Question about Down Dog grounding feet discussion in Asanas at Yoga Teaching Subjects/Topics at Yoga Teaching Forum - the premier forum for discussion between students and teachers involved in yoga teacher training Question about Down Dog grounding feet


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Question about Down Dog grounding feet

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Rod
Administrator/ Moderator

Mar 16, 2004, 6:22 AM

Post #1 of 5 (3681 views)
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Question about Down Dog grounding feet	Can't Post

Can you please help me.

I have been doing down dog for a long time and my feet are placed firmly on the ground, soft bent knees etc... My Fav pose.

The question is that I see many people cannot place both feet firmly on the ground.

Is there any asanas that you can use to correct this or does it just happen in their own time?

Should we be sticklers for straight legs or are bent legs okay to have feet on the floor?

Please join in.

Namaste,

Rod
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Yoga is a light; which, once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.
--BKS Iyengar

Bec
Yogi / Moderator

Mar 19, 2004, 3:15 PM

Post #2 of 5 (3676 views)
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Re: [Rod] Question about Down Dog grounding feet [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm one of those people who finds it hard to have my feet flat on the floor. My calves feel very tight at times.
Last year I had a massage and asked her to concentrate on my calves. She told me that she thought I had damaged my calves from over stretching them? Has anyone any thoughts on this possibility? If this is the case being a stickler for feet flat to the floor and legs straight may not be good for some people in downward dog?

Bonnie
Forum Advanced Yogi / Moderator

Mar 19, 2004, 3:48 PM

Post #3 of 5 (3674 views)
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Re: [Rod] Question about Down Dog grounding feet [In reply to]	Can't Post

I can't put my feet down flat, I'm not to far off but I am very tight in a calves. So I usually use a blanket and I find doing down dog against the wall or with my heals on the wall is really good cause it helps to give that grounded fealing and gives me something I could push against

rachael
Yogi

Mar 22, 2004, 9:12 AM

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Re: [Rod] Question about Down Dog grounding feet [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm also someone who cant get my heels to the floor, as my calfs are still a bit tight. But i've found with practise they're slowly opening up. What i've noticed is that initially most of my weight was in my hands, so i've found it really helpful to concentrate on sending energy up through my arms, through my body and down through my legs towards my feet. I'm not quite there yet, but it's coming, and it feels much more balanced.

Nadine
Yogi

Mar 25, 2004, 9:25 AM

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Re: [rachael] Question about Down Dog grounding feet [In reply to]	Can't Post

Down face dog has always been a bit of a challenge for me - I'm not naturally long in the hamstrings and until very recently I did not have the sufficient upper body strength to maintain the pose comfortably for very long. I find that working into the pose slowly has helped. By this I would go into the pose and have the one foot flat and the other I would bend the knee and be on the toes of the other foot and then alternate until my hammys were warm and stretched out enough to do it. For upper body I would recommend doing it with the fingers paced against a wall for a bit of support and resistance. As for the knees - I think straight but not locked is the goer for me at least. Locked knees dont work for me - it creates tension and does not allow the energy to flow upwards - I think I prefer the term Active legs - but not locked!

Nadine

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