Hello Kirsty
You make some good observations about the ankle against the thigh which seems to occur on the days when you cannot lift the hands into prayer.
Sometimes one just doesn’t have the strength in the leg, or in the core or even in the knee, to settle into the position correctly. It’s amazing how it can change so much from class to class. It seems perhaps (and maybe you could chime in here and confirm this for me) that you are still generally working on your core and leg strength and this is making certain aspects of your practice changeable.
The goal is to come down and hover (as you may well know). The stepping stones to that can be leaning the thigh into the back of ankle, or heel. I can tell you that on the occasions when I have had some issues with my left knee that – just on that side – I feel so incredibly heavy in toe stand when the weight is supported on that leg that I have not been able to lift my hands from the floor. So in those cases I have just stayed there with my hands on the floor and made sure that my arms supported me fully so that I could surrender and not risk any damage to my knee. The progress has been very noticeable over the ensuing classes. I have never tried to push through it.
This could be happening for you (where exactly the issue lies is hard to say, it’s not necessarily with the ankle) so observe, get to that point, don’t do anything that elicits pain (rather than just discomfort) and support yourself with your hands (even if they are heavy on the floor) if you happen to descend into the toe stand.
Namaste
Gabrielle
