Exercises for the Ankle Joint

1.  Sit with the leg stretched in front, supporting yourself on your palms.  Legs should be at least two feet apart.  Starting position – feet and toes should be absolutely straight inhale.

i)          Stretch your feet up as much as possible from the ankle joint – inhale.

ii)         Stretch it down from the ankle joint – exhale (only the ankle joint to be moved).

2.  Keeping the legs straight rotate your feet from ankle joints in clockwise direction.

3.  Rotate the feet from the ankle joints in anti-clockwise direction.

4.  Lift your right leg and keep it over your left thigh.  Hold the right leg, a little above the ankle firmly with your right hand and toes with your left.  Rotate foot from ankle joint clockwise, five times.

5.  In the same manner as above, rotate the feet from ankle joint in anti-clockwise direction.  Repeat the above two 3 and 4 with your left leg.

6.  i)     In the same position, press and massage each toes from all sides starting with the big toe, moving from the base to the tips.  Rub and massage the inter toes spaces.

ii)         Hold all the toes together with the palm and keeping the thumb in the front rub along the back of all toes with your index finger.

iii)         Hold from the top and press all the toes together with your palm.  Repeat the above with your left leg.

7.  Starting from below the big toe, press with both your thumbs and apply pressure moving horizontally and downwards in a zig-zag manner covering the entire sole of the feet. (right and left feet).

8.  Legs in the same position, rub around the ankle bone on either side and massage well.  Start with right feet first.

9.  Starting from the buttocks press and squeeze the whole leg gradually, covering the thighs, knees, claves, ankles, feet, soles of the feet and finally the toes (as if squeezing a tube of tooth paste from the bottom to the top).  After reaching the tips of toes, imagine that you are throwing away the accumulated toxins out of the leg, having squeezed them out from the top.  Same treatment to be done from the legs.

We will see lots of yogic exercises for other parts too in future blogs.