Head over Heels for Yoga

Photo by valeyoshino

I love high heels.  I want nothing more than to one day own a pair of Christian Louboutin black leather pumps.  I even visited the store in Dallas a few years ago just to try them on and dream.  I have a closet full of high heels in a variety of colors: black, brown, nude, silver, and even purple (no Louboutins yet, though).  In my opinion, nothing completes an outfit like a great pair of heels.  I wore heels every chance I got…until yoga came into my life. 

When we first started doing yoga, my feet hurt the entire class, but as we started going to classes more regularly I noticed a pattern.  On Saturdays when I wore my Vibram Five Fingers prior to class, I had better balance and less trouble in the standing asanas (positions).  The days I wore heels prior to yoga class were much more challenging and some days quite painful.  In certain poses it was like nails were being driven into the bottom of my feet.  The difference was significant, and it soon became clear that my feet are my biggest weakness.  More specifically, my feet are my biggest weakness when I wear heels.

As a side note: I know that my VFFs are the complete opposite of the extremely high fashion heels I covet, but they are so comfortable, and I love them.  I have 3 pairs: one for kayaking, one for hiking, and one for walking/running.  They have made a huge difference in the condition of my feet and ankles.  I have had flat feet since the day I was born (no arch in my left and very little arch in my right).  After wearing my VFFs for 3 years, I have seen a small arch develop in both feet and my lower back pain has improved.  Now back to the yoga…

The difference was so profound, I made a choice.  I decided to relinquish the heels, but only on yoga days when I didn’t have important meetings.  It eventually got to the point where I wore flats almost every Monday…key word there is almost.  It was convenient because I usually have to conduct training on Mondays, which means a lot of standing, and we had our Gold’s Gym class on Mondays.  I started to see an immediate improvement, not only in the way my feet felt during class, but in my performance.  The breaks I took during poses to relax my feet became fewer and fewer. 

Two weeks ago, although I knew the result would not be pretty, I wore my black heels on a yoga day.  Not because I had an important meeting for which I needed to look professional, but because they looked better with the outfit I picked out. 

Longest. Class. Ever. 

In the Ashtanga based yoga classes we attend, the first half of the class is spent in standing poses, and the second half of the class is spent in seated poses.  I could barely make it through the standing poses that I usually consider “easy”, let alone the ones that required balance.  When we finally got to the seated poses, I actually had to sit and rub my feet for a few seconds.  I was uncomfortable and embarrassed.  I swore I would not make that mistake again. 

Tomorrow is a yoga day, and not just any yoga day…it’s an Ashtanga Workshop day.  The choice should be easy, but it’s not.  You see, I have a very important HR conference tomorrow.  I will probably see most of my former colleagues as well as former supervisors.  Networking is a huge deal at these things.  I could potentially meet someone that could make a significant impact on my future career.  I HAVE to look my best.  Normally, that would mean wearing my most professional dress with, that’s right, my favorite pair of heels, but not tomorrow.  Tomorrow I choose yoga over heels.  Who knows, maybe one day I will end up giving up heels entirely…