NewBe01

I had this problem and managed to fix it. To prevent the skin on my toes from spitting, I’m very careful on how I transition from upward dog to downward dog. There are two ways I can do this: 1) with lots of tension in the mat, I push with my arms, brace with my toes, and my bum pops up, and 2) with zero tension in the mat, I crunch with my abs. With the first method, I can do one or maybe two 20-minute yoga workouts before my toes split, but with the second method, I have no problems with my toes. My advice: when transitioning into the downward dog, imagine your feet are on coasters, free to slide all over the place, this will force you to use different muscles that you’re use to, probably more appropriate ones, and this will create way less stress on your toes.

Disclaimer: I am only a beginning student of yoga and know nearly nothing of the practice. I just feel that this little bit of knowledge I have will help others out there.