches, you will strengthen the tibialis posterior and restore proper tone to its tendons, reducing pain and soreness in the feet from damage caused by fallen arches. Prasarita padottanasana has the added bonus of realigning and protecting the knees against damage from rotation of the bones. All of the standing poses in hatha yoga involve the same work for the tibialis posterior in both feet: focus on keeping the inner heel anchored as you work this muscle to lift your arches. As it gets stronger, you’ll experience less soreness in your feet—and a newfound lightness in your step.

38 Bunions! A bunion is an all-too-common foot problem that can easily develop into a painful deformity if left unchecked. How Bunions Develop A bunion (or prominent, bony bump) most often develops from a “zigzag” of the bones at the ball of the big toe: the big toe “zigs” in toward the other toes, while the metatarsal “zags” out, causing irritation and even calcification at the head of the metatarsal. This is usually accompanied by the collapse of the inner arch of the foot. Each problem amplifies the other: the collapse of the arch accelerates the formation of the bunion, while the bunion itself further diverts the metatarsals, undermining the arch. The bunion becomes a bigger problem when it becomes inflamed and sore from the pressure that you put on it as you walk. Our genes determine the shape of the bones and the strength of the ligaments holding the foot together, so the cause is partly hereditary: the head of the metatarsal bone of the big toe can be unusually rounded or convex, which makes it more likely that the toe will slide on its surface to turn in. At the other end of the metatarsal, the cuneiform bone upon which it rests can be shaped in a way that causes the metatarsal to shift outward.

A bunion makes the foot unstable and wobbly in balancing postures. To stabilize the pose we often lock the knee--and avoid the needed work in the foot.

But heredity is not the only cause. Tight shoes—combined with a habit of walking with the feet turned out—weaken the ligaments of the arch by putting pressure on the big toe metatarsal while forcing the big toe itself to turn inward by pushing it aside as you walk. As a result, the toes get bunched together as the adductor muscles in the sole of the foot (especially the adductor hallucis) become tight, pulling the big toe in toward the others. The progressive formation of the bunion goes largely unchecked because the abductor muscle (the abductor hallucis), which is designed to resist that pull and keep the big toe aligned, has become weak and overstretched. Thus bunions—and muscular imbalances that encourage the formation of bunions—can cripple us by misaligning the big toe and weakening the structure of the foot. Activate Your Arches The tibialis anterior runs from the base of the big toe through the forward part of the arch of the foot. To give this muscle a workout, practice picking up a napkin with your toes. You’ll feel a muscle activate at the base of your big toe as your ankle flexes and your foot inverts (i.e., flips sideways) to lift the napkin. That’s the tibialis anterior.

39 • You can also activate the tibialis anterior by lifting the big toe, keeping the mound of the toe grounded while intentionally lifting the arch from behind the big toe mound. The lift of the arch, without inverting the foot and keeping the ball of the toe grounded, comes from the tibialis anterior. You must keep this muscle activated and the ball of the big toe down to strengthen the muscles that realign the big toe. Treat Yourself to a Foot Massage Tightness in the sole of the foot contributes to the formation of bunions and causes the toes to be cramped. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to strengthen the arch or work with the toes when they are stuck together in this way, so you should start with a foot massage to release the adductor muscles.

You can use your thumbs or roll a tennis or golf ball beneath the mounds of the toes to release these muscles. Start at the base of the big toes and massage down through the inner arch. Work back up along the little toe side of the foot, and anywhere else in the sole that feels tight.

Create some space between the toes so that they can regain their mobility. Work your fingers as far between your toes as possible, cupping the sole of your foot in your palm, and working the toes back and forth with a “yoga handshake” to loosen them.

To complete the warm-up, take each toe individually and gently pull it away from the heel. Although the purpose is not simply to “crack” the toe, a cracking or popping sound can signify a release. Strengthen Key Muscles Sit on a chair with your knees bent and your feet parallel. Lift all of your toes while keeping the balls of your toes and your inner heel grounded. See how much you can lift your arch, not just from the ball of the big toe, but also from the center of the sole in front of the heel. Once you get the toes moving, try this: after lifting all of your toes, keep your small toes lifted and extend only your big toe forward and down toward the floor. This action is your primary “workout” and the key to battling a bunion, provided that you: • Keep the lift of the arch. This provides the resistance you need to strengthen the

40 muscles along the instep of the foot. • Ground your big toe mound and inner heel to keep the arch strong, and avoid simply inverting the foot. • Reach out through the big toe, as if you’re trying to extend it forward to push a button as it comes down. This is quite different from just pressing the tip of your toe down into the floor, which just scrunches the toe. • After lifting and extending your big toes several times, you’re likely to feel the muscle that runs from your inner heel through the inner arch to your big toe (the abductor hallucis) begin to tire. That’s your target muscle.

To go further in strengthening your feet as a whole, raise all of your toes, and then extend only your little toes out and down to the floor. • This works the muscles running from the little toe along the outer shin and even along the outer thigh, strengthening the alignment on the little toe side of the foot, while building and stabilizing healthy arches. • Weakness and tightness in this side of the foot and ankle often accompanies hyperextension of the knees, as well as pronation of the feet, or fallen arches. Strengthening your outer ankles and shins in this way helps your knees, particularly if you have flat feet. For the last exercise, keep your middle toes lifted and your toes spread, and extend only your big toes and little toes out and down toward the floor. • This builds the transverse arch at the front of the foot, as well as strongly working both the inner and outer edges of the foot, which energizes and balances the inner and outer arches. • You might think of this last stage of the exercise as fully realigning the four corners of the foot—big toe mound, little toe mound, inner heel, and outer heel. • When the heel bone and toes are properly aligned at these corners, your foot functions well in forward-moving actions such as walking, just as a car drives best when its wheels are properly aligned. These toe exercises can be incorporated into many yoga poses to enhance your overall alignment and increase both the resilience of your arches and the strength of the foundation in your feet, with additional benefits for your knees and hips. If you have bunions, these exercises will help you slow or even halt their progress. And even if you don’t have bunions, these actions will help you to fully engage all the way from your feet through your knees and hips, enhancing the overall health of these joints.

41 The Energy body Its not just the physical body that can become ungrounded and imbalanced – to further our exploration of our foundation we’ll look at ways in which we can keep a sense of stability from the inside out. Managing Vata! Vata is the easiest dosha to get thrown out of balance. Vata rules the ethers and is represented by the wind. When out of balance, a person may become irritated, anxious, fearful, depressed, suffer from insomnia, and experience digestion issues, including constipation. Vata represents the wind, the ethers, and movement – so if out of balance we can feel anything but stable!! To pacify we want to ground and to connect to the strong earth energy that supports us. Tricky fickle Vata likes us to believe that our challenges are bigger than us, and oftentimes manifests as creating issues and making up stories in the mind. Vata is pacified by heat, so create some internal heat for your self by moving more. Be mindful of the ayurvedic like increases like principle. Thus, movement that’s frenetic, jumpy, where the music is loud or the environment windy will not be helpful. Emphasize groundedness and fluidity in your movement.

When practicing Yoga, avoid aggravating yourself with tricky postures or constant attempts to kick up to a handstand; avoid jumps in vinyasa practice. Instead, use fluid movement, with longer holds in poses to create heat. Use ujjayi pranayama!

Ask your self, “does your physical movement/practice make you feel more grounded?” If not, alter it. With the aid of yoga and Ayurveda we can become our own caretakers, prescribing ourselves with the tools and techniques to maintain optimal health and to live life fully, and more joyfully. Tips for Yoga practice: • Slow it down, if you are doing vinyasa, move slowly connecting to an equal ratio of breath. • Practice standing poses, Warriors, Triangle, Side Angle Pose, and hold them • Practice forward folds, standing and seated, and hold them • Squat is incredibly grounding • Shoulder stand and headstand are both wonderful poses to soothe vata. • Bring a devotional quality to your practice. Bhavana is the attitude of the practice when the practice is rooted in love and gratitude. Tips for Pranaymama practice: • Brahmari, or bumble bee breath is incredibly internalizing

42 • 1:2 ratio breath, doubling the exhale, or holding a pause after exhalation. Tips for Meditation practice: • Chanting the mantra SO HUM. It is energetically grounding, guiding us out of the mind and into a place of connection. So Hum is practiced by internally saying the mantra connected to the breath, So on the inhale, Hum on the exhale. • Chanting the Bija mantra LAM. This is the sound associated with the root chakra Mooladhara. When using this tool simply repeat the word Lam over and over internally. It will help to connect you to the root, therefore grounding excess vata. Other practices for balancing vata: • Eating root vegetables • Eating warm liquids like soups, but also staying away from dry foods, like popcorn.

43 Apana Vayu Apana Vayu is our energetic waste removal system, and when it flows strongly it gets rid of those things that create blockages within us both physically and psychologically. This clearing of the system opens up our subtle energy channels, nadis, allowing prana life force to flow freely, bringing good health and a sense of groundedness. Apana flows in a downward and outward direction and is most active in the lower abdomen and pelvis. On a physical level it governs excretion, urnination, mensturation, sweating and all other forms of removing unwanted residues from the body. It also governs releasing of held emotions, memories or damaging habits. When Apana flow is weak our whole body-mind-spirit is weakened. We become weighed down by excess waste, also known as ama, and feel heavy, doubtful and without direction. Pranayama - extending our exhalation! Just as Prana Vayu correlates to the inhalation, Apana Vayu correlates to the exhalation. • Take note of your breath, is it easier to exhale or inhale? Difficulty exhaling is a sign that the necessary Apana flow of release is not fully active. The simple solution - practice extending your exhale breath. T.K.V. Desikachar says, “The most important part of pranayama [yogic breathing practice] is the exhale.” Start with a few open mouth exhales, maybe even a big ahh breath. Observe the sensations in your body from these few simple breaths and notice if you feel a sense of relief. Then take a moment to count the length of your inhale and length of your exhale. Slowly, without creating stress in your mind or body, lengthen your exhale one count at a time. Desikachar suggests, “A breathing pattern where the exhalation is twice as long as the inhalation is aimed at providing more time during exhalation for freeing the body of its blockages.” A big release – Simhasana (lions breath) If you feel like you really need to let something go, either in the body or mind, try taking a big lions breath where you stick your tongue out on the exhale and gaze toward your third eye. If nothing else, this practice will make you laugh, and we all know what a great release laughing is! (And if you notice, laughing is a repeated strong exhale with a ha sound.) Enjoy!

