Bunions and balancing poses

Hi Patrizia

Bunions are an interesting condition because they can affect the way you do the poses and they way your body aligns. Your feet affect your posture etc. I wonder if you have seen my video on feet because it may have some useful things to consider. Here it is:Great Posture From The Ground Up.

What I think may help you most is to get some practice balancing on your left leg.

Now the first question about balance is this: There are other balancing poses, why is it only Standing Bow you have trouble with? Don’t you have any problems with Standing Head to Knee? Very curious. It occurs to me that you are doing a combination of 2 things: probably trying to go beyond where you should be in Standing Bow and also probably employing a technique that is not working. So please go and read Balancing In Standing Bow

This is what I suggest for you.
>> Hold your right foot, bring your left arm up and only kick your right leg back just enough to get your knee behind your other knee and that you are standing almost completely upright. Keep your arm up near your ear and keep it there, don’t bring it forward at all. Just feel the stretch through the front of the body right up from the knee through to the arm. Work on your balance.
>> If you can’t balance here then I would suggest you move to the wall for Standing Bow (and other balancing poses if needed). Stand (sideways) close enough for you to put your left hand on the wall in the event you start to fall out of the pose. Use a light touch to regain your equilibrium.
>> do NOT work on the depth in this pose at all. Just your balance. Stand up and engage a gentle backward movement of the leg.

Mastering your balance will require you to practice balancing. Only then will your feet feel enough trust to take your weight. Feeling that connection and solidity through your feet is a gift you owe yourself. With diligent work in the right areas of your practice and you will actually see your feet enjoying more contact with the ground (and of course feel it).

Lastly, I don’t know what you shoes you wear. Have you had any help in this department?

Looking forward to hearing from you and welcome to the forum

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Patrizia

I would wholeheartedly recommend those toe separators. Bunions are a physical change of the bones in your foot and the separators should also help you iron out some of your problems to some extent. I am pretty sure you won’t heal bunions completely. Use the toe separators and your yoga to develop a better posture and connection to the earth.

Back to standing bow for a sec: Many people lose their balance in this pose. They start in a balance and then launch themselves forward without maintaining the dynamics of balance that they started with. This is why focusing on that upright position worked for you. This position allows you to build on that dynamic position. Feel the interplay between stretching up with an extended arm (up and not forward) and the leg being worked backward. The body stays up and that is how the backbend is produced.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