I have collapsed arches (i.e. flat feet). Certain yoga poses, such as tree pose, warrior 3, dancer pose- the ones that involve standing on one foot- are difficult for me and also cause a lot of pain in foot bearing the weight. I have noticed that my feet will naturally want to turn inward for balance and relief. My question is, are these poses good for flat feet, or are they perhaps damaging to my alignment? Is there anything I can do to relieve the pain?
If you wish you could correct your flat feet. The consistent practice of several exercises to strengthen the ligaments, tendons and muscle which sustain the arches is needed. Email me for additional details, k.sordo@gmail.com
can you wear like dance-shoe type things with padding/arch support?
i know wearing shoes for yoga is like a no-no but maybe this is an instance for an exeption?
It would take some time to recondition your feet to build up strength again.. always remember to modify your poses so they feel as comfortable to you as possible.
Often you may hear in yoga classes to route to the four corners of the feet..triangle/pyramid structure..
if you stand in Tadasana (tada = mountain) or Utkatasana (utkata = powerful, fierce) lift all your toes up and feel across the front of your feet so that you are planted firmly on either side of the foot (behind your big and small toe) and feel routed in your heel, these are the 3 primary connection points of your foot with the ground, when they connect up to the ankle that makes the 4 point connection.. hence the saying the four corners of the foot.
An excercise you will want to do daily is Virasana (hero pose), to relieve the pressure of your feet and to create that arch form in your feet (10 minutes before bed should be ample time) this could take many many nights to give you full benefits.