The Three Points of Your Foot

Our feet not only transport us, enable many modes of sports and recreation, but also support the weight of our body (plus the little people and groceries we carry and so on). For standing yoga poses, the initial focus is on the feet because they are our foundation. A teacher in a recent yoga class had us practice standing on the three points of the foot when we were doing mountain pose. I was amazed by how this imagery impacted and improved my balance throughout the entire practice!

Thinking about purposefully distributing our weight on these three points helps with balance and keeps our knees and ankles safe during practice.

These three points are the connect the load-bearing arches in your feet. Here is a simple exercise for noticing these three points. The next time you walk barefoot, give your attention to how your weight is distributed on these three points on the bottom of your feet. Come to a stand in mountain pose for a few breaths, feet parallel and hip distance apart and notice how your weight is distributed. To make adjustments, lift your toes up or come up on the heels slightly and then place them gently down.

For further research, check out Ekhart Yoga’s article about Safe Knees and Feet in yoga.

Do you wish you could add a little yoga practice to your day but don’t have time to run to a studio or class? Try my 15 minute FREE morning yoga class! Learn more about it and register at my site Yoga @ Home! You can also check out my other offerings to help you fit more movement into your day.