44 Moola Bandha Moola Bandha, the root lock, is an incredibly important yoga practice. The Sanskrit word Moola refers to the root of a plant or tree. As in English, root can also mean the foot or base of an object, or the origin of a thing (the root of the problem). Why practice Moola Bandha Moola Bandha is stabilizing and calming - it also enhances the energy of concentration. Moola Bandha can be practiced in Asana, Pranayama and Meditation, and provides continuity when breathing practices are completed and meditation begins. Svatmarama, author of the authoritative Hatha Yoga Pradipika states: “There is no doubt that by practicing Moola Bandha . . . total perfection is attained.” The Upanishads liken prana to a bird tied to its perch, fettered by ida and pingala. It lives out its days going back and forth from one to the other, never finding freedom. Yoga adepts state that it is possible to restrain the involuntary alternations of ida and pingala and to unite these two separate streams of energy. This is the literal meaning of hatha yoga—the yoga in which ha (the right breath) and tha (the left breath) are joined. When these streams are united, prana is freed to ascend through the central channel of the spinal column to its ultimate goal at the crown of the head, the sahasrara chakra. The initial stage of this process is called the awakening of sushumna. Practices for attaining such an awakening are said to bring about perfection, and that is at least one source of Svatmarama’s praise for Moola Bandha. A Quick Anatomy Lesson Formed like a bowl, the pelvic girdle consists of three fused bones—the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. The pelvis is open at the bottom (the pelvic outlet), and at the base of this opening is an area of the body called the perineum. Viewed from above, the perineum is shaped like a diamond. The coccyx (the base of the spine) lies at the rear of the diamond, while the front of the diamond is the pubic symphysis, the joint between the two pubic bones. The left and right corners of the diamond are the two sit bones. Moola Bandha is associated with the center of the perineum. • In men, Moola Bandha results from contractions of the muscles surrounding the perineal body, which lies midway between the anus and the genitals. • For women, the contraction of Moola Bandha is said to be felt not at the perineal body, but at the area surrounding the base of the cervix.

45 How to Practice Moola Bandha Since it is often difficult to isolate the contractions in this area, developing awareness of Moola Bandha is a matter of daily practice. It should not be rushed, because working slowly and gradually allows muscles to strengthen at the same time that mental discrimination is developing. An obstacle to practice is that the muscles of the perineum tend to work together, and frequently when one contracts they all contract. In addition, it is quite easy to inadvertently tense respiratory muscles along with the perineal muscles, and unnecessary sympathetic tension may occur in other areas of the body as well. It takes careful attention and regular practice to sort this out. Step 1 The first task is to develop the simple ability to contract and relax the perineal muscles. • To begin, sit in any erect, meditative posture—preferably a cross-legged seated pose. • Close your eyes; rest your body; and relax your breath, feeling the sides of the rib cage expand and contract while releasing tension from the upper abdomen. • Breathing freely, and without coordinating the breath with your muscle contractions, squeeze the entire perineal region—front, middle, and back— inward and upward. • Keep the breath as steady and smooth as possible, without pausing. • Press in slowly, and when the contraction is complete, release it slowly. • In this exercise you are not trying to discriminate between individual areas, but to strengthen all the muscles of the perineal region while increasing awareness of them. • Repeat this exercise 25 times. Step 2 Next, contract all the muscles of the perineum and hold to your comfortable capacity. • While the tension is being maintained, continue to breathe slowly and smoothly. • Sense the area around the anus, then move to the central contraction at the perineal body or cervix, and finally examine the contraction in the urogenital area. • Tighten each area as you focus on it, feeling the sensations there. • Then release the entire contraction slowly, and relax. Step 3 Now coordinate contractions of the entire perineum with the breath. • Inhaling, contract the perineum, and exhaling slowly release the tension. • Time the contractions so that they coincide with the breath. Jerkiness or loss of control can be gradually reduced over time. • During this practice, begin to focus on the central region of the perineum, giving

46 special attention to sensations that will be associated with Moola Bandha. • Repeat this exercise 25 times. Step 4 Finally, when you are ready, centre your attention on the centre of the perineum, and contract the muscles there tightly with minimal involvement of the anal and urogenital areas. • This is the initial version of Moola Bandha, and it will take some time to accomplish it. • There is no hurry, and it is better to prolong the practice rather than rush it. Step 5 Once the contraction can be held without affecting the breath, other sympathetic muscle tensions are relaxed, and you will be able to comfortably hold Moola Bandha for some time. Then it can be employed during Asana, Pranayama practices and Meditation. The Benefits of Moola Bandha Mula bandha has the effect of restraining energy at the perineum; in this sense it is stabilizing and calming. It also has the effect of gently enhancing the energy of concentration. It is as if a radio dial has been adjusted properly so that the voice of consciousness can speak more clearly. Through the practice of Moola Bandha the direction of the downward-moving energies located in the root chakra and the upward-moving energies located at the heart chakra are said to be reversed and the energies united. This internal union leads to the expansion of awareness. When this energy is calm and secure, life itself is more relaxed.

47 Mudra Practices to enhance Grounding & Stability

Apana Mudra Apana Mudra directs breath, awareness and energy into the lower body, activating the downward moving current of Apana Vayu. This mudra lengthens the exhalation - enhancing Apana Vayus calming and grounding qualities as well as releasing blockages in the pelvic area.

Chinmaya Mudra Chinmaya means ‘embodiment of knowledge’. This mudra directs breath, awareness and energy to the base of the body – deepening our connection to the earth and its qualities of grounding and stability. This gesture encourages a sense of alignment within the structure of the body allowing us to truly inhabit our bodies fully. Chinmaya slows the breath – especially the exhalation – instilling a sense of serenity.

Prithvi Mudra Prithvi means ‘earth’ and as the name implies directs awareness and energy into our foundation and deepens our connection with the natural world. This gesture creates a sense of support within the structure of the physical body – improving the health of the skeleton itself. Prithvi encourages a firm foundation both physically and mentally – instilling a deep sense of trust.

Bhu Mudra Bhu means ‘earth’ – this mudra activates the earth element,. If we take a cross-legged postures when practicing this mudra the body forms a mountain shape – naturally cultivating a sense of steadiness and stability. As we develop greater stability and grounding, we enhance feelings of security and comfort within our bodies. Bhu Mudra opens and balances Mooladhara allowing us to meet our survival needs whilst releasing excessive fear and anxiety.

48 Emotional causes of Physical Symptoms! Another way to view stubborn imbalance in the physical body is from an emotional perspective – you may have tried absolutely everything your physio/chiropractor suggests and yet still the problem persists … According to author Louise Hay and scientist Bruce Lipton, physical symptoms are merely tangible evidence of what is going on in your unconscious mind and how you are really feeling deep inside. Author Calvin Banyan explains that our emotions play a crucial role in ensuring our needs are met. If feelings are ignored, our subconscious mind must find another way to get its message across and help us see that our deeper needs are being ignored! More details information can be found by following this link - http://www.enlightenedfeelings.com/symptoms.html Everything on the Physical plane is a manifestation of something on the Metaphysical plane. When we speak of abundance, what we are really talking about is an abundance of emotional, mental and spiritual energy. We fill ourselves to the brim with these energies and it is the overflow that is manifest on the physical plane. The signs and symptoms that are apparent on the Physical plane lead us to inquire, ultimately, more deeply into ourselves as energetic and spiritual beings. We tend not to worry too much about this sort of thing when our body is working well, we are not feeling pain, or we are not in the throes of some chronic disease. But when our body feels pain or becomes disabled by disease or accident we tend to start reaching out for answers. We want to know why. Or maybe we don't even want to know why we just want to fix something we perceive is broken. Realistically, when our body refuses to do what we want it to, metaphysically, it is not actually broken. It is doing its job. One of its functions is to carry messages from the higher energetic planes to us. It is then up to us to interpret these messages and take action.

The following are only general observations, serving hopefully to illuminate areas that you can look at more closely in yourself or with the help of a Yoga Teacher/Holistic Therapist. You are the one who knows you best. As you go through these observations, try to expand your awareness beyond your own life to see also how these disharmonies are reflected in your own family, community … Ultimately it is our own choice to heal or not to heal and it is our own innate healing ability that is activated.

49 The Language of the Body/Mind In body/mind language, it is our legs and feet that reflect our feelings about our own direction, and whether it is the right one or not. Hips, legs and calves are how we move forward in life. Our legs, calves and feet store much of our trauma, resentment, jealousy and emotional pain, both past and present, especially in regards to your family. Problems in this area show a block in the root chakra, which triggers feelings of fear of moving forward or making changes. • You may feel stuck and unable to move forward. • You may be experiencing issues about your self-identity. • You may not feel any support in your life – as though you are the one supporting everyone else, or as though you can’t support yourself. Knees and feet carry the energy of our negative emotions – think of a child stamping their feet! This is because the vibration of negative emotions is lower, heavier and denser, causing these feelings to drop to the lowest point of our body. • Inflammation here shows you are nursing hurt feelings. • Stubborn, inflexible resentment goes to the knees and joints – the parts of your body that are designed to be open and flexible.

