Seiza Difficulty

Hey GB Fam!

I'm new to this (foundations about 3 weeks in) and I'm finding I'm having difficulty in the seiza.  I used to play basketball and have rolled my ankles (both) a few times.  Having said that, my difficulty comes in not being able to to keep my heels together thus not necessarily stretching the correct area in the front of my foot.  Will this improve over time or are there adjustments or tips that can help this?

Thanks

Hi Odane,

Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the GymnasticBodies community!

I also struggle with the seiza stretches. I recommend to ease a little bit out of the stretch, don't sit all the way back to begin with but lean a bit forward. Only go as far back as you can while still keeping your heels close together. After a while you will notice that you will be able to relax further into the stretch. Feel free to submit a form check if you are unsure! The seiza stretches will for sure help you improve your toe point

Thanks for posting this, had the exact same question!

Thanks Paula, I'll try that tip today.

No doubt Russ

Let us know how you do

I was going to ask this same question. Thanks for the response Pauline. 

Would anyone recommend using a yoga strap to keep the heels together?

I will say that I did not realize how limited my mobility was until I started Foundation One and the Stretch Series. Six weeks in and I feel better, and see better results, than 10 years of Starting Strength and Powerlifting. 

He Sean, absolutely yes, the outer ankles movement it is a common compensation. Personally, I found maybe 1 or 2 people until now who can hold the ankles together in the seiza work.

On September 17, 2017 at 6:20 PM, Alessandro Mainente said:

He Sean, absolutely yes, the outer ankles movement it is a common compensation. Personally, I found maybe 1 or 2 people until now who can hold the ankles together in the seiza work.

I use a yoga strap for all seizas. I started out with really tight ankles (and flat feet) so this helps me eliminate the compensation that my ankles want to do.

Thanks for the replies! I will try the strap in tomorrow’s workout. 

Let us know how you go, Sean

Straps really helped me to keep my heels together! One small step. 

I have the same issues keeping my ankles together.

I'll get myself a Yoga strap and try this.

I strapped my ankles for over a year and can now hold my ankles together in all seiza stretches so it definitely works.

I used a large powerlifting strap for the job.

Hi @Giulio Pizzini,

Good job and thanks for sharing