Stretch & strengthen the feet, toes, and ankles in Screaming Toe Pose…

Screaming Toe Pose (Vajrasana Variation On Toes) – also known as Toe Sit Pose, Toes Pose, or Toe Squat Pose – is a variation of Thunderbolt or Rock Pose which offers a deep stretch for the often-neglected toes, feet, and ankles.

Despite its simplicity, this pose is actually quite intense – hence its name! It is a good pose for stretching and lengthening the plantar fascia (connective tissue on the sole of the foot), and may help to prevent or relieve plantar fasciitis and other foot pain. This is also a great pose for runners or other athletes who spend a lot of time on their feet or in training shoes, which often don’t allow the feet to move and stretch as much as they should.

Screaming Toe Pose is often practiced during the warmup section of a yoga class, but before you perform this pose, you should gently warm up your feet with a bit of massage, and start with Hero’s Pose and Bound Angle Pose to loosen up your feet and ankles.

Be sure to keep your heels pointing towards the ceiling, your spine straight, and your core engaged.

To make the pose more comfortable, you may wish to place a folded blanket or small bolster under the knees.

Those with foot, knee, toe, or ankle injuries should use a cushion under the knees as mentioned above; if it’s still painful, skip this one.

How to Do Screaming Toe Pose:

1. Begin on hands and knees. Check that your hands are under your shoulders and your knees are under your hips.
2. Walk your hands back toward your knees and lift your hands off the mat. You can place your hands gently on your lap, or, once you’re used to the pose, try an arm variation such as Cow-Face arms.
3. Stand on your knees and find a tall and long spine.
4. Tuck all of your 10 toes under and check that your heels are pointing up toward the ceiling.
5. Sit back onto your heels.
6. Place your hands on your knees, keep your spine straight, chest open, and shoulders relaxed.
7. Stay for 2-5 deep breaths. Close your eyes and focus on a slow and steady breath.
8. You can slowly increase the amount of time that you stay in the pose up to 3 minutes. If it feels too intense, stay for a shorter amount of time.
9. To come out of the pose, place your hands back down on the mat in front of you. Release your toes behind you. Move your toes, ankles, and feet to stretch everything out, or lean back slightly to stretch the ankles and tops of the feet.

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Image Credit: Yoga15.com