Reflective Questions If you wish to explore the mind/body link further, use the questions suggested here or maybe write down your own once you have read each section in more detail. Explore what was happening for you emotionally either at the time or before any physical issue began. You can write it all in a journal or sit with the questions in quiet reflection. Here’s some to get us started: • Are you being rigid, inflexible and un-forgiving? • Have you created too many rules in your life? • Are you holding on to the past and supporting the heavy weight of this burden? Remember there is no one final answer. The transformation comes by simply asking the questions themselves. Simply ask the questions and let the energy of your intent make the change – you don’t need to grasp for an answer – you just need to trust that the answer is there! The key to wisdom is asking all the right questions – John Simone

50 The Feet Such small things to carry such a big person above! How our feet do the job, every day, with so little complaint, is amazing. The feet are remarkable as through them we can connect with the whole body: meridian lines begin and end here, and reflexology points can stimulate each of the organs. • Our feet go first into the world, extending our moving energy outwards. It is a sign of growing up when we can "stand on our own two feet" and not be dependent on someone else. • "Putting our foot down" means not letting someone take advantage of us. • We "put our best foot forward" as we step into the world with courage and confidence. • If we "dig our heels in" it implies we are holding on tight to reality, stubbornness indicating a fear of change. If we extend too far or too quickly our toes may keep getting bruised or bumped. The toes are concerned with the smaller, more immediate issues, so make sure you are not missing the details in your desire to move forward. They also extend outwards first so they get to test the water before the rest of you steps in, but they are most likely to get knocked or trodden on when you are pushing forward too quickly or in the wrong direction. The feet often store toxic energies (grief or resentments), as far away from the Heart as possible. Often, these are issues that go all the way back to childhood. If we are unable to release these feelings the body will begin to store them (like it does fat) Over time, more and more toxic energies are stored and in some cases, the entire leg can become involved and the waste starts leaking back into the system causing major illness. Louise Hay suggests that feet represent our understanding of ourselves, of Life, and others, and toes represent minor details of the future. While it is legs that carry us forward into Life, it is the feet that actually make contact with the ground – sadly due to the amount of concrete on the ground we rarely get the opportunity to fully connect with the earth and its supporting energies – creating feelings of separation, isolation and ultimately fear … Reflective Questions • Is it your habit to be impulsive – to move too quickly? • Are you holding on to past pain? • How do you feel about change – have you had a recent change in direction? • What is stopping you from moving forward? • How often do you take your shoes off and feel dirt or grass beneath your feet? • Do you feel safe, nurtured and secure in all areas of your life?

51 The Ankles The ankles enable our entire body to stand upright and walk, a feat that is extraordinary given their narrowness and fragility. • Support is the key word here, as the ankles reflect the support we depend on from others and from the psychological and emotional beliefs that give our life meaning and purpose. When these are undermined then there is nothing to hold us upright. Ankles represent flexibility, which is important as one navigates the twists and turns of Life. Stiff, painful ankles may mean that change is difficult for you. Maybe you are one who digs in your heels and resists moving forward. The more Life forces change upon you, the deeper you dig in. Louise Hay suggests that ankles represent mobility and direction. A sprained or twisted ankle could indicates a lack of flexibility in our direction, causing the energy to twist or go in all directions at once. A broken ankle could indicate a very deep conflict about the ground we are standing on and support for where we are going. Perhaps you need to go in a new direction but you are resisting making the change?

Reflective Questions

• Have you lost your support system? • Are your beliefs being questioned? • What needs to be untwisted, unraveled, or redirected? • Are you being pulled in different directions? • What has damaged your ability to stand up for yourself? • Or have you finally reached your breaking point and can no longer stand something or someone?

52 The Shins The Shins represent another weak link. Although the Shins are mostly bone, the hardest substance in the body, they are actually quite sensitive and brittle. A slight whack on the Shins is not only painful; it weakens the entire body and stops it in its tracks! • When we have organized ourselves to move forward, to take the next step towards the goal we have set, and are in the process of taking it, something comes along and sends you tumbling. • It is something we trip over because we don't see it, even though it is right there in front of us. In ancient times the shin pads that worriers wore were called greaves. Very often what trips us up is something, the loss of which we haven't properly grieved. Moving forward always means something gets left behind. Interesting to note is that the three Yin channels of the foot all criss cross at Spleen 6 (Sanyinjiao), representing a confluence of Worry, Anger, and Fear. Louise Hay suggests that problems are fear of the future; not wanting to move ahead.

The Knees The knees allow us to bend, to concede, to give, especially to give way, and to kneel, an act of humbling ourselves to a higher power or authority. In kneeling we have to relinquish the ego; or we become stubborn and proud. Too much pride and we will stumble: remember the saying - pride comes before a fall! The knees are like shock absorbers, taking the strain between the weight of the body above and the ups and downs of the terrain below. They are major weight carriers, whether it is physical or psycho/emotional weight. In practice, every time we move forward in Life or approach change, we approach the unknown. We may feel vulnerable or unsure. We may stand still, stiff kneed resisting the winds of change. A consistently weak knee may show a resistance to giving way; the knee can no longer take the pressure so it collapses and we are unable to maintain our standing. To dislocate is to lose. What ground have you lost and what do you need to do to regain it?

Reflective Questions • Are you feeling arrogant, stiff or ungracious? • Are you holding on to pride and resisting humility? • Are you carrying too many emotional issues? • How can you reclaim your balance and dignity?

53 The Thighs The thighs are the link between the Hips & decisions, and the Knees & pride. Very often, when we have made a decision and take the next step, Pride gets in the way. "What if I look stupid? What if it's not right? What if it doesn't work out?" Our knees lock up or turn to jelly, and we are prevented from moving forward. • The pain that begins in the Hips and shoots down the Thigh (Sciatic Nerve), is the separation from our desire and decision to move forward and our Fear of falling flat on our ass. Louse Hay suggests that Upper Thigh problems represent retaining childhood trauma. When the direction we are going in is uncertain or fraught with conflict, this can be seen in the movement we make as we walk. There is a big difference between taking small uncertain steps and taking large confident strides; or one person may trip and stumble as they go, while another may move purposefully and gracefully. Strong legs give stability and the power to stand up for ourselves, but over-developed or very tense legs can make it hard to be spontaneous or to move with lightness. Reflective Questions Do you feel unsure of your place in the world? Do you feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities?

The Hips Hips represent decisions in Life, especially decisions about moving forward. Pain in the hips is a sign of being 'stuck', unable to make a decision, or see clearly what needs to be done next. The process of walking requires that we first thrust the hip forward and the leg etc. follows. This is actually, an act of faith on our part, since we are quite literally initiating a fall to the ground and trusting that our legs will save us. • The Gallbladder Channel traverses the hip, which again represents Courage and confidence to move forward. Louise Hay suggests that hip problems represent fear of going forward with major decisions. Hips represent the idea that the next step in your life is important. Pain or discomfort advises you to slow down or stop, look around, buy a map, or ask someone for directions.

54

Stability without freedom is rigidity Freedom without stability is recklessness….

55 Om Namah Pranaya, Pranaya Namah Om, Pranaya Swaha Om Namah Apanaya, Apanaya Namah Om, Apanaya Swaha Om Swaha, Namah Om

The chant above – for me – represents the principle of Sthira Sukha! Our Yoga practice is much more than cultivating strength and flexibility. Its ultimate aim is the management of PRANA – life force/energy. PRANA enables the body to move (sthira) and the mind to think (sukha) In this chant we honour three important energies within the body that go together to create balance and harmony on many levels. Not only in our Yoga practice but also in our life and the choices we make.

Om Namah Pranaya, Pranaya Namah Om, Pranaya Swaha PRANA – which represents sukha, the quality to be free and expressive, to move without blockage, to flow. We connect with this energy with each inhalation. It is linked to vitality – inspiration – our very essence, and allows us to honour all experience that comes into out life.

Om Namah Apanaya, Apanaya Namah Om, Apanaya Swaha APANA – which represents sthira, the quality of steadiness and strength, to be grounded and present. We connect with this energy with each exhalation. It is linked to confidence and our sense of purpose, and he need to let go/to release any binds so that we may fully experience Prana.

Om Swaha, Namah Om SAMANA – this part of the chant represents the need to digest and assimilate all that enters our body and mind. For optimal digestion we need to pause, to be present. Once we embody the principles of STHIRA SUKHA then we can fully connect to our centre of power at Manipura – allowing for transformation to take place!

This brings to mind a quote from one of my first Yoga teachers – he always used to say “Yoga makes the impossible, possible! I never fully understood what he meant at the time until I understood the deeper meaning of STHIRA SUKHA. I realised that strength does not mean to be rigid – and neither does softness allude to weakness. Practicing with these principles allows us to heal rather than harm our bodies – we create fluid lines, which reflect inner beauty and strength - a strength that has no bounds as the imagined outer strength may have!

56 Standing Posture A firm foundation is key to the integrity of any structure. Whether it is a building or a body, the part that contacts the earth must be strong and viable. Standing poses make us aware of our connection with the earth and teach us to be relaxed and balanced on our feet. We can then realign our foundation from the ankles, through the knees, to the pelvis and tailbone, thereby connecting the core of the body to the earth. By creating awareness of alignment, standing poses also cultivate kinesthetic intelligence—an organic understanding of how the body works and moves. This prevents us from exceeding our capacity and thereby injuring our joints. Because standing poses require us to actively engage our awareness of how we use our muscles, joints, and breath, they build both mental and physical stamina as well as discipline. And, as with all the postures, standing poses improve circulation, breathing, and energy; as the body opens, energy flows more freely, and all the body’s systems work more fluidly. No matter what else you might want to explore in the vast world of yoga, practicing the standing poses will give you a solid foundation, good alignment, an understanding of body mechanics, and tangible training in mindfulness. The standing poses will help you wherever your journey leads—to the most advanced asanas, to a deeper meditation practice, or to simply becoming more aware and joyful in your body. We can separate standing postures in to two categories • Symmetrical Postures – which means that both sides of the body are doing the same thing at the same time. For example … - Samasthiti (standing) & Utkatsana (chair) etc • Asymmetrical Postures – which means that two halves of the body are doing different things. For example … - Virabhadrasana (Warrior 1 & 2) – Trikonasana (Triangle) etc Standing poses also include balancing postures – such as Vrkshasana (Tree) Garudasana (eagle) amongst many others!

57 Physical Benefits of Standing Postures One of the major benefits is that they are accessible to all. • You don’t need a lot of experience or flexibility to practice them • They can also offer gentle challenge the body in a safe and considered way (with props & modification) • Provide an opportunity to explore alignment due to the range of motion and freedom of movement (which is very different to seated or supine postures) • Great for increasing space and flexibility in the hips and are more accessible than seated hip openers for most • Help to develop balance and boost circulation

Energetic Benefits of Standing Postures From an energetic and emotional point of view standing postures are • Invigorating – they help us build confidence and feel courageous and strong. • Empowering – and also grounding as our feet are connected to the earth • Balancing to Apana Vayu (see page 44) – the downward moving energy in the body

58 Key Actions of Standing Postures Samasthiti (standing) is the foundation standing posture from which all others evolve. We can use this pose to understand the foundation the feet provide. • Come to standing with the feet hip distance (2 fists between feet) and parallel (middle of ankle joint in line with second toe) • Place a block between the thighs and begin to hug with the inner thighs • Slowly begin to sit down as if in a chair – notice how the butt begins to stick out (or if you resist the back rounds /becomes tense) • Now squeeze the block with the front of the thighs a little more than the back of the thighs – this helps to move the heads of the thigh bones back into the hip sockets, which is where we want them to be for standing poses. At the same time root your tailbone straight down as if you were driving a stake into the ground – then slowly straighten the legs NOTE – always leave a microbend in the knees so your feet remain active and grounded, hips relaxed and your thighs alive.

