Your feet. They carry the weight of your entire body. They need a little love too! When I was younger, I gave my feet a lot of thought because I practiced ballet and for about 10 years, I danced on my toes, in pointe shoes. Yes, I had blisters and sore toes along the way. Those days are gone and now I spend a lot more time bare footed on and off my mat. Whether your favorite exercise is walking or running or playing sports, your feet get a lot of action.

Centuries ago, when the physical practice of yoga began, yogis practiced in bare feet.

Why do we practice yoga barefoot?

· It enhances foot and ankles strength and flexibility, which we lose as we age,

· It provides a better grip for balancing,

· It gives you a connection to the earth – grounds you,

· It promotes proprioception (where your body is in space).

The standing yoga poses that we practice invite you to place your feet in different ways, challenging them with different angles and requiring your feet to support your weight in those different angles. Holding your feet in these unique ways will help to stretch the muscles and develop strength in your feet. This quote says it all: “This makes a standing practice a great all-around foot-conditioning system: it simultaneously optimizes flexibility, strength, and mindful control throughout the foot’s range of motion.” (Roger Cole)

All standing yoga poses start in Mountain Pose. This pose is standing up straight with your feet about hip distance apart. As you stand in this pose, think about pressing down 3 points of your foot (your big toe mound, little toe mound and the center of your heel) into your mat or 4 points (your big toe mound, little toe mound, outer part of the heel and inner part of the heel). Either one, 3 or 4 press points establishes a firm foundation and helps to lift the arches of the foot. These same press points should be practiced in all standing poses.

When you stand, if all 3 points or 4 points at the bottom of the foot are not evenly grounded, you may experience pronation which is your foot rolling in towards the inner edge of your foot or supination which is your foot rolling out towards the outer edge of your foot.