Have you ever been in a yoga class and the teacher is constantly saying “flex your foot… flex your foot… flex your foot… flex your foot”, then you notice it was YOU who had a pointed toe and they were “nicely” calling you out?! Oh yeah, it’s happened to me before too, and I’ve been that teacher!
Then, when you go to your pilates class later in the week, the teacher tells you to point your foot here and flex your foot there, and you’re constantly switching up what you’re doing.
This might leave you confused as to what you’re “supposed” to do when engaging your feet.
What happens when you flex your foot?
When you flex your foot, you are engaging the front part of your leg. Your shins and quads are nice and active. At the same time, you’ll be lengthening the backs of the legs. In yoga, this makes a lot of sense since you’re constantly working on flexibility and strength throughout class.
PRO TIP:
1. Pointing will also let you really engage your butt!
What happens when you point your foot?
When you point your foot, you’re doing the opposite – you’re activating the back of the leg, so the calf and the hamstring. You’re also lengthening the front of your leg, like the shins and quad. You may have noticed dancers are constantly pointing their toes and have quite long and lean muscles.
Is one better than the other?
No! Both flexing and pointing are important. It’s a good habit to get into working on both pointing and flexing your feet so you don’t create muscle imbalances. If you’d like, the next time an instructor tells you to point (or flex) your feet, try it the opposite way! See how this changes your exercise or pose slightly. By changing the point or the flex, you’ll end up working your muscles slightly different, but don’t worry, it’s not a huge difference.
If you’re working on toning very specific parts of the body, listen to your instructor for when to point or flex your foot so you target the exact muscle they are attempting to work.
What is most important (and the main reason why us instructors cue you to either point or flex) is that your leg is engaged. If you keep your foot limp and not in use, notice the dead weight you have to lift and lug around. Plus, setting up engaged and active feet is the foundation for most exercises and poses. Having a good, grounded foundation will set your knees and hips on the right course as you move.
REMEMBER:
If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. There are very few poses and exercises where pointing or flexing your foot could mean the difference between injury or strain.
One example I can think of is pigeon pose. You’ll want to listen to your instructor cues and follow their direction when it’s time for this pose. You should only flex your front foot if your front leg is at 90 degrees. If the angle is less (and it will be for most of us), go ahead and point your foot. This will protect your knee. When the front leg is less than 90 degrees, flexing the foot can twist the knee, which is something we definitely want to avoid while the knee is bent!
In Warrior 2, try both! Try the flex and the point and see how it changes your pose slightly. You may end up preferring one over the other. Whichever you choose, both are fine in this pose.
