| “Yoga asanas offer a way to increase both strength and flexibility for the runner. By decreasing muscular imbalances, asanas can help runners to prevent injury. Additionally, the development of the smaller, intrinsic musculature that occurs through sustained practice of yoga may add to a runner’s performance in both speed and endurance.” |
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| Sole of the Foot and Toe Stretches: |
Fig. 1 – Dr. Ashley Cleveland demonstrates foot and toe stretches.
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Come onto your hands and knees. Tuck your toes and then sit back so that your buttocks rest on your heels (Fig. 1). If this is too intense a stretch at first, do not sit back as fully. If you are able to sit back fully and be completely comfortable, you may begin to lean the upper body back, resting on your hands and lifting the heart toward the ceiling (Fig. 2).
To add a balance challenge to this stretch, start from the point where you are sitting on your heels, raise the buttocks slightly and turn the soles of the feet to face each other, opening the knees out wide. Shift your weight back slightly so that your knees lift off the floor and you are balancing in a deep squat on your toes. You may leave your hands on the floor to aid in balancing or gradually lift them away from the floor, eventually bring the palms together in prayer position at the heart. Stretching the bottom of the foot is very helpful for preventing plantar fasciitis, a common injury for runners. (Hold each toe stretching pose for 5–10 breaths or to tolerance.)
Finally, sit on your mat and thread the fingers of your left hand in between the toes of your right foot. Really work your fingers deep into the groove between your toes. Use your left hand to rotate the front of the foot, putting motion into the toes and intrinsic bones of the foot (Fig. 3). Switch and repeat the process using the right hand to stretch the left toes and foot.
The asanas covered here are not designed to be a stretching program prior to going for a run. Instead, they complement a regular running schedule by counter-stretching and strengthening. Add them to your ongoing training schedule a couple of times a week and see if you don’t notice a difference.
Ashley Cleveland, MA, DC, is Provost and Associate Professor at Cleveland Chiropractic College–Kansas City, and teaches yoga in Kansas City. |
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Fig. 2 – Foot and toe stretch
with full extension |
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Fig. 3 – Threading the fingers through the toes |
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