Easy Hatha yoga exercises for ankles increase strength and range of motion in just 8-minutes. No warm-up required and you don’t need to commit to an entire yoga routine to benefit. Just follow the video a few times a week or everyday.
Exercises for ankles are a typical part of a beginner Hatha yoga class because they prepare your feet and toes for movements required in the yoga positions you will do during class. They may help you to:
- loosen stiff joints
- develop body awareness
- prevent injury
Time: About 8 minutes.
Parts of the Body: Toes, feet, ankles and leg muscles.
Body Position Instructions: Seated in base position – Prarambhik Sthiti.
1. Sit on your yoga mat with your legs extended and your feet no more than hip-distance apart.
2. Extend your arms behind you for support with your palms flat on the floor, elbows straight and your fingers pointing away from your body.
3. Lean back slightly and relax.
Inhale and Exhale: As a general rule for yoga ankle exercises, inhale as your feet or toes move backward and exhale as they move forward. However, you don’t need to synchronize your breath to the movements of your ankle exercises. In fact, yoga beginners should first master the exercises only concentrating on the “awareness of the actual movement” and add the breath after a few sessions.
Easy Hatha yoga exercises for ankles:
1. Toe Bending – Padanguli Naman – Repeat 10x and only move your toes.
a) Inhale and flex your toes back.
b) Exhale and bend your toes forward.
2. Ankle Bending – Goolf Naman – Repeat 10x.
a) Inhale and flex your ankles.
b) Exhale and extend your ankles.
3. Ankle Rotation – Goolf Chakra – Repeat 10x.
a) Rotate both feet together clockwise and then counterclockwise.
b) Inhale as your feet come towards your body and exhale as they move away from your body.
The Source: These ankle exercises are a series of Hatha yoga poses for beginners as presented in the Pawanmuktasana Series section in the yoga book Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
