Toe Stand Pose

Two women practicing yoga indoors, both in a seated meditation pose with legs crossed, hands together in prayer position, and eyes closed.

Where is the primary focus? Hips, Knees, Core, Concentration, Balance

Where does the posture provide maximum benefits? Knees, Core, Hips

When and where could I feel the stretch? Both knees, core, possibly shoulders 

Why should I do this posture?
It slows you down before savasana, helps with knee flexion, increases balance, and increases concentration.

How can I improve?
I’m sure you have heard someone say, “You can just do a second set of Tree,” but why would you? No matter how your knees are (I’m recovering from knee surgery as I write this, so I get fragile knees), you can try part of Toe Stand. Toe Stand requires a willingness to play as well as being aware of your limits in the present moment – not what your limitations were last class, but in the present moment. If Tree feels tenuous, you might not go very far in Toe Stand, but you absolutely can start the posture. 

Once you have grabbed your foot and put it on your thigh, look down towards the front of your towel. 

Reach your hands forward and down towards the floor; you might not be able to go very far, or you might be able to touch the floor in front of you. The further you stretch forward, the easier it will be to get down. Put as much weight as you can in your hands to relieve the stress on your back and knee. 

Then it’s time to bend your knee. You can sit your hips as low as you can. As you build more strength, you can keep your hips off of your heel, but you can also sit on your heel. 

Once you have bent your knee enough to feel stable, it’s time to bring your upper body back so that your spine is as vertical as you can get it. For balance, bring your fingertips directly below your shoulders. Once you can balance there, you can bring your hands up in prayer position in front of your chest. 

Moving slowly is key here. For more balance, squeeze your knees towards each other. Exiting is simply reversing each step until you are standing. 

If at any point your knees feel too tight, back off. Figuring out how to take care of yourself is such a gift. Hopefully, we can get better at learning that skill in the studio and take it out into the rest of the world.