Why do yoga teachers constantly tell us to spread our toes apart and lift our arches ("Pada Bandha")? How is one even supposed to do this? And what is the point? When I first practiced yoga I had no clue why we had to pay such close attention to our feet and because of this and the fact that I had no idea how on earth I was supposed to will my toes to come apart, I brushed this instruction aside and went on. 

One random day while I was sitting in bed, I stared at my toes and had a sudden eager goal to try and will them to come apart. (Yes it was a slow day for me) Unsuccessful but determined, I began a mission to undo the atrophy of my toe abductors. Since most of us rarely need to spread our toes apart in everyday life, these little muscles of ours have shrunk and become inactive. Also, the main principle of neuroplasticity: "neurons that fire together wire together" is the reason why it's so hard to move one toe individually. We usually move our toes in unison for everyday function and because of this our neural paths governing toe movement has melded into a few paths instead of ten individual paths for each toe; they have "wired" together. But also because of neuroplasticity, we can train our brains to separate these pathways once again and learn to control our little toesies as freely we do our hands! 

HOW

• Manually massage and wiggle your toes and feet with your fingers to warm up
• Use your fingers to separate the toes apart by placing them in between each one - this shows your unfamiliar brain what it feels like. You can also use toe separators.
• In a low squat lift your heels off the ground and hold for a nice toe stretch
• Have a seat, extend your legs out in front of you and look at your toes. Look at each toe one at a time and attempt to abduct it. (Think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill - "Wiggle your big toe") You'll have to be patient - this will take a while to achieve. You can also do this while watching TV, on the computer, reading, etc - this will make the patience come much easier.  
• Finally, during yoga practice while you are standing in mountain pose, lift your toes and try to will your toes to spread apart. Set them on the ground for a greater foundation.

WHY

Alignment principle #4 in my YTT notes - Root to Rise:
Your FEET, ie. your foundation attributes greatly the success of standing balancing postures. In order to experience the grand feeling of RISING in strength and balance, for example, in dancer's pose, you first must firm your ROOTS. With "awakened" toes, they become smarter in detecting the subtle weight shifts in your body, thereby better abling to communicate to your brain and body in how to become more stable. Better communication also means less ankle sprains, and less tripping over your feet (for you clumsy ones).  

Better Postural Structure:
Spreading your toes also naturally lifts the arches of your feet. This lifts the ankle, which supports upwards to the knee, pelvis, spine, neck, and head. In a sentence, this simple action of spreading your toes apart can immediately rid of many postural misalignment.

So keep this it in mind! If there's one balancing posture that you've felt like you've worked on forever but just can't get, try spreading your toes! I guarantee it will help you out a ton - Half moon was impossible for me before I tried it with pada bandha. 

Kimmi