Timber feet
Posted in ashtanga on 08/01/2009 04:01 pm by karenNo, I don’t mean my feet are made of wood. Though if they were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. A few days ago I woke with sore feet. Like the toes and arches have been stretched out.
Figured out the mysterious affliction pretty quickly. It’s from “timbering” out of the seven headstands this past week. This is just the kind of pain the resolves itself with continued practice, so I’m not worried. Just curious that I’ve never seen it mentioned before. Perhaps I have unusually sensitive feet?
Saturday is primary day around here, so I went to led class. Nice way to end the Ashtanga week. Muscle Man is off doing a workshop this weekend, so we had a sub. Not too many Ashtanga teachers around these parts — she managed well enough, but forgot a few things here and there, but was very charming, so all was well.
It’s been weeks and weeks of helping My Gift locate, secure, move into, and decorate her apartment, but she’s happily ensconced and I have a whole weekend off! Well, I do have to work on a white paper on talent management. But other than that writing and an appointment with Candice tomorrow, my time is unstructured. Just the way I like it!
08/01/2009 at 5:28 pm
I used to get a little foot soreness. But that’s related to broken toes, I think. It might help to press strongly through the ball of the foot to flex the toes as you come down toward the floor. There are a lot of situations in the second half of 2S where activating the feet is super helpful for stability.
Admittedly, I love it when ashtangis’ feet get all muscled and shapely…
08/02/2009 at 1:07 am
I was actually wondering the other day how it is I’ve never hurt my feet doing stuff like that, or had any soreness or ‘getting used to it’. I have short toes though, that might help.
That’s so true about the foot stability in 2s! Gomukhasana, vatayanasana, the whole ustrasana-laghu-kapo set… I find the control through the tops of the feet super important there. And of course there’s the ultimate foot pose, pasasana. If that doesn’t strengthen the feet, I don’t know what does.
Regarding the headstands, I was quickly given the first pose of third so that I wouldn’t have to do them every day.
08/02/2009 at 6:22 am
The first time I timbered down was in Chicago at about 6 am, in the short hallway just behind my hotel door, before a job interview at 9. I was up in a Pincha, and knew the “ideal” exit, and basically just wished for it. Shazam! Hands to chaturanga, but FEET? Down on the pads of the toes, not the toes proper, and WOW, it was like being swatted with a ruler. That hurt all day and some of the next one. Cured me of any fear of landing on the toes, for ever.
I can see it as a stretch, yes; the toes get pretty uncommon extension there (I think; hard to see while timbering, you know?).
08/02/2009 at 6:41 am
I’m most aware of my feet in salabhasana and mayurasana these days. But yes to the ustrasana through kapo top-of-the-feet stuff, and then the vatayanasana and pasasana feet. Interesting how there are those three different kinds of feet…
There’s a great picture of Kino M doing mayurasana on Liz’s blog (http://ashtangayogashutup.blogspot.com/2009/06/asana-and-footed-pjs.html?zx=67fe4fc097f9c9) — her feet are my favorite part of the pose.
I’m definitely landing the timbers with flexed toes — so think this is all normal sensation. This morning, my feet actually feel super-strong — like they’ve been lifting weights.
Haha! I keep thinking of your hotel neighbors, Patrick. “What was that *crash*? And why is that guy screaming?”
08/02/2009 at 5:21 pm
Hey Karen,
Surprised to see a link to my blog (especially the one where I’m in my footed pj’s!). That’s Marci in the pics, not Kino (though I’m sure Kino does a super bad ass Mayurasana). Marci’s toes are very cute.
I don’t have any advice about the toes either. I don’t get hurt toes, despite my landing on them a lot. Susan thinks hers don’t hurt from having short toes, but I have long toes, so who knows! My feet are super bendy in a weird way.
I bet you’re right about the soreness going away like so many other odd things that come up when you first start practicing certain poses.