Friday Q A Stretching a Tight Ankle

Q: I would love to get some information about how to get at this part of the ankle. I do a daily yoga practice but still have considerable tightness around the Achilles heel and the outside of it. I'm not sure but it could be from cycling. Standing poses aren't eliminating the problem.

A: Because your foot position in cycling is plantar flexion (keeping your foot pointing downward), it could be that your tightness in the area around the Achilles heel is indeed from cycling. But I think the first approach is not just to focus on the tightness of the specific region but instead to approach your body more globally.

While standing poses are typically taught to beginners as an approach to creating a foundation on which to build your yoga practice, learning how to execute the basic poses is just the beginning of cultivating body sensitivity and alertness. When addressing foot and ankle issues, it is important to differentiate where your weight is distributed in the standing poses and also to vary how you do the poses so as to not habituate your central nervous system to always doing the pose the same way.

Learning how to shift weight differently when your foot is not flat on the floor might also help encourage more ankle bending (dorsiflexion). So try using a slant board that you place under your foot in various positions as a way wake up parts of your foot and ankle that are “asleep.” Doing standing poses on the beach in the sand or on uneven outdoor surfaces might be a way to challenge ankle sensitivity, strength, and flexibility. Likewise, doing standing poses on softer surfaces, such as multiple sticky mats or on a couch cushion on the floor, challenges your foot and ankle muscles and would be helpful.

Next, you can stretch the two main parts of your calf muscles (the gastrocsoleus complex), as this might be very helpful to increase your ankle bending (dorsiflexion). 

To stretch your gastrocnemius muscles:

1. Start by facing a wall.
2. Step your right foot forward so it is a few inches from the wall (but not touching it).
3. Reach your arms forward and place your fingertips on the wall, about shoulder height.
4. Step your left foot back so your feet are in Warrior 1 stance, with your front heel in line with your back heel and your back leg turned slightly out (approximately 5 degrees). Keep both knees straight and both heels on the ground. 
5. Now, slowly bend your front knee just till you feel the stretch on your back calf and heel. Keep the heel grounded and try to bend the front knee a bit more, all the time keeping the back heel down. Do not bounce
6. See if you can hold the stretch up to 90 seconds. But be very conscious of not going too far too fast because you do not want to tear or rupture your Achilles tendon.
7. Repeat on the other side.

To stretch your soleus muscle, you can use the same pose as for gastrocnemius with one exception:

1. Start by facing a wall, and follow steps 2-4 from the previous pose.
2. Now keep your front leg straight as you gently try to bend your back knee until you feel the calf stretch in a different area. 
3. Again, see if you can hold the stretch up to 90 seconds. But be very conscious of not going too far too fast because you do not want to tear or rupture your Achilles tendon.
4. Repeat on the other side.

For stretching your heel cords, you could try a single leg heel drop off a block. Start by taking Mountain pose facing a wall with a block on its lowest height on the floor in front of you. Then, with your fingertips on the wall, step one foot onto the block. Now, move your heel back so it drops over the edge of the block, creating a gentle stretch. If you have stairs in your home you can do this by dropping one heel over the stair lip. You can vary this exercise by keeping your hip and knee straight as you drop your heel or by keeping your hip straight and bending your knee slightly.

Do not get discouraged with your standing poses, but I might recommend more comprehensive stretching of your:

• Hamstring muscles (backs of your thighs)
• Iliotibial (IT) band (sides of your thighs)
• Gluteal muscles (buttocks) and hip rotators (sides of the hips)
• Hip flexors (fronts of the hips) and quadriceps (fronts of the thighs)

I also might recommend getting a consultation with a health professional about your particular ankle mobility or stiffness. Sometimes some good old joint manipulation of a specific part of ankle joints does a world of good in helping you gain mobility. Then the yoga will help you maintain the strength and stability.

—Shari

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