• By squeezing the front of the block we create a slight nutation in the sacrum – which means the top of the pelvis and sacrum is moving in which encourages a neutral curve in the spine. • Another important alignment action is to keep the back of the head in line with the back of the pelvis – which will help to support the stability in our core • We can further work with the actions of the legs and pelvis in standing postures by becoming aware of the two frontal hip bones – the anterior and superior iliac spines • The muscles in between these bones are the transverse abdominals which is also linked to the multifidus which effects the sacrum and the spine MORE PLUS PICTURES • To feel these we can bring our hands on to the hips and bend the knees slowly as if to sit in a chair and at the same time feel as if your pulling the hip bones together - this automatically supports the squeeze at the fron of the block - as you stand up this time imagine you are zipping up from your lower belly to the navel

59 Lets recap on all the key actions in samasthithi • Foundation in the feet • Thighs moving back (without locking the knees) • Engagement between the hip bones • Engagement between the pubic bones and the navel to support the lower back • The back of the head in line with the pelvis

Think about a classic misalignment in Triangle Posture when a student takes their hand too low on the front leg – the back of the head can swing way forward of the pelvis – distorting and placing pressure on the legs, spine and hips and undermining any benefit the posture may offer ….. Similar misalignments can occur with warrior 1 when the chest sways forward into the lunge once again taking the back of the head out of line of the pelvis!

60 The Leg Columns The leg is composed of five distinct sections: upper leg, knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot. The upper leg begins at the hip and continues down to the knee. The only bone in this region is the femur, the largest bone in the body. The femur’s head creates the ball of the ball-and- socket-style hip joint. The base of the femur makes up part of the knee. The major muscles in the upper leg are the hamstrings and quadriceps. The hamstrings are three muscles at the back of the thigh that affect hip and knee movement. The quadriceps—the strongest and leanest muscles in the body—are a four-muscle group at the front of the thigh that work to extend the knee and lower leg. The knee is a pivot-like hinge joint in the leg that connects the bones in the upper and lower leg. It is the largest joint in the human body. The knee is where the femur in the upper leg meets with the tibia and fibula bones in the lower leg. Another bone, the patella or kneecap, is at the center of the knee. The knee joint is composed of numerous tendons, ligaments, and protective elements, such as cartilage and bursa. These connective and protective tissues keep the bones in place and prevent them from grinding against each other while allowing the knee joint to flex and twist slightly. The lower leg contains two bones. The tibia is the second largest bone in the leg. It meets the femur to create the knee. The fibula, the other bone in the lower leg, is connected to the tibia below the knee joint. There are about 20 muscles in the lower leg. These do everything from helping to raise the lower leg to wiggling the toes. Many muscles that power foot movements begin as high up as the back of the knee and extend down to the foot. Possibly the most important structure in the lower leg is the Achilles tendon. It connects three muscles—the plantaris, calf, and soleus—to the heel bone. It stores the elastic energy needed for running, jumping, and other physical activity.

61 Yoga & the Achilles Tendon The Achilles tendon, a fibrous connective tissue, joins the calf muscles to the heel bone. Unlike a muscle, the Achilles tendon does not contract to create force, although it does channel force during actions like walking and jumping. Most styles of yoga focus on stretching and strengthening muscles, not connective tissue. Stiff muscles can lead to a sore Achilles tendon or Achilles tendonitis, which can be aggravated by certain yoga poses.

The Calf Muscles The largest calf muscle is called the Gastrocnemius and it has 2 attachments above the back of the knee – making the knee more stable and providing greater power for locomotion. • It also creates a resistance when the leg is straightened so that it doesn’t keep going into hyperextension.

This is important to note as its also relevant to how we hold the feet in a forward bend to get a balanced stretch to the hamstring – and also reminds us that nothing works in isolation in the body .. Activating the calf muscle in Warrior 2 for instance not only plants the foot it also holds and stabilizes the knee in position.

Tight muscles in the Legs Tight muscles in the legs, especially in the lower legs can potentially cause Achilles tendonitis. Tight leg muscles arise from standing for long periods, wearing high heels or poorly fitted shoes and from exercising without stretching (running & cycling). During your yoga practice, overextending a stretch or holding a stretch for too short a time without do care and attention can increase muscle tension and could possibly lead to Achilles tendonitis. Be aware Handle Achilles tendonitis carefully. A sore Achilles tendon can tear, requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery period – so it is important to listen to your body when practcing and if teaching be aware and available for students to share concerns. Unless correctly modified, standing yoga poses, forward folds and downward dog may

62 aggravate Achilles tendonitis. Stretching past your comfort level in any yoga pose also increases your chances of injury. It is important to reduce the speed and intensity of yoga poses to successfully work with a sore Achilles tendon. During yoga class work at your own pace. Execute each pose slowly and carefully and modify if necessary … Considerations & Modifications Modifications to basic poses help protect the Achilles tendon. • Try warrior I with your feet positioned as in crescent lunge so that only the ball of the back foot is touching the floor. • Engage the hamstring muscle of the back leg to support the work of the calf muscles. • Begin downward dog with knees bent. Slowly straighten the knees until you just begin to feel the calf stretch, then hold for at least 15 seconds. Forcing the heels to the floor in downward dog will aggravate Achilles tendonitis. The legs can be walked but slowly holding each movement for a short while for the muscles to relax. • Move into forward folds slowly until you just begin to feel a stretch – bending the knees to take any pressure away from the Achilles. Keep the toes spread whilst gently lifting into the tail but avoid locking out through the knees.

Stretching the Calf Muscles Many of the stretches that can be found on page 34 in the section on Plantar Fasciitis will help to gently stretch the calf muscles, which in turn alleviate pressure on the Achilles. Here are a few more ideas: • Utkatasana (Chair posture) – with the bottom against a wall to take away downward pressure • Uttanasana (Forward bend) – both standing and seated versions. With standing make sure to bend the knees, extend the big toes and lift through the tail to lengthen the legs. In seated variations use a strap around the foot to take pressure away from back and isolate attention on the legs. • Supta Padanghustasana (Reclined hand to big toe) – use a strap around the foot over the ball of the foot. Gently flex the heel whilst keep the toes spread. • Happy baby – specifically working to draw the shins perpendicular to the floor • Lunge – release the back knee to the floor and then gently flexing into the back leg whilst keeping the toes actively spread.

63 The Joints

Every joint has major ligaments that hold the joints together – but because joints need to be nourished they separate themselves from the surrounding tissue by forming a capsule. This material is not very strong but it adds stability to the joint and also creates a closed space to keep lubrication for freedom of movement. To get a sense of this think in terms of how arthritis can effect the joint – Rheumatoid- arthritis tends to create inflammation to the joint making it swell and with Osteo-arthritis the joint looses lubrication creating pain in the joint …

The foot and the knee help the body to absorb shock! This forms the basic structure of the legs, which are surrounded by the groups of muscles that are responsible for the actions at that particular joint i.e the thigh to the shin bone and the shin bone to the foot and ankle.

Basic Anatomy Language Before we go any further it is good to understand some basic concepts and language and indeed why we are exploring the body in relation to our practice. • A ligament is a fibrous connective tissue which attaches bone to bone – basically it holds our skeleton together keeping the whole structure stable. • A tendon serves to move the body as it attaches the muscle to the bones • A muscle is a mass of tissue capable of contraction and relaxation to produce movement The ligaments, tendons and muscles create the perfect environment for the concept of Sthira Sukha or effortless effort as the combination of all parts of the body used wisely work in perfect harmony. We can with great awareness create a harmonious relationship between every part of our body to work with ease in every shape we choose to practice …

64 The Knee Joint One way joints pad themselves is by lining their ends with cartilage. The meniscus is a C shaped spongy pad of cartilage that acts as a cushion between our shinbone and thighbone. This cushion needs to be soft enough to actually cushion, then rebound – but strong enough to manage repetitive use. The meniscus is vulnerable because of its softness – so it is easy to tear when the rotation of the knee or the joint pinches it! The kneecap is also lined with cartilage that glides allowing the patella to move – cartilage is the body’s version of Teflon and it will resist wear and tear as long as it’s lubricated well.

What is your knee telling you? Many people have knees that crack or pop when they squat down and it’s generally nothing to worry about if it isn’t associated with pain or swelling. If there is pain or swelling then its best to seek medical advise straight away! • As we age the cartilage that protects the knee can develop uneven areas. When we squat or stand, sounds come from these rougher surfaces gliding across each other. • It could also be ligaments, tightening as you move, or the joint lining moving over bones. Possible injuries Meniscus tears - Tears to the meniscus are often caused by sudden twisting. In young people, tears usually happen during a traumatic event, but as we age the meniscus can tear more easily. Cartilage injury or wear. Sometimes the cartilage covering of our bones can be injured, causing a piece to break off and catch in our joint. Typically the knee will respond to this injury by swelling or catching (the lining of the kneecap makes its own fluid so it’s a local response). Cartilage in your knee can also wear thin or break down, commonly known as arthritis.

Damage can occur when we try to correct the front knee in Warrior 2 when the hip is either too tight or held in position – so all the strain is transferred to the knee …

65 Cruciate Ligaments The word cruciate means to cross and that is exactly what these stabilizers do – they cross the knee front and back. • The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) crosses at the front of the knee • The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) crosses at the back of the knee These ligaments along with the ones at the sides of the knee help to keep the knee functioning as a hinge joint. They also help limit the amount of forward and backward movement that the knee has. So it is important with this in mind that we don’t over emphasize movement/mobility.

ALWAYS MAINTAIN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOBILITY & STABILITY!

