Toe Tapping
A second article from this month’s July 2009 BEST Life Media newsletter:Lower back pain can sometimes be caused by an uneven posture or unbalanced leg length. Not only does this condition cause pain, but it can affect your gait, make your posture slump to either side, or put strain on some body parts while relaxing others. Its effects are not limited to physical distortions, but also adversely influence your energy circulation and emotional well-being. Luckily there are some exercises that, if performed daily, can adjust muscles and bones for good. In order to do them you first need to assess which leg is longer.
To Assess Your Leg Length:
- Ask someone to help you.
- Lie down on your back on a hard, even surface.
- Relax your entire body, making sure it’s not bent to one side.
- Ask your partner to grab your feet, gently shake your legs to loosen them, and then gently pull them away from the hips while resting them on the floor. Make sure that both feet and ankles are at the same angle to the floor.
- Then your partner should look straight down above your feet and compare the positions of the right and left ankle bones.
- Turn over onto your stomach and ask your partner to observe the positions of your heels and toes. Which leg is longer?
Corrective Exercise: Kiss Your Knees
Improves overall realignment and releases stiffness throughout the entire spine. Corrects spinal misalignments and pelvic torsion.
- Lie down on your back in a comfortable position.
- Bend your knees in toward your chest, keeping them along the midline of your body and holding them with your hands.
- Pull the knee of the longer leg 2 to 3 inches closer to your face. The foot of the shorter leg should be placed slightly on top of the instep of the other foot.
- From this position, slowly pull both knees toward the center of your chest as far as you can.
- Return to your knees to their position in Step 3.
- Repeat this motion 20-50 times.
- Next, while pulling your knees to the center of your chest as in Step 4 above, bring your chin up to your knees as far as you can.
- Return your head and knees to their position in Step 3.
- Repeat this motion 20-50 times.
I had this condition and worked with a Dahn Master Healer who gave me a 100 day exercise to correct this. It included the exercise above plus kissing your knees and rocking on your back 100 times a day and then going into a modified bridge pose, holding for ten seconds, and letting your lower back free fall to the floor to realign the pelvis. This really worked for me and I have been pain free since. If my lower back starts getting tight, I do these exercises for a couple of days and I am better. Healing is not being healed, it is learning to heal yourself!
I’m glad you had success with these exercises and feel empowered to heal yourself. Thank you for sharing your experience here!
NikspioF say: I suggest you to come on a site on which there is a lot of information on this question.
_____________
lavetra
rx New York
8
Can I know the asana name for this ‘Kiss your knee’ posture?
thanks
Dhandu
Hi Dhandu,
I think this exercise is technically not an asana. It’s a type of meridian exercise used for position therapy. Maybe if you show the description to a hatha yoga teacher they may be able to give you a similar exercise or a different name.
Thank you,
Michela
Also, a tree pose can be utilized to even leg length. Use the higher/tighter side (hip) as the standing leg. The inside leg can be used to hike up level to the base leg and hold for approximately 30 seconds or as long as safely possible.