What I Learned When I Refused to Give Up on My Most Challenging Yoga Pose

"The first time I tried Toe Squat was during an online yin yoga class. The instructor sat back on his heels in what I first thought was Thunderbolt (Vajrasana), but unlike that classic pose, his toes were curled under him so that his weight was on the balls of his feet and toes. He set a timer for three minutes, cautioning that it might be uncomfortable."

"My immediate reaction once I was in the pose? "OUCH." The bottoms of my feet ached from my toes to my heels. After a few breaths, that ache escalated into a burn. To relieve the sensation, I leaned forward and rested my arms on the seat of my couch. "Time's got to be almost up," I coached myself. "Just a little longer.""

"When I was certain my toes would snap off, I checked the video: It had been only 20 seconds. I called it quits shortly after. Ego bruised, I internally dubbed the pose "The Toe Breaker." It was impossible, I decided, and I hoped I'd never come across it again. However, this dream was promptly squashed as I explored more online yoga classes. Call it the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, but now that I knew (and hated) Toe Squat, suddenly it was seemingly everywhere."

A five-year yoga practice revealed numerous challenging poses, with particular difficulty in hamstring-focused postures and a natural affinity for foot and ankle stretches like Thunderbolt and Reclining Hero. An encounter with Toe Squat produced immediate, intense pain across the soles, escalating to burning sensations within breaths and forcing early exit after only twenty seconds. The pose earned the nickname "The Toe Breaker" and prompted a desire to avoid it. Increased exposure in online classes made the pose recur frequently, creating a dilemma about whether to skip it during home practice where no one else would notice.

Read at Yoga Journal