For the love of your feet, try toe squat! This quick hold yin pose is ideal for building fire, practicing discipline and giving your feet a little love. Few poses get as deep into the fascia as toe squat. Remind yourself and students of the variations and that you can come out of this pose at any time.
Get into Toe Squat Step-by-Step
- Begin in a tabletop position.
- Tuck your toes.
- Sit back onto your heels.
- Walk your hands back and up your legs until they rest at your hip flexors with your shoulders stacked over your hips.
Benefits
- Physical: Stretches the toes and strengthens the ankles. This pose may help with plantar fasciitis relief.
- Energetic: All of the lower body meridians are stimulated from this pose. These include the Stomach, Liver, Spleen, Gallbladder, and Urinary Bladder meridians.
- Emotional & Mental: This pose is quite intense for the root chakra and can cause discomfort in both the body and mind. Staying with it practices discipline, a solar plexus practice.
Contraindications
- For knee discomfort, pad your knees with a folded blanket or fold over your mat.
- For knee pain, stay high on your knees (don’t sit back on your heels), or sit on 1-2 blocks.
- The intensity of this pose is strong. The closer to your knees or the ground your hands are the less intense. You may also keep your hands on the mat.
Variations
- Try any of the variations above.
- To add in arms, try eagle arms or cow face arms.
Get Out of the Pose
- Walk your hands back to the mat and forward into a tabletop position.
- Untuck your toes.
Counter Poses
How Long to Hold Toe Squat?
- 1-3 minutes.
- This pose does not need to be held long due to its intensity.
- It can also be done in increments, holding for 1 minute, then taking a break before holding for another minute.