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Old 07-24-19, 07:30 PM  
Poodlepants
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Bloody Big Toes from Yoga.

This is the second summer I have abraded some skin off of the bottom of both of my big toes practicing yoga.(They start bleeding). I do yoga all year, but this happens midsummer. I think it is increased humidity in the air and maybe my feet are ever-so-slightly sweaty. I also think that that the extra humidity/moisture creates friction when I jump back into chatturanga and then push back my toes, so that the tops of my feet are facing up when I go into upward facing dog. (I hope I explained this properly.)

Has this happened to anyone? What did you do to fix it? I've stopped practicing for the time being to allow my toes to heal.

Any ideas are welcome.
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Old 07-24-19, 08:50 PM  
cjayd
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Spanaway, WA
I have this happen to my big toes every time I do too many Barlates workouts in a row that has things like mountain climbers or moves like that with a lot of friction to them. My skin splits and it hurts so bad. I will put a Band-Aid on them with Neosporin to keep working out. This only happens if I’m barefoot never with shoes.

I read online to use foot cream at night to soften up the skin. Unfortunately for me I’m allergic to nearly all lotions (anything with Shea butter and a variety of other ingredients). I can use plain coconut oil which absolutely does help. The downfall is it takes forever for it to soak in so I don’t do it all the time.

I’m anxious to read other people’s suggestions too. Any former dancers out there? What’s their foot care regimen?
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Old 07-24-19, 09:35 PM  
beyond.omega
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Join Date: Dec 2006
OMG you guys. Whoa.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cjayd View Post
I read online to use foot cream at night to soften up the skin. Unfortunately for me I’m allergic to nearly all lotions (anything with Shea butter and a variety of other ingredients). I can use plain coconut oil which absolutely does help. The downfall is it takes forever for it to soak in so I don’t do it all the time.

I’m anxious to read other people’s suggestions too. Any former dancers out there? What’s their foot care regimen?
Not a former dancer, but, have you tried Fermented Coconut Oil? I have been using Alaffia Fermented Coconut Oil in my hair and it penetrates much faster than regular coconut oil. (However it isn't immediate.) I was able to find it at Whole Foods on the ground, but you may have to buy it online. Places like iherb and lucky sell it.
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Old 07-25-19, 06:22 AM  
Taiga
 
Join Date: May 2006
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poodlepants View Post
This is the second summer I have abraded some skin off of the bottom of both of my big toes practicing yoga.(They start bleeding). I do yoga all year, but this happens midsummer. I think it is increased humidity in the air and maybe my feet are ever-so-slightly sweaty. I also think that that the extra humidity/moisture creates friction when I jump back into chatturanga and then push back my toes, so that the tops of my feet are facing up when I go into upward facing dog. (I hope I explained this properly.)

Has this happened to anyone? What did you do to fix it? I've stopped practicing for the time being to allow my toes to heal.

Any ideas are welcome.
Powdering your mat (baby powder with cornstarch or climber's chalk) on the "foot end" can help. The mess is minor and fairly easy to clean up. You can also apply climber's chalk (generally longer lasting than other powders) directly to your feet. I know some folks also use mat towels or yoga slip free gloves/socks. I personally prefer powder (I need direct contact with the mat and don't like shifting material).

It's important not to create dust clouds when powdering your mat/feet as you don't want to breathe the dust. That's easy to avoid with careful application. If the humidity is high, you may need to reapply mid practice--still much more convenient than bloody toes! HTH.
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Old 07-26-19, 07:12 AM  
Poodlepants
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjayd View Post
I have this happen to my big toes every time I do too many Barlates workouts in a row that has things like mountain climbers or moves like that with a lot of friction to them. My skin splits and it hurts so bad. I will put a Band-Aid on them with Neosporin to keep working out. This only happens if I’m barefoot never with shoes.

I read online to use foot cream at night to soften up the skin. Unfortunately for me I’m allergic to nearly all lotions (anything with Shea butter and a variety of other ingredients). I can use plain coconut oil which absolutely does help. The downfall is it takes forever for it to soak in so I don’t do it all the time.

I’m anxious to read other people’s suggestions too. Any former dancers out there? What’s their foot care regimen?
I wonder if you used coconut oil at night, then put socks on. I couldn't do that, now, it's too hot. But I think I might try that in the winter when I sleep with socks on.
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Old 07-26-19, 07:13 AM  
Poodlepants
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taiga View Post
Powdering your mat (baby powder with cornstarch or climber's chalk) on the "foot end" can help. The mess is minor and fairly easy to clean up. You can also apply climber's chalk (generally longer lasting than other powders) directly to your feet. I know some folks also use mat towels or yoga slip free gloves/socks. I personally prefer powder (I need direct contact with the mat and don't like shifting material).

It's important not to create dust clouds when powdering your mat/feet as you don't want to breathe the dust. That's easy to avoid with careful application. If the humidity is high, you may need to reapply mid practice--still much more convenient than bloody toes! HTH.
Thanks. I hadn't thought