Why Don’t My Feet Touch The Ground In Purvottanasana?

Hey everybody! Welcome to this month’s question of the month. It’s me, David Keil, answering your questions when you go and submit them at: yoganatomy.com/myquestion. Alright, everyone. This question comes from Marco, and it’s a good one. It’s one I haven’t gotten before, which is always nice. It’s about why his feet don’t touch the ground in purvottanasana.

The Question:

Hi David. My question is: why don’t my feet touch the ground in purvottanasana? [DK: I’m assuming he’s talking about the Ashtanga version with straight legs and feet pointed.] I’ve tried bending the knees and then stretching the legs, but I often have cramps in the legs in that moment. What can I do to avoid that?

The Answer:

Anatomical factors affecting purvottanasana

Great question! There are a few factors here regarding anatomy and purvottanasana. Let’s talk about them. He’s obviously working different techniques already, which is great. Marco tried bending his knees, getting his feet more flat. What keeps the feet from flattening out on that end of purvottanasana? Height of the hips is going to have a lot to say about how flat the feet get. Ankle flexibility is going to have something to say about how flat the feet get. So, you’ve got those two things. And then, arm length might even have an impact on how high your torso is and, therefore, how high your hips are. So there are a few factors there to figure out, you know.

Cramping in purvottanasana

Why are you cramping in purvottanasana? Probably because you are trying so hard to get your feet flat from the musculature as opposed to from the body position. That doesn’t mean that the body position is ready to do purvottanasana or that you have the right flexibility or potential strength. You need the flexibility on the front side, and you need the strength from your glutes. I’m going to guess you probably do have enough of the strength for purvottanasana. Maybe there’s some flexibility lacking. I’m not sure. Unfortunately, I can’t see it.

Or, if your arms are on the shorter side, proportionally, relative to your torso and legs, etc., that could be the other factor. Alright? Have a look. Take a photo. Send it in. We’ll have another look. We’ll do another video on it. Alright?

Anybody else, that was a quick one. If you’ve got a question, I’ll answer it. Go to yoganatomy.com/myquestion.