Downward Dog Heels Can T Touch Floor

Hypomobility not typically the biggest problem for yogis can be local as in the example above or generalized.

Downward dog heels can t touch floor.

Slowly you might build on flexibility and you might be able to do it. Some people s heels might touch the floor in down dog and some people s might not. This is only one example of how the zaichik stretching technique in our downward facing dog program can demonstrate the ease of movement provided through a yoga pose or exercise. Stay tuned for the next tip to get your heels closer to the floor in downward facing dog if you still need an extra push after this exercise.

So all that to say. Having your heels touch the floor require you you keep working on your hamstrings yes but more importantly whenever you are doing a seated forward fold or some variation point your toes toward your face. Your heels are supposed to touch the floor. Yes tight hamstrings and calves can make heel to floor contact more challenging as a person with extremely tight calves i know this.

My personal opinion would be stretch a bit but don t overkill yourself. As long as you are pushing to stick to butt to the sky in your downward dog then you are progressing it. Say you ve been working hard on your downward facing dog and still can t get your heels to the floor. Everyone s body is different.

Stretching can change that. I think its a matter of time and flexibility. And it may or may not have anything to do with flexibility. During my yoga teacher training with yandara yoga institute we watched a video by paul grilley who has a phd in anatomy and is a world renowned yoga teacher.

In his video he demonstrat. You can roll up a thick towel or two depending on how much height you need and lay it on your mat so your heels can rest there instead of remaining suspended above the ground. Yes that is completely normal. The down dog cues i use encourage students to keep feet hip width and heels reaching towards the floor but slightly off the floor.

Some of us have tight calf muscle and back lines and this will mean we can t get our heels down. These individuals may never get their heels to the floor in downward facing dog but can work on all the other joints above the ankle as well as soft tissue to get as close as possible. Since the pose primarily focuses on lengthening the legs and spine if the heels are flat on the ground the pose can no longer grow. There are a few things to think about in the should my heels touch the ground issue.

Whether or not you have the range in your ankles. Thus a tight gastroc soleus complex can keep you from getting the heels to the floor in dog pose.