Five wickedly simple steps to finding your feet in yoga.

Need to keep on your toes in life?  This is all you need for balance.

Loads of my yogi friends run to feel great. When people who love to run don’t run, whole worlds can fall apart. You could say it’s some of these guy’s worst nightmares.

Happy Halloween my yogi friend, because whether you run or not, not being able to do what you love doing, is scary stuff.

But we can all be taken out by life at any moment, the ground can literally get pulled from underneath our feet.

Which is why this week I’m asking this question. What happened when you last took a tumble? Take a minute to remember where you were, who you were with, what the circumstances were, and the environment you were in. (OK now rewind that movie screen in your mind… edit out all those times related to the pub, that’s not what I’m talking about.)

Here’s a checklist to jog your mind back to those other times you lost your footing.

• Was the ground uneven, damp, icy, rocky?
• Did your mind wander for a second?
• Had you lost concentration?
• Were you multi-tasking?
• Maybe you were tired, fatigued, stressed or had just done way too much that day?

Now ask yourself this. Did you get away with it? By that, I mean how much more than your ego got bruised? Were you injured? Ouchee…hope not. But some day one day (that you don’t think will ever come, because, because, because) ur… sorry… you just might.

 Is your body really going to pot? Or has your management team (aka YOU) gone ‘out of office’?

Now, I’m not wishing that on you (or anyone). But for a minute consider how would being out of action, or even a little less mobile than you are now, impact your life?

I know what it feels like when your body doesn’t do what it’s brilliantly designed to do. When your moving parts no longer function like you expect them to. It’s really no fun. And in those moments of suffering you won’t be much fun to be around either. Trust me, I know I wasn’t.

It’s way too easy to turn against yourself and give your body a verbal bashing on how it’s going to pot, letting you down.

But stop right there. Those kinds of thoughts helpful you think?  Ur… not really.

Instead, make like a yogi and observe how much you ask of yourself, and how much support you are giving back in return. Or more to the point. When was the last time you even looked at your feet, let alone worked on strengthening those fine rapidly moving muscles that keep you up all day – thanks very much. 😉

Get your ticket to living the life you enjoy in a body that works, for longer.

The reason I do yoga is because I want my life to be fun and fulfilled…preferably forever. Yoga, I believe, is my ticket to living the life that I want for longer. And when I teach yoga, I believe I’m handing that ticket to you too.

Do you want the ticket for living the life you want in a body that works, for longer?

I can’t think why you’d say no. So, let’s get you started with some practical Yoga that will help move you in that direction.

Let’s improve your balance and maybe prevent a few future falls, trips and tumbles and keep your injury free (as much as possible).

I’ve put together a checklist with five wickedly simple steps to finding your feet in yoga.

Find your feet, find your foundation. YOUR CHECKLIST.

1. Make yourself big. Lift your feet and spread your yogi toes to create a broad base. Find the support of the floor beneath you and pay attention to where the weight goes. Make it equal through all four corners of your feet.
2. Grow tall. Keeping a sense of being grounded and rooted through your feet you can then work on standing tall. Travel your awareness up your legs and activate the thighs by hugging the muscles to the bone. Keep moving your attention upwards and when you reach your pubic bone, imagine zipping up a tight pair of jeans. Keep moving up the body. Lengthen from your navel to your breast bone and send your energy up the spine and out through the crown of the head. You’ll be surprised at how much you can grow – look, no high heels girls.
3. Set your gaze. This is a technique called dristhi in yoga and has the effect of settling your mind so you can begin to focus and concentrate on the task in hand. Balances take all your attention, and are great for cultivating present moment awareness.
4. This will also settle and calm the mind, and encourage you not to rush into anything. Good practice for finding balance off your mat too, (by the way).
5. Choose balancing poses or variations that will help you find your stability in time. Yoga is a practice that includes strength, flexibility and balance and in my experience the balance element takes both strength and flexibility, so you may need to work on these aspects of your practice too before you really find your ‘easy’ feet.

Now what?

Bring these tips to your yoga practice, at home or in class and you will begin to reinforce the muscles in your lower limbs, challenge the muscles of the feet, reduce the chances of rolling over on or twisting your ankles, strengthen the arches of the feet, improve your body awareness and hone your concentration skills. So, what are you waiting for?

That’s all for this week. I really hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions, I’m here. Really, don’t be shy. Ask away. (I’d be delighted). If you want to learn more, we’ll be exploring balance in class all this week, so check out the venues and timings in the programmes section of this website right here. Or…if those timings don’t work for you let me come to you. You can book a 1-1 or grab a group of friends, and we’ll work a session around you and your schedule.

I passionately believe we could all do with a little yoga in our life. If you know someone who’s ready to find out more about this amazing practice, send them my way or pass on this post and sow a little seed that could change a whole life.

At your yogi service.

Josie X