You Might Be Missing These 3 Key Components in the Feet

Standing balance postures can sometimes be a source of frustration in our physical yoga practice. We all have moments like this on the mat, and awareness of the difference between each side of the body often develops into a narrative that we have a “good side” and a “bad side.” Being aware of these differences, however, actually creates opportunity. Awareness deepens our understanding of where we need to focus our attention, so that we can develop and transform the experience we have in our bodies and shift the narrative. Over time and with consistent practice, we build strength and, eventually, better balance.

When it comes to the biomechanics of any posture, the magic lies in the most subtle movements. In my experience, there are 3 key components for building confidence and ease in standing balance postures. In this tutorial video, we will look at how these components apply to the Ardha Chandrasana set-up.

Doing The Groundwork

Doing the groundwork means exactly that. The foundation of our postures is built from the ground up. Once we understand this, we can slowly build upon this foundation. When it comes to finding steadiness in our standing balance postures, we must look at what’s happening with our feet. The position of our feet, strength of the ankles, and recruitment of the buttock muscles translates to stability in the hips. But how can we do this, and what does it look like?

LET’S SET IT UP

With your shin bone vertical to your ankle, lift all your toes up and away from your mat; this will help to activate and strengthen your tibialis anterior (the muscles in front of your shin bone). While doing this, be mindful not to send unequal weight into either side of your foot. Send equal weight into the earth. This is the first step in creating awareness and an imprint of this action into your body.

CROW POSE TUTORIAL: FIND FULLNESS TO FIND STABILITY

THE ANATOMY OF CROW POSE

The scapula is a sturdy bone that is flat in shape. “Flat bones provide protection and a place for broad muscles to attach.” (Long, Raymond A. MD, FRSC, The Key Muscles of Yoga, Bandha Yoga Publications LLC, 2006, pg. 11)

This is where we find our rotator cuff muscles (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor). The rotator cuff muscles are responsible for stabilizing the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) within the shoulder (glenohumeral joint).

The shoulder, like the hip, is a ball-and-socket joint allowing for a great deal of range of motion. It allows for an even greater range of motion than the hip because of the upper arm bone’s shallow placement in the shoulder joint. This extra range of motion comes with a price — it leaves our shoulders vulnerable, with limited stability. That doesn’t mean “game over.” With awareness of this area and activation of the stability within other parts of the body, we can create a more balanced relationship between mobility and stability in the shoulder.

The scapula, on the other hand, is stabilized by the muscles of the serratus anterior and the rhomboids.

There are 4 main movements of the scapula:

1. Retraction — through the actions of trapezius, rhomboids, and latissimus dorsi muscles
2. Protraction — through the actions of serratus anterior, pectoralis major, and pectoralis minor muscles
3. Elevation — through the trapezius, levator scapulae, and rhomboid muscles 
4. Depression — through the force of gravity and actions of the latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior, pectoralis major and minor, and trapezius muscles 

Cowan PT, Mudreac A, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Back, Scapula. [Updated 2021 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531475/

(There are other movements of the scapula, but in this tutorial, we focus on protraction.)