Happy Holidays, Happy Feet

In the New Year we are excited to soar and accomplish our goals. Our energy is on fire! Many of us are gung ho about losing weight and get back to work out routine. We are revved up about starting new projects. However, in my experience it is challenging to soar if you haven’t done your grounding work first. What better way to get mentally and physically grounded than to work your feet dynamically.

Our feet ground us. They support our entire bodies. Think about that for a moment. Throughout our lives our feet experience an incredible amount of wear and tear. If you are an athlete, your feet take a lot of pounding. If you wear high heels, your feet are most likely screaming at you!

Most yogis, including myself only learn about the 7 upper chakras. There are also the chakras of the lower body. Once I learned about the 7 lower chakras I was intrigued.

According to several old school yoga books I’ve read, the lower chakras represent the negative aspects of our character.  The animal instincts which are in all of us, but which we strive to rise above.  The lowest chakra in the body is called the Patala, located in the soles of the feet.

Several older yoga texts explain that the soles of the feet represent destructiveness, revenge, murder, hatred, torture, and disrespect on all levels. Wow! Now we all the have some of the above feelings, we are human. The good news, we do have the choice to work through them and rise above.

Back in 2007, one of my yoga teachers, Matt Schwartz taught a 90 minute class. While working our entire bodies, every pose stretched and strengthened the feet. I was seriously going to smack him. I am not kidding. Opening up my feet brought up a lot of anger and heat. To put things mildly, it was the most uncomfortable yoga class I’d ever taken.

I wondered why the feet could cause me so much agony? Well, a simple reason is our feet get a lot of use. Like many of you, I was certainly more accustomed to lets say stretching my quads more than my feet.

However, immediately after the foot class, my entire body felt amazing. Not only did it feel like I was walking on water, my lower back was pain free. After college I had several years of waiting tables, catering, and bar tending. I thought my feet and spine were going to be jacked up forever.

Yes, I felt relief after every yoga class yet nothing compares to what I felt after the intense foot class. I kid you not, after one class of working my feet, I felt healed. I told my teacher and his response, “Good, keep practicing the foot stretches.” That was all he said and I’ve been doing just that.

Seven years after my first FOOT class, I continue to work my feet. The rest of the yoga asana feel easier and easier, especially my forward folds. Just another lesson how everything is connected. I urge you, do not ignore your feet or you could pay a price emotionally and physically.

Stretch and strengthen your feet in various ways.  As the New Year approaches you will be so much better equipped to soar and really go for it!

Yoga Tip
We’ve all seen those reflexology and acupuncture pictures of the feet. Our feet are connected to over sixty parts of the human body. From your internal organs to your bones to your ears, your feet have a direct connection. Last time I got reflexology, I heard my digestive system stirring and felt the knots in my shoulders melt away.