“The third limb in the ancient science
of Ashtanga is the yoga posture known as asana.
Asana, or yoga pose,
many people think it means touching the toes,
but asana is more about touching the soul,
learning to be steel in the middle of it all.”
-Eight Limbs, MC Yogi
It’s the little things in life that count. When I began practicing yoga as a teenager, I was drawn to big, sweeping movements, dramatic postures, and dynamic movement. I still love those things, but experience on my yoga path has brought more and more appreciation of small movements, micro adjustments, and attention to more subtle layers of myself (breath, mind, emotion). As MC Yogi so poetically put it, yoga is more about touching the soul, whether or not you can touch your toes.
First, let me tell you that touching your toes can be a goal, but for what purpose? As mamas, many of us have gravitated more towards feeling good rather than trying to look good all the time. Not saying that you should give up looking good (just because I don’t shower every day or wear makeup, doesn’t mean you have to join me in the Disheveled Stay-at-home Mom’s club:). But in yoga, I will say that feeling good should always be prioritized over looking good.
So, now that I’ve given you some inspiration to care less about keeping your legs straight, touching your toes, or going into the ‘fullest expression’ of a backbend, let’s get down to the nitty gritty: our toes!
When I was in prenatal workshops with my doulas last year, they led us mamas and mamas-to-be through an exercise in dealing with pain. They had us come into something called Broken Toe pose and hold it while using various pain coping techniques we’d learned. The idea was that we could use our minds and breath to overcome the discomfort of being in that position for an extended period of time.
I told them that I didn’t feel much of anything in that pose. I had been practicing that pose since adolescence, so I didn’t have much tension built up in my toes and feet. I’m not here to brag about that, but just using it as an example of how discomfort and pain can be subjective, and we all experience our toes and feet in different ways. So the practices here will be more exploratory than prescriptive. The guiding question is: what do YOU feel as you do these exercises?
Stand and shift weight
Spread the toes in standing poses
Try Broken Toe pose
Standing poses with tucked toes
Virasana
A lil’ foot massage
Just thought I’d put these ideas into a little video for more specifics. Try it out! Give your toes and feet some love:)