Years ago, I sprained my ankle days before taking off to lead three yoga retreats. It was a bad sprain that left me in crutches, unable to put weight on my foot, and supremely disappointed. I ended up going on the trip and it was a really good lesson for me in learning how to refine my cues, how to be confident as a teacher even when I’m not physically able to demo poses, and it taught me a lot in terms of rehabbing the ankle and learning to build strength from the foundation up.
In today’s yoga video, I created a practice to address ankle joint stability. You’ll need a balance pad for this, or you can use something similar at home (a firm pillow or two should do the trick!) As you practice, it’s important to think about building each pose from the foundation up. To drill this point home, I encourage you to step onto the balance pad and be sure to spread your toes before taking the posture. You may need to manually spread the toes if the mind/body connection or the strength isn’t quite there yet.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes down in the comments section below, and don’t forget that you can always request a video in the future - just leave it in the comments section!!