The Common Theme There are re-occurring themes from joint to joint – when there is good alignment of the columns (i.e. the shinbones and the thighbones) and what’s above them (the hips) – then the ligaments don’t need much help to hold and align the body, keeping it upright! Think about bad posture here and how hard the body has to work to stay standing! Its only when we are in motion that the muscles become much more necessary for supporting alignment. Possible causes of injury to the cruciate ligaments This list is by no mean definitive and is merely to allow you pause for thought ;) • Lunge – the knee being way forward of the ankle • Warrior 2 – twisting the knee to align rather than moving the hip • Tree – too much pressure from raised foot on the knee • Pigeon –spread the toes & extend thru ball of foot to protect the twisted knee • Triangle – hyper extending through the front leg

The ligaments of the knee are about stability and alignment so lets remind ourselves once again that our practice is not about getting these structures to move beyond their

66 natural range of motion. There is always a certain amount of rotation even in a hinge joint – but too much can cause injury. It’s always best to keep this in mind when working with postures that can over-extend or distort the knees as shown in the examples below …

We are most definitely not trying to stretch ligaments when practicing Yoga – we are in fact stretching the muscle!

Ligaments, Tendons & Muscles Lets remind ourselves of the distinction between ligaments and tendons

A tendon has the ability to stretch, as does the muscle – but a ligament needs to set and define the limits of the movement and motion of the joint.

People with loose ligaments tend to hyper extend – there are also those that have naturally tight ligaments. So its safe to say that we all have different natural ranges of movement in our ligaments and that if we have less range we can easily damage them by trying to over extend ….

67 Optimal Alignment

When we create optimal alignment in our poses we place less demand on our ligaments. One example of this could be plank pose – if the hands aren’t under the shoulders with the long bones of the arms in alignment then the strain will be felt in the muscles of the shoulders as they will have to overwork to create stability.

It’s important to feel and be aware of our own limits in our practice. When we FEEL – we begin to differentiate between the end point in terms of range met by LIGAMENTS – and the ability to stretch further by working into and releasing TENDONS & MUSCLES …

What does the word “flexibility” mean – there are several descriptions in the dictionary • the quality of bending easily without breaking. • the ability to be easily modified • willingness to change or compromise. As well as being aware of the physicality of the posture - we can ask ourselves what are we holding on to when we are in a pose and feeling trapped or confined. Can we refine our awareness to such a subtle extent that we realize the difference between a natural resistance in the muscle and a remembered one in our mind?

Over-challenging Ligaments! Ligaments are less forgiving than muscles and tendons. Injury may not happen immediately but over time – which makes correct understanding and alignment an important part of our practice … As does honouring STABILITY (sthira) along side MOBILITY (sukha)

MOBILITY of a joint is not the same as STRETCHING a joint – we must do our best to remember this. A joint that doesn’t move will eventually loose MOBILITY.

So keep MOVING ….

68 The Thigh Muscles

These muscles are very large in relation to others in the body and often the size of the muscles tells us about their function and how much demand is placed on them. In order to give power to the knee joint for walking, running, jumping and indeed our Yoga practice we need to have force across the knee joint. • The Quadriceps main job is to straighten the knee – this happens as it contracts and pulls at the tendon that crosses over the front of the kneecap. • The Hamstrings main job is to bend the knee – or pull it back into extension. The tendon that assists this movement crosses from the back of the leg to the outside/front of the leg as it needs the leverage to do its action

NOTE – This is similar to the arch of the foot where tendons cross under the foot to lift the arch

In short the Quadriceps & Hamstrings are the major muscles at the front and back of the thigh that give movement to the knee. • We have muscles to the sides of the thigh also but these relate to the hip – allowing it to rotate, move back and forwards as well as towards and away from the midline …

69 Yoga Therapy for Your Knees With a simple anatomy lesson, isometric exercises (contraction of particular muscle groups to build strength and stability) and attention to alignment in standing poses, you can undo chronic pain in your knees. If you have chronic pain in your knees, if they “snap, crackle, and pop” when you bend or extend them, or if they tend to hyperextend, you may have improper tracking or “dislocation” of the kneecap. This misalignment causes the most common kind of chronic knee pain and damage to the knee joint, which develop slowly over time.

How the knee works ;) The kneecap is designed to slide along a groove in the femur, and it has to move smoothly within that groove to do its job well. If it goes “off track” (and it often does), it grinds away at the cartilage underneath and destabilizes the knee. The ensuing wear and tear is a key reason for knee replacement surgery, which a lot of people believe is necessary because they think the cartilage is “gone.” But the truth is that cartilage can grow back, albeit slowly. The main problem is that if we don’t correct the imbalanced pull of muscles on the kneecap, we will continue to grind our cartilage down faster than our body can replenish it.

Why does the knee go off Track? The cause lies mainly in the quadriceps, a group of four muscles that merge just above the knee into a single quadriceps tendon. This tendon surrounds and attaches to the kneecap, continuing down below the kneecap as the patellar ligament, where it attaches to the tibia (shin bone). The kneecap serves an important mechanical function. The quadriceps tendon passes over the kneecap like a rope over a pulley, and the kneecap— like a pulley—increases the strength of the quadriceps to straighten the leg by 30 percent. Together, the quadriceps and the kneecap form the “extensor mechanism” for straightening the leg.

Misalignments come when the “rope” of the quadriceps exerts a sideways pull on the kneecap “pulley,” creating friction in the mechanism.

70 Misalignments of the knee in various postures can amplify the imbalances that lead to injury and can aggravate existing problems instead of correcting them. The good news is that good alignment and proper tracking are easy to achieve—once you know what to pay attention to. Why Are We Prone to Knee Problems? Our bodies are predisposed to injuries of the extensor mechanism because the hip joints are wider than the knees in a neutral standing position. The natural Y-shaped configuration to the leg bones promotes uneven contraction of the quadriceps, and problems such as hyperextension of the knees make these natural imbalances even worse. As a result, when we contract the quadriceps to straighten the leg, the unevenness of the contraction tends to pull the kneecap to the outside, thanks to the greater pull of the outermost quadriceps (the vastus lateralis). The innermost quadriceps (the vastus medialis) is most responsible for counteracting this pull. This muscle tends to be weak and underused, while the outer thigh muscle tends to be stronger from overuse. So if you want to keep the knee healthy (i.e., tracking properly in its femoral groove), you need to learn to strengthen the vastus medialis.

Structural misalignments tend to limit the vastus medialis' proper functioning and can even weaken it in relation to the other quadriceps muscles, making it even harder to work with. The Challenge of Working with the Inner Quad Yoga students are often told to “lift the kneecaps” in straight-legged poses to engage their quadriceps and, ostensibly, protect their knees from hyperextension. But lifting the kneecaps in a healthy and balanced way requires focused attention, especially if you already have problems in your knees.

Check your knees now with this simple test Sit or stand with your legs straight and your feet parallel to each other, then engage your thigh muscles so that your kneecaps “lift” or pull toward your hips. Do your kneecaps move up in a straight line, or do they move in an angle toward the outside of your knees? If the latter is the case, then you need to strengthen the vastus medialis, the inner quad, and learn how to use it properly.

71 The first challenge is that it can be difficult to find and isolate this muscle, because you can feel the vastus medialis firming most only in the last 10 to 20 degrees of knee extension. So it takes focused attention to even feel and understand what the muscle does. Second, structural misalignments that cannot be changed (like being knock-kneed or bowlegged) tend to limit the vastus medialis’s proper functioning—and can even weaken it in relation to the other quadriceps muscles, making it even harder to work with. Finally, although engaging the vastus medialis properly can prevent hyperextension of the knee, doing so is essentially useless if the knee is already hyperextended. Which is why it’s important to consciously avoid hyperextension in the first place, rather than relying on the strengthening exercises to prevent it. This is critical, because the habit of hyperextension will otherwise pull you right back into your imbalanced patterns of knee extension even after you do the work of strengthening the vastus medialis.

Here’s what you can do to keep your kneecaps tracking properly: • Find your vastus medialis, the inner quadriceps muscle. • Strengthen it with small extension exercises. • Continue to strengthen the vastus medialis in bent-knee warrior poses. • Incorporate that work into straight-legged asanas.

72 How to Strengthen Your Inner Quad Isometric extensions will help you identify the inner quad and its action as you strengthen it. • To do this, sit in dandasana (staff pose) with your legs extended forward. Support your upper back against a wall if that’s more comfortable. • Roll up a small blanket or sticky mat and place it under your knees to prevent hyperextension while your quadriceps are contracted. • Next, rotate your right leg out 10 to 15 degrees (if the sole of your foot were on a clock face, your toes would be pointing to one o’clock). • To find the vastus medialis, place your fingers about one inch above the inner (or medial) corner of your kneecap, and then walk your fingers about one and a half inches toward the inner thigh. • Straighten your leg slowly to feel the quadriceps engage. You’re looking in particular for the firming of the teardrop-shaped muscle just under your fingers. This is the vastus medialis, the inner quadriceps. • You will feel it fully engage as your leg straightens completely. Hold the contraction for 8 to 10 seconds, then release. Repeat this for two more rounds, making sure you don’t extend the leg so hard that you feel locking or pinching in the knee. • Repeat this exercise with the left leg. Try doing the same exercise without rotating the leg out. • Keep your leg aligned so that your kneecap faces straight up toward the ceiling. • Extend your leg fully and see if you can engage the inner part of the quadriceps— where you’re touching with your fingers—as strongly as you can engage the outer part of the quadriceps. • Watch how your kneecap moves in a straight line along the center of the knee joint when your quads are engaged in a balanced way, rather than pulling to the outside. • Repeat on the other leg. • You can do these exercises several times a day—just be careful not to fatigue the muscle by doing too many sets at a time.

73 The Warrior Poses

Warrior poses (virabhadrasana I and II), in which the front leg is bent and the back leg is straight, are particularly effective for strengthening the vastus medialis, if done with proper alignment and action. Because although it’s easiest to isolate this muscle’s action when the leg is fully extended, it is also engaged and strengthened when the knee is bent at a 90 degree angle and the leg is bearing weight—as long as the knee is positioned vertically over the heel and the inner heel remains grounded.

