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Improve your balance with Pada Bandha

Oct 11, 2024

As I looked out on the students in my class, my eyes went directly to their feet. All of their attention was on holding Warrior III, also known as Balancing Stick Pose. 

Some of their feet were engaged, holding onto the floor and ultimately contracting all of their leg muscles to support the posture. 

But, there were also the students that had zero foot engagement. And, their yoga pose was shaky because of it. 

Were they students struggling a bit more than the rest, all beginners to yoga? No, not at all. 

Some of them were my more advanced students that could do what most people deem crazy, pulling their leg behind their head, or flying in Parsva Yogidandasana (Grasshopper Pose). 

It could be they were tired from the day. It could be they didn't know to engage their foot in any way because its so often not even taught in a general yoga class. It could be they've always struggled with balance and balancing poses (where you are asked to balance on one leg). 

But, I knew that I could help them if I simply took 1-minute out of this class to have them focus on the right things. 

I love a quick yoga fix and I know you do, too. So, I thought I'd share with you what I teach my students when we are having an off balance kind of day. 

You've had the kind of day in your yoga practice, too, haven't you? 

That day where even Eagle Pose seems out of control, wobbly and simply NOT happening? 

Let me help you focus on the right thing on those days. 

You need to begin to understand the concept of Pada Bandha, or "foot lock." 

In yoga we talk about certain "locks' in the body, where you are trapping energy in a certain place to help you gain control of a yoga posture... and master your inner self, too. 

Pada Bandha includes 3 steps that you can easily add to your yoga practice today, to help you improve your balance, on and off your yoga mat. They are: 

1. Ground your toes down. And, I do not mean that you simply press them into the floor. I like to imagine wanting to pick up a stick with your toes. 

Do this right now. Stand up and simply lift one leg up without doing anything with your toes. Feel shaky? Me, too. 

Now, do it again, but this time spread your toes wide and ground your toes down as if you want to pick a stick up off of the floor. Do you notice how the weight distribution of your body is evenly distributed across all of the toes? 

You are creating a strong base for your balancing yoga poses with this one step alone. 

2. Root down through the 3 corners of your foot. This includes, the ball of your foot, at the base of the big toe and your pinky toe, and your heel. This creates a triangular base at the foot which in turn creates balance, helping you use the entire foot to support your balancing yoga pose. 

3. Lift the arch of your foot. You will find that your calf muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes engage to support this action. And, it draws energy up your leg, hugging your muscles to your bones, creating even greater stability for you to feel light in the yoga pose, as well as, strong. 

Please know you can use Pada Bandha when both feet are on the floor, too. Engage it in Side Angle, Warrior II, and Triangle and notice the difference. 

As you practice it on two feet, it will be natural to engage Pada Bandha when you move into a balancing pose. 

This is a great first step towards improving your practice in a simple way that will serve you again and again. 

I'm going to have more great info to share with you this week on balancing poses, as we ramp up for this month's livestream/on-demand workshop where we will be focusing on how to truly master these postures. 

So, make sure to stay tuned here and to my social media for some great free content that will help you get the most out of your time on your yoga mat. 

And, if you want to practice Pada Bandha with me, hit 'play' on the video above. 

I hope this serves you well this week and beyond! 

Big Hugs, 

Tori ♡