„squatting on the balls of your feet“

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last update: 12/30/2018
Trivia name: Squat on the balls of the feet
Level: A

Classification

classic: posture on the floor

Contraindication

This posture is contraindicated in the case of intervertebral disc problems, as the round back can cause the known complaints again and contribute to their persistence. Various injuries to the knee joint can contraindicate this pose.

Effects

(851) Stretching of the monoarticular calf muscles (soleus)

Preparation

Follow-up

derived asanas:

similar asanas:

Diagnostics (No.)

Musculature of the sole of the foot

In this pose, the muscles of the sole of the foot are stretched. The perceived tension indicates incorrect loading, also due to inadequate footwear, overloading or deformities of the foot. Knee

In this pose, knee problems associated with wide bending under load become very apparent. These can be, for example: traumatic or degenerative meniscus damage, arthrosis, arthritis, subluxations, ligament damage, plica syndrome and others, see the FAQ.

Variants:

Instructions

Assume squat 1.
Shift the weight from the whole feet to the balls of the feet and bring the knees far forward to maximum dorsiflexion in the ankles so that you are hanging in the ankles.

Details

Depending on your knee health, this pose may not be possible or may be associated with pain. This should be clarified.
The body weight rests solely on the balls of the feet and toes and hangs in the ankles, which promotes dorsiflexion and therefore stretches the soleus. In this sense, this pose is synergistic to utkatasana and prepares you well for it. In dog pose head down, on the other hand, the biarticular gastrocnemius, which spans the knee, is stretched far more, which is why the effect on the soleus is likely to be very limited.
This posture has a certain balancing character compared to squat 1. If this is too difficult but the stretching effect on the soleus is necessary, the hands on the floor can also be used for light stabilization.
Use the strength of the adductors topress the knees together very slightly in order to slightly reduce the uneven load distribution in the knee joint that results from the abduction of the legs.
In addition to stretching the soleus, this pose is also excellent for relieving cramps in the soles of the feet, such as those that occur in virasana, supta virasana, ardha baddha padma pascimottanasana, upface dog with feet upside down and other postures with the foot extended. In most cases, a short pause of less than half a minute is sufficient to relax the muscles. This effect can be used both preventatively and interventively. However, how lasting the effect is when the ankle is stretched again depends on a number of other factors. If the posture is used to treat cramps in the sole of the foot and knee problems are known, it should only be held until the cramps have been relieved or the knee joint is clearly painful, prompting you to leave the posture. If the pain is localized in the inner knee, setu bandha sarvangasana with feet against the wall or quadriceps stretch 1 against the wall can be tried as an alternative to reduce the tendency to cramp in the muscles of the sole of the foot.

yogabook

asana: squatting on the balls of your feet