In my classes I spend a lot of time trying to get students to be aware of their feet and the effect they have on the body.
Have a look at this picture. Some of us supinate, some of us pronate and some of us (like me) can do both.
The ideal in most yoga poses (and when we walk) is to have the neutral ankle shown in the middle.
Why? See last weeks blog on hip gripping!
If our knee and hip joints have unstable support they will complain.
When we wear shoes without support it is really hard to keep the ankle neutral.
Shoes like ballet pumps and flip flops also make the wearer tense their toes very slightly every step they take.
This tension then runs up the calves and into other muscles.
It is frustrating to see people work on their feet and improve their posture during class, only to shuffle out in badly fitting shoes that exaggerate their problems.
So if you want to see improvements in your yoga, please take a look at your shoes!
