Yoga invites us to ground, root to the earth, and rise. Showing up for every pose, every class, every breath are your feet. Whether you’re in Warrior II or settling into Savasana, your feet do more than support your posture—they tell a story of how well you care for yourself. Put your best food forward in your yoga and mat classes. Pretty feet need a quick manicure to look yoga mat ready, but a few tips for common nail, foot and skin issues.
Sunscreen when barefoot or sandals helps the skin stay healthy as well.
Some conditions require prevention strategies
Keep toes moisturized. Use your body skin care on your feet to put your best food forward in your Pilates and Yoga classes. Revision Nectiferm or Skinsceuticals Triple Lipid are both terrific for feet as well. Dry nails produce hang nails. Hang nails need trimming. Simple cleaning with water or saline first is helpful. Trim the nail close to the skin and nightly moisturize with a glycerin-based ointment. Alternatively glue in place with cyanoacrylate surgical glue.
Place a single nightly drop of vinegar under a fungus infected nail. Use the vinegar on each toes in cases of nail fungus.
Keep feet and nails well hydrated. Soaking with Epsom salts is helpful. Then use a pumice stone to thin the nail tips. Additionally, treat thickened toenails with topical applications of a salicylic acid to further soften the nail. If your nail resists cutting, see a podiatrist.
Urea based creams soften thick toenails. Furthermore, applied nightly the urea cream produces a top softened layer can just be wiped away with a finger!
Often it’s just your shoes!
Poorly fitting shoes, not vinyasas, leave ridges on the toenails. Identify the issue, omit that shoe, or fix the shoe. In the meantime, cushion so the contour of the shoe doesn’t let your foot wiggle as you walk. Adding heal insert will fix the poor fit for bunion feet.
Improper shoe fitting affects ingrown toenails. A small pea size piece or smaller of cotton can be pushed under the nail. Elevating the nail over trapped skin relieves pressure.
Cracked nails ‘heal’ by a drop of glue, and in addition, patch of a small piece of tea bag!
Beauty Beneath the surface
Yoga, especially standing balances, puts significant biochemical stress on the foot. Attention to alignment foot placement and teacher directed progressions will help maximize strengthening and minimize injury risk. Osteoporosis can affect feet as well as the spine and hip. The integration of yoga balances can help combat bone loss in the feet.
Improving function of the blood vessels to your feet helps circulation while supporting the nerves as well. Yoga secifically helps the function of the endothelium, the blood vessel lining that is critical for proper oxygen delivery. A bit of foot massage is helpful for nerves and blood flow.
At Hatha Yoga and Fitness we keep our equipment fresh and cleaned equipment is healthiest
