Personal Strength: It’s all in the feet

Okay, maybe not just the feet, but the feet are a powerful step toward finding the personal strength to overcome the status quo.

Standing tall and firmly on the feet is not simply a metaphor.

When we work our feet, open them up to more energy, use them more efficiently, we can stand taller and in doing so, feel stronger.

Here’s an experiment for you:

1. Right now, slump in your seat (or continue slumping if you already are! ☺)  Take a breath.
2. Think about something you want to do in your life that might take some work.
3. How do you feel about it?  Are you ready  leap up and take even one action step?
4. Now, sit up tall.  Feel the length in the spine, the openness in your heart.  Take a deep breath and again think about what you want?  More ready, aren’t you?  It might be subtle in this small example.

Think of the profound effects your posture would have if you stood tall all day, day after day.  Your feet are the basis of that
strong alignment.  As I already mentioned, when we use our feet well, we stand taller and stronger.

The “Before” Feeling

To start the process, let’s just do a very easy exercise.  First, let’s get a “before feeling”.  Stand in Tadasana (MountainPose).   Take a breath and again feel how you feel about whatever you want in your life.  Done?  Remember that feeling.

Foot Massage

Now sit back down and we are going to do a quick massage for the feet.  Hold your right foot.  Lace the fingers of your left hand through your toes.  If your toes are very tight, you might just get your fingertips through.  If you are more flexible, take your fingers to the root.  This exercise can be intense so be sure you are breathing!  Now hold the right foot firmly with your right hand at the arch to keep from moving at the ankle.  Slowly rotate your toes around without moving the ankle.  Breathe.  Do a few circles and then go the other way.  When you are done, stroke down the sole of your foot with
your thumbs a few times.  Move from the heal to the toes.  When you are done, feel the difference between your feet.  It can be dramatic.  Now switch feet and repeat the series on your other foot.

Tadasana (Mountain Pose) Redo:

This time we will also activate the feet.  Stand with your feet parallel.  Lift your toes up and ever so slightly, walk the balls of your feet away from your heals.  You might move a millimeter.  It isn’t meant to be a big movement.  With your toes still lifted, find the inner edge of the ball of your big toe and “stick” it to your mat.  Broaden across the balls of your feet to widen your feet.  Now set the toes down, lengthening them out.

Do your feet feel different than in your “before” pose?  Let’s make it even stronger.  From the feet, “lift” the muscles in the legs.  (If this action challenges you, use a block between your upper inner thighs and hold it firmly without gripping.)  Keep drawing up through the core so the heart opens more effortlessly.  Now what do you think about what you want in your life?

The Beauty of Yoga…a gift from me to you.

The gift of yoga is we can manipulate our energy so we can create the type of energy we need or want in our life.  With this series, we created energy for personal strength.  We can then use that energy to forge forward to the life of our dreams…