To come into the pose, step your feet wide apart, while extending your arms out to either side. Your feet should be roughly beneath your wrists. Turn your left foot in about 30 degrees and your right leg out 90 degrees. Keep your torso upright as you bend your right knee. Make sure your knee does not go beyond your ankle and toes: Keep the shin vertical while striving to bring the thigh parallel to the floor, so the leg is bent at a right angle. If the knee goes beyond your ankle and your weight shifts into your toes, widen the distance between your feet. Turn your head to look out over your right fingertips. Even when your stance is the proper width and your knee bends to a right angle, a common—and harmful—misalignment is to let the thigh turn inward so that the knee points more toward the big toe. This happens especially when the arch of the foot collapses, which places stress on the inner knee and prevents you from strengthening the quadriceps in a balanced way. A less common misalignment is to shift the weight to the outer edge of the foot, so that the knee turns more toward the little toe. In this case the muscles along the outer thigh tighten, and the outer (lateral) side of the knee is stressed. In this case, too, the vastus medialis doesn’t function properly.

74

TO PROTECT THE KNEE make sure it’s above the second toe and that both the toe and the knee are on the same plane as the sit bone. If the vastus medialis is not properly engaged the knee falls inward. The vastus laterialis then pulls the kneecap outward, stressing the inner knee. When the weight shifts to the lower heel, the knee splays out over the little toes and stresses the inner knee. Proper alignment in the warrior pose allows the vastus medialis to work in harmony with the other quadriceps to align and strengthen the extensor mechanism of the knee. Misalignments, on the other hand, disable the vastus medialis and increase the muscular imbalances that cause wear in the knee. You can protect your knees and strengthen the vastus medialis by following three basic rules for the warrior poses.

First, make sure your knee is bent properly to a right angle, so the weight is centered in your heel. If your toes are gripping, it’s a sign that your knee is going too far beyond your heel. Second, don’t let the inner arch of your foot collapse, for this is a sign that your knee is turning inward too much. We sometimes compensate for this collapse by shifting weight to the outer edge of the foot, causing the inner heel to lift. But this stresses the outer knee and defeats the purpose of the pose. The challenge of aligning the knee is to keep your inner heel and big toe mound grounded while keeping the inner arch of the foot lifted. These two actions—grounding and lifting—will keep the knee from turning inward or outward too much. Lift your toes to help engage and lift the inner arch; as you bend your knee, draw the energy from the inner arch up through the calf to your inner knee, so that your knee remains directly over your heel and does not turn inward.

75 Third, make sure that the heel, kneecap, and hip joint of your bent leg are in the same plane by allowing a slight turn of the hips. (If you were doing the pose next to a wall, your outer right ankle, knee, and hip would all be touching it.) To achieve this, when you bend your knee, let your outer hip descend toward the floor (as if you had something heavy in your hip pocket) as you lift energy from your inner arch up through your inner knee. This will make your leg spiral out as you bend it, until your heel, kneecap, and hip joint are all aligned. The purpose of these three actions in the bent leg is to ensure that all four quadriceps muscles are working harmoniously to stabilize the knee. As a result, the vastus medialis gets a much-needed workout that brings it into balance with the other quadriceps. To confirm this, gently pinch your thigh above the inner knee to check that the muscle there—the vastus medialis—is as firm as the thigh muscles at the outer knee.

Standing poses can strengthen and stabilize your knees, helping you to overcome structural imbalances that might otherwise lead to chronic wear and tear (and ensuing pain) in your knees.

76 Awakening the Inner Warrior Virabhadra was a great and noble warrior sage of pre-ancient times, said to have been borne form a single hair of Shiva’s head. The birth of this powerful hero heralded a new light in the world, as under the command of Lord Shiva himself, Virabhadra set about destroying all that was unjust, weak, slothful and proud among the nature of men. The warrior postures are dedicated to this powerful Kshatriya, for in these postures that bear his name we too are called into battle. Yet this battle that we are fighting is an inner battle and this warrior that we are awakening is an inner warrior. A warrior within ourselves that has the mental and physical strength, endurance and faith, to enter the fire of practice without getting burnt. A warrior forged in the inner fire of spiritual discipline and yet a warrior with the wisdom to understand that the true hero is the one who surrenders to the joy within the intensity of the pose, not the one who fights the pain within the intensity of the pose. The scope of the warrior group of postures is great. Warrior 1 strengthens the heart and prepares the back for deeper back bending. Warrior 2 opens the groin and inspires poise teaching us to work energy through the arm lines by releasing tension in the shoulders. Reverse Warrior 2 reminds us the importance of and to take greater weight into the back leg to balance out our foundation. Side angle pose draws the incredible line of energy along the side of the body, and teaches us to surrender into our lunge. Bowing Warrior provides intense stretch through the front hamstring, but also teaches us the value of core strength and support. Warrior 3 reminds us of the importance of firm uncompromising extension as in all our balancing poses. All the warriors generate a deep even strength through the legs and openness through the hips and the heart. This strength helps to balance out our growing flexibility. Playing the Edge in Warrior Postures The art of the practice is to be able to deliberately centre the degree of edge we are experiencing within the pose, so it feels just right. To be able to turn the heat and intensity up or down according to: • Our inner feeling • The ease and flow of the breath • Our ability to smile inwardly within the pose • The question is always ‘am I loving what I am doing’?

77 Deepening the Stretch Learn to patiently flirt with the edge in such a way that the body remains relaxed. If we force into the posture too quickly the muscles will naturally contract in order to protect themselves from over-stretch. So the skill is to approach the stretch in such a way that the body doesn’t resist you coming. No Hurry Letting go of hurry is one of the keys to success. Try having a direction without getting caught up in the destination. Spend the first couple of breaths exploring the pose find out where the edge is but give it lots of room, establish your breath rhythm, set yourself up, see how it feels. Then deliberately fill your shape out with inhalation before beginning to play more intimately with the resistance. The feeling is one of growing into the posture rather than simply imposing a shape on the body. The Foundation Try increasing the current of stretch running through the back leg line, so that the distribution of weight evens out between the two legs. This will reduce the intensity in the front thigh and allow you to explore a greater feeling of ease and poise within the postures. The Warrior Breath Understanding the breath in intense and challenging postures is a vital part of our practice. Each breath has a very distinct quality. The Inhalation Grounds the feet and draws power into the back leg so that the foundation becomes strong enough to draw the abdominals back and lift the wave of inhalation up through the front of the body, expanding the rib cage and travelling outwards through the lines of the arms. The Exhalation Whilst maintaining the stretch and pace created by the inhalation – use the exhalation to let go into the hip or hamstring. In this way we find the balance between the will of the inhalation and the surrender of the exhalation.

78 Trikonasana – Triangle Posture Proper alignment of the knee in the warrior poses automatically gives the vastus medialis a healthy workout. Now you can apply these same actions to the straight- legged poses like trikonasana, in which working the vastus medialis consciously is more challenging. • Step your feet wide apart, turning your left foot in 45 degrees and your right leg out 90 degrees, toward the edge of your mat. • Bend your right knee slightly and align your heel, knee, and hip as in warrior pose. Then straighten the leg mindfully, engaging the vastus medialis, especially in the last 20 degrees of extension. • If you engage this muscle properly and your leg is aligned as you straighten it, you’ll see your kneecap draw straight up your leg, and you’ll find it nearly impossible to lock your knee. • But if you let go of the vastus medialis even for an instant, the knee can easily hyperextend and lock into that position. • Fold at the hip crease to take trikonasana to the right. Keep the vastus medialis firm and lift along your inner thigh, maintaining the straightness of your leg without locking the knee. • If you feel pressure in the knee joint, you’ve probably relaxed the vastus medialis and hyperextended your knee. Come out of the pose and try again. • As a bonus for good alignment, you’ll feel a stronger stretch along the inner edge of your thigh, from your inner knee back toward your sit bone. Be careful not to overstretch: use the support of a block for your hand if you need it. Conclusion The standing poses of hatha yoga provide powerful and effective means for strengthening and stabilizing your knees, helping you to overcome structural imbalances that might otherwise lead to chronic wear and tear (and ensuing pain) in your knees. A little extra mindfulness in aligning and working your legs in these poses will enhance the natural therapeutic benefits these poses have to offer.

79 A Tip for Helping Hyperextended Knees in Yoga Trikonasana – Triangle Posture We are sometimes instructed to "hug the thigh bone" in a yoga class. • This is an example of co-activation. You can use a series of cues that isolate the different muscles surrounding a bone in order to achieve this effect. – by applying this technique we can correct hyperextension of the knee. • Begin by isolating the hamstrings. The cue for this is to slightly bend the knee and attempt to "scrub," or drag, the front foot toward the back, as shown. The mat will prevent the foot from moving, but the hamstrings will engage. The hamstrings are knee flexors and contracting them prevents hyperextension. • Then, maintaining tension in these muscles, engage the quadriceps to straighten the knee. From this image you can see that this agonist/antagonist muscle group, the hamstrings and quadriceps, surrounds the femur and crosses the knee joint. • Co-contracting these muscles creates the "hug" that we sometimes hear about and prevents hyperextension of the knee in the pose.

80 You can also use the big toe flexors—the flexors hallucis longus and brevis to aid in counteracting knee hyperextension in Trikonasana.

First, follow the cue outlined above for co-contracting the quadriceps and hamstrings to align the femur and tibia. • Then press the fleshy part of the big toe into the mat. This engages the big toe flexors. Because the floor prevents the toe from fully flexing, this force is transmuted to drawing the knee forward and out of hyperextension. In effect, it synergizes the attempt to drag the front foot towards the back one.

Read more about the big toe flexors and how you can use them to counteract the pelvis drifting back in.. standing forward bends and one-legged standing poses such as Ardha Chandrasana and Warrior III

81 Muscles move in pairs The muscles of the body allow movement to occur at the joints – for this to happen effectively they need to work in pairs. Ray Long describes this wonderfully in his article below – to read this article via the internet and access moving examples follow this LINK Reciprocal Inhibition The concept of the balanced Yin/Yang appears throughout the body. It is present in anatomy where the form of a joint fits its function. Joints that require stability are less mobile and those requiring mobility are less stable. Look at the shape of the hip and shoulder joints to see this concept in action. Similarly, there are a number of physiological feedback loops that balance the flow of energy in the body. One of these is the primitive spinal cord reflex known as reciprocal inhibition. This reflex causes the antagonist muscle to relax when the synergist contracts. The Biomechanical Yin/Yang Muscles fall into two basic groups, depending on what we are doing at any given moment. • For example, the quadriceps are the agonists for extending or straightening the knee. The hamstrings stretch when the knee extends and so are the antagonists for this action. • The hamstrings become the agonist muscle when the knee bends and the quadriceps become the antagonist. • This is a biomechanical Yin/Yang. Agonists and Antagonists in Janu Sirsasana

In the straight leg, the quadriceps (green) is the agonists and the hamstrings (red) are the antagonists.

In the flexed leg. The hamstrings (green) are the agonist and the quadriceps (red) are the antagonists

82 Reciprocal Inhibition—A Physiological Yin/Yang It makes sense that there would be a corresponding physiological Yin/Yang to make biomechanical processes such as flexion and extension of the knee energy efficient, i.e., when the agonist muscle contracts, its antagonist relaxes. This process occurs unconsciously through a primitive spinal cord reflex arc that scientists call “reciprocal inhibition.” We can consciously access this reflex arc to deepen and improve our poses.

• In Paschimottanasana, the quadriceps muscle is the agonist and the hamstring muscles are the antagonists. Consciously engaging the quadriceps also signals the hamstrings to relax. • This takes place via the spinal cord. The nerve impulse that results in contraction of the quadriceps is called excitatory (1) and the impulse to the hamstrings is called inhibitory (2). • Try this technique to get a bit deeper in this pose and then apply it to different agonist / antagonist muscle groups. • Note the added biomechanical benefit of improved alignment in your pose when you use this technique.

83 Practice tips: • Always build contraction of a muscle gently and slowly. This aids to minimize the risk of injury and soreness. • Learn to "regulate" the force of muscle contraction, especially those of large muscles like the quadriceps. • Combine reciprocal inhibition with the technique outlined for the muscle spindle to attain greater relaxation of the muscles you are stretching. This combination is the first part of the "Bandha Yoga Codex." • Allow ample time for recovery between practices. • Always practice under the guidance of an experienced teacher. • Always, in your particular case, consult your health care provider before doing yoga or any exercise program. If you are new to integrating anatomy into your practice, remember that it is not necessary to memorize this technique on your first pass. Begin by enjoying the beautiful images of the body in yoga. This alone will awaken your brain's awareness of the anatomy during your practice. Return at a later date for a closer look and then gently go through the motions illustrated above as you practice. Then leave it. Your unconscious mind will create new circuitry while you rest. Enjoy this process, and when you return to the mat you will be surprised at how easily you access this technique.

84 Protecting the Knees Yoga is known and advertised for its healing powers and ability to transform your body and mind. However, it’s also a physical exercise and often a vigorous one. As such, if done without the correct knowledge, it can also cause pain, imbalance and even major injury. It’s vitally important to be mindful to potential trouble spots when you’re teaching or practicing to keep your body healthy and help your yoga experience remain empowering — and last a lifetime. Four Postures to move from Knee Strain to Gain! The four poses below exemplify how the knees can be taken out of alignment during yoga, and since the principles of alignment apply to your whole practice, you can use the information to keep an eye on all your other poses, too. An added bonus is that when you free your knees, you’ll gain more strength and stability, and your body will release into flexibility more fully. So when your knees win, so do you!

Before playing with these suggestions please warm the body in your normal way. Be mindful and work within your own boundaries and felt sense …….

High Lunge When you’re in Down Dog, as you step one foot forward toward a lunge preparation, you want to hit two points of alignment right away: • Step your foot to the same thumb (right foot to right thumb), not to centre between your hands. • When you come up, this will bring your knee wider, pointing directly forward from your hip joint rather than buckling the knee in toward centre, moving it off of the hip line. You’ll bring the weight on your knee joint into balance. • Keep your toes and fingertips in the same line, so your foot is all the way up, not lagging back behind your hands. When you come up, this will ensure that with a bent front leg, your knee will hover over your heel or back toward your body more, but not jut out over your foot, causing pressure over the front of your knee. Applies to: Any standing pose where you step forward with a bent front knee such as Warrior I and II, Side Angle, Reverse Warrior, Chair Pose, Eagle Pose

85 Warrior I Bring your awareness to your back leg in this pose. One rule of knee health to observe: Your toes, knee and center of the hip should all be facing the same angle. This means that if your back toes are facing diagonally out in a 45-degree angle, then your knee should also be turned to face the same direction as the toes — to 45. • The problem arises from a commonly taught but incorrect instruction that can wreak havoc on the knee joint: “Square your hips forward in Warrior I.” I hear this in many a yoga class — and it’s anatomically misaligned. With your back foot anchored at 45 degrees, if you try and turn your hips farther forward than 45 degrees, it’s your knee joint that will take the twist. Now, sometimes yoga twists are good, but in this case, the knee is not meant to twist and doing so can cause chronic tweaks or serious damage. • So, when in your Warrior I, allow your back hip to roll open just enough to bring the center of your thigh and hip into the same angle as the toes and knees. • In Warrior I with your right foot forward, for example, your hips should face diagonally to the right, not totally open like a Warrior II or fully squared forward like a Lunge (whose lifted back heel makes the forward hip alignment knee-safe). • From your diagonal hips, spin your top body forward, not from the pelvis but from the ribs, heart, shoulders and head. You’ll feel more muscles activate in your core and back while maintaining space and freedom in your knee and hip. Applies to: Any anchored-foot standing pose like Warrior I, II, Side Angle, Triangle, Reverse Triangle (really watch the knee in these revolved poses!), Parsvottanasana, Malasana Triangle Pose In these straight-legged poses, pay attention to your front knee. It’s easy to: • Lock the knee and hang out in the joint instead of activating your leg muscles for support. • Press too hard back into the joint, which can cause hyperextension or overstretching at the back of your knee. Instead, let there be a microbend in your front knee, so you’re not jamming back into the joint and slacking the muscles. Then firm your muscles around the thigh and knee and press out through your foot as if you’re stepping on an accelerator. Which, when you think about all the benefits you’re getting by moving out of the joint and into your strength…you are. Applies to: Any straight front leg pose that bears weight, like Parsvottanasana, Warrior III, ½ Moon, Tree Pose, Standing Splits

86 Pigeon Pose This pose asks you to externally rotate or turn out your front leg, which puts a goodamount of pressure on the knee, especially if you have tight quadriceps (front thighs), adductors (inner thighs) or hip rotators (outer hips). When you fold forward, the tilt of your pelvis causes even more stretch around the knee. If misaligned, the shear pressure on your knee joint can be too much. When you come into Pigeon, three common mistakes and their solutions are: • Flexing your foot A flexed foot can cause the lower leg to cease its external rotation, again, causing the knee joint to take the twist as you bend forward. Instead, “floint” the foot — point the foot but draw the toes back and press out through the ball of the foot, as if you’re wearing high heels (yes, guys - even you ;) This will allow the whole leg to more freely rotate, releasing the knee. • Grabbing the foot and pulling it forward to take the shin more parallel to the front of the mat Just because the shin is forward doesn’t make the pose more advanced. In fact, yanking the foot forward or hooking the flexed foot around the wrist, knee to other wrist, means you’re working to get your shin forward into a certain look of the pose, but you might be seriously compromising your knee joint. From this moment on, never grab your foot with your hand in this pose. Instead, back your foot off toward the opposite hip crease and make sure your hips are level (not rocking over to rest on the bent leg’s hip). Then, to deepen the pose if this feels fine on the knee, you can move your knee slightly wider and scoot your back leg straight back a little more. The front knee should be either in front of your hip or a bit wider, and you can repeat that adjustment (knee wider, back leg back) a couple of times. But don’t wait till you feel a huge stretch to fold forward, remembering that tilting the pelvis into a fold increases the knee strain. So save some room to move for your forward bend. • Working with the hips too low if the knee hurts For some, bending the front knee in Pigeon and having the hips lowering can pull the quadriceps and front of the knee, straining the knee joint before it stretches the hips. If you feel knee pain before a hip stretch, work on tighter front thigh muscles first by raising your front hip onto a rolled blanket or block(s). Allowing your quads to release by lowering your bolster little by little over time will eventually get you into the hip muscles without overwhelming your knees.

87 The Mind in Relation to Flexibility We’ve explored the body and physical alignments to empower our Yoga practice – however - there is also another layer to unlock and explore – this is the mind! We have already begun to explore this by looking at emotional imbalances (page 50 to 54). Issues in our Tissues We all have issues in our tissues, which is to say, we store emotions in our bodies - where else could they possible be? The dance of yoga is one of playing our edges: we approach the point of being too deep, never actually arriving at this point, and then we back off to see if we can approach that edge again, safely. This is the art: never actually going too deep but moving constantly towards that edge where the sensations are juicy, there is definitely something happening, but it is not too much sensation and we are never in danger of pushing beyond our boundaries. When we think about our edges we often think in physical terms, but we have edges emotionally, mentally and spiritually as well! • Just as it is inappropriate and unhealthy to push past our physical edges it is also unskillful and unhelpful to push past our emotional edges. • Just as we may have scar tissue in our body that prevents our full range of movement, we often have emotional scar tissue as well that can restrict our interpersonal and lifestyle ranges of movement. These stuck, contracted areas can be painful when worked into and we can only go so far in our yoga practice to really open up; often professional guidance is needed to make sure that we successfully remove the scar tissue. Physiotherapists are licensed to hurt you because that is what may be necessary to break the living tissues that are scar tissue, and psychotherapists may similarly have to take you into painful areas to exorcise any existing psychic damage. Yoga teachers are not trained to this degree so all we can do, or even should do, in our yoga practice is to work to the edges of the blockages; for some that will be all they actually do need; so assuming that this is the case, what can we do in yoga to help? Once again the answer is to play your edge, but with enhanced awareness. Our basic emotions exist within us to provide protection, healing and growth - they are not inherently bad: they are in fact very necessary for a whole life well lived. But sometimes emotions are evoked unskillfully and it is in these cases that we need to evaluate the raw experience of the emotion unemotionally, with dispassion. Let's take a real life example: let's say that recently you have begun to experience "a strong feeling of fear, desperately wanting to get out of the posture, wanting to scream like crazy, a pressure on my chest," as one student recently noted when she went into Straddle (Dragonfly) pose during a Yin Yoga class. She had been practicing Yin Yoga for over a year so this sudden arising of fear was surprising, perplexing and worrying.

88 What does it mean and what should she do? First - realize that you are not the only one! Emotions will arise at some point in your yoga journey. That is quite natural when you consider that yoga works the full body, not just the physical tissues. Next - consider the depth of the emotions and whether these feelings are limited only to your yoga practice or also arise at other times in life, because if they do - you may want to seek some professional assistance in determining what it means and how to work through the challenge. Finally - know that this is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your yoga practice, to go beyond the mere postures and into the depths of your own being. David Williams, one of the first two Americans to practice Ashtanga Yoga, once observed that the real yoga is what you can't see. He means that the real process of yoga unfolds beneath the obvious shapes that we contort our bodies into, it involves the breath and the way we pay attention to what is happening within. This is the invitation your strong emotional response is offering you. Rather than blindly or automatically react to the emotion cultivate an attitude of acceptance and curiosity. Ask yourself what is really going on: "What is this?" Deeper Reflection Both the Indian yogis and the Daoist yogis in China noticed a correlation between particular emotions and certain areas of the body: • Fear is centered in the kidneys • Anger in the liver • Worry in the stomach • Fright in the heart • and grief in the lungs. These associations make a lot of intuitive sense even to us Westerners: when we grieve our lungs go into spasm (called crying); when we are frightened suddenly our heart skips a beat (or we suffer a heart attack and become 'frightened to death!'); when we fret the rate of ulcers rises; when our liver becomes damaged we may subject our loved ones to bouts of extreme rage (as most families of alcoholics are only too aware); and when we are afraid our adrenal glands activate readying to run away or fight that which confronts us. Fortunately, we are also beneficiaries of positive emotions as well: the home for beauty is in the lungs; joy in the heart; creativity in the stomach; kindness in the liver; and wisdom in the kidneys. Poses in yoga work the body physically and energetically, stimulating the meridian lines that correspond to the major organs of the body and sometimes eliciting strong emotional responses. In the example of the woman who experienced fear while she was in Straddle Pose: she may have created a deep stress along the inner thighs, the

89 adductor muscle group, through which the Liver and Kidney meridians run. This stress may be sufficient to trigger an emotional response if there is some blockage psychically or emotionally in the pertaining organs of the Liver and Kidneys. Regardless of the cause of the emotional response the prescription is the same: awareness with dispassion - watch what is occurring without trying to change it; without running away from it; without giving into it in despair or resignation. Of course, as we have already discussed, if you really feel you are past your edge and are too deeply into an emotional state, then back off! But if the emotions are just challenging, not dangerous, stay and observe the raw experience that is occurring – this is when something interesting is about to happen: don't miss it! • Ask yourself constantly, "What is this?" • Note the emotions and the associated physical sensations in detail to yourself: what are you feeling, what is your breath like, your heart rate, is there increased tension in your jaw, shoulders, neck? • For example - if you are feeling fear, notice what fear feels like: 'my breath is shorter and choppy; my shoulders are tense; my thoughts are foggy and I can't focus.' • Don't judge these sensations as good or bad and don't try to change them; just observe them as they are. To sum up: when a strong emotion arises in the middle of a yoga practice pay attention to it. If it is too strong, back off and perhaps even stop the practice for that day. If this continues to happen to the degree that you can no longer practice skillfully, then seek help from a qualified yoga teacher or counseling. However, if the emotions are challenging but not dangerous, use this opportunity to take your yoga practice to a new level: play the edge of the emotion without going over the edge. Start to observe what is actually occurring, without adding anything to the experience and without taking anything away from it.

90 Hip instincts On a symbolic and physical level, we can consider how central the space of our hips is to the form of the body. Most often a place for a woman’s centre of gravity, this can infer a deeper connection to this area and the emotions it can hold, but for men also the pelvis is the seat of directive movement in the human body, imperative to proper alignment, balance and posture. • Our peripheral nervous system, involved in the stimulation of emotional response in addition to other functions, establishes connections in the hip area to promote survival in times of emotional stress. • From birth, the sympathetic nervous system response can stimulate a strong contraction of the flexors of the body, drawing ribs around the visceral organs and the knees up to the torso to offer protection should the infant suffer a fall. In this the hip muscles, particularly those of the iliopsoas complex, are activated which will later be used to run, kick or stand ground as the body grows more sophisticated in its ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response. The psoas major is unique in that it is the only muscle which connects the spine and leg bones and, hinging on the central nervous system that attaches through the spine into the brain, can be regarded as an extension of the survival-focused reptilian brain in classic brain theory. Fascia (fibrous tissue) also connect the psoas to the diaphragm, causing an interdependency of breath with the tightness and movement of this muscle. Stressed and out of Balance The link between the hips and instinctual reflexes associated with fear and stress looks to offer an explanation for the storage of suppressed emotion in this area. Tightness in the hips and other muscles of the body often feature due to insufficient relaxation of the muscles subject to the contraction of repetitive mechanical or psychological stress. The tightness itself further inhibits relaxation for when the psoas is tight, deep abdominal breathing is constricted. At the core of yoga and meditation practice is awareness of the breath as the breath is key to achievement of a restful state. As Guru T. K. V. Desikachar states, ‘The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.’ A tight psoas interferes with the movement of the diaphragm which in turn affects the ability to activate the parasympathetic response. This is achieved via signals from neuro-receptors on the wall of the main abdominal artery when, in deep inhalation, abdominal pressure is high. Tissue memory Considering the role of the psoas in energy storage and trauma release, the desire to cry during an intensive hip opening yoga class – as related through experience by a wealth of yoga blogs and articles – is not as unusual an experience as it could seem. Tears of forgotten anguish in pigeon pose have been noted to strike from states of a calm or even cheerful disposition and is perhaps yoga’s most common example of hip-related emotional catharsis. Facial unwinding, not unlike yoga and TRE in its relaxing effect upon the tissues of the body, is a practice of massage therapy ‘in which a client

91 undergoes a spontaneous reaction in response to the therapist’s touch.’ Practitioners theorise the occurrence of emotional release in conjunction with fascial manipulation with an understanding that is not dissimilar from that which is advocated by Levine. Upledger developed the notion of the energy cyst, ‘foreign energy … derive[d] from no physiological sources, such as from external trauma, pathogenic organisms or severe emotional shocks.’ With the body unable to discharge this deposit of ‘foreign’ energy in the fascia, he promotes that unwinding facilitates its release, often accompanied by expressions of stored-up emotion apparent as crying, shaking, laughing, etc. (Upledger, 1997) Stored emotions may offer lessons from which the subject can ‘discover blocks that may have been hindering [the] healing process,’ according to physical therapist, Carol M. Davis. She goes on to suggest that ‘not only the myofascial element, but also every cell of the body has a consciousness that stores memories and emotions.’(Davis, 2009) Body conscious Notions of the body consciousness have been influenced heavily by the work of neuroscientist, Candace Pert, whose research in the 70s pioneered an understanding of neuropeptides as the biochemical agents of emotion. Binding to specific receptors on the surface of the cell, these chemicals are capable of triggering a chain of biochemical reactions deep within, changing the aspect of the cell to either positive or negative effect. In this way, the cells of the body are capable of retaining the energy of a traumatic event. Pert asserts, ‘Repressed traumas caused by overwhelming emotion can be stored in a body part, thereafter affecting our ability to feel that part or even move it.’(Pert, 1999) As to how this could relate to emotion stored in the hips, Pert hypothesises, ‘I believe that unexpressed emotion is in the process of traveling up … from the periphery, up the spinal chord, up into the brain. When emotion moves up, it can be expressed. It takes a certain amount of energy from our bodies to keep the emotion unexpressed … I think unexpressed emotions are literally lodged lower in the body.’ With reference to the metaphysical principles of the chakra system, yogic tradition can coincide with this theory and site the location for these lower-body unexpressed emotions at the base of this neural pathway in the hips.

92 Balancing Flexibilty and Strength … “Sthira Sukham Asanam” is probably one of the most quoted sutras of Patanjali! It means a posture should be steady, firm and stable, yet comfortable, light and delightful! Sthira and Sukha • Sthira refers to stability and strength. • Sukha refers to comfort, ease and openness / flexibility. On our yoga mat, but also in our lives, we are looking for the balance between flexibility/ freedom and strength/ stability. • If we only encourage flexibility in our asana practice, this can mean we may not be developing enough stability to keep our body and joints safe. • Being only strong, means the muscles may shorten – which may lead to an inability to fully expand and find the freedom and delight in that is available in all Yoga postures. Yoga, like life, is all about balance. Are you sukha or sthira? It’s important to reflect on these qualities honestly both on and off the mat. Do you have too much Sukha in your body; are you mostly flexible and open? In that case maybe focus a little more on improving strength to balance the flexibility. Do you have too much Sthira in your body; is your body stiff and un-yeilding? In which case creating flexibility/mobility would be emphasised Awareness and inquiry This principle reminds us of the true meaning of Yoga – which is awareness and inquiry. If we don’t bring this to our mat then we just continue with our stuck, repetitive patterns – which will eventually lead to injury and our experience of yoga will be short lived and uncomfortable. We are also looking for a quiet, fully present mind in our yoga practice in order to find stability and strength. From this foundation we can then experience the lightness and ease. • If the mind is too active and aggressive we will approach our yoga practice that way - we will probably push your boundaries striving for the perfect pose. • If our mind wanders, lacks stability, we will lose the stability in our pose too and the pose becomes dull and lifeless.

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Look at the way you live your life too, is everything planned and timed and do you push yourself often? Or are you late, forgetful, fearful and do you never push yourself? Then ask yourself the question: • “What do I need to do in my yoga practice to break this pattern, to balance myself more? • And can I do the same in my life?" If you can do the opposite on your mat to how you usually are in your daily life, then something will start to shift, on and off the mat. You are moving towards more balance. The invitation is to play around with this idea to use your yoga practice to break out of your normal habits and create a few new healthier and more balanced ones.

"Life is a balance of holding on and letting go" – Rumi

94 Sources and Resources: Heartfelt thanks to the wisdom of the following Yogis for their constant inspiration through their books and offerings online Jason Crandell Ray Long Glennie Kindred Yoga International Yoga Journal Ekhart Yoga

For more e-books & courses and many free practices visit www.avaniyogaacademy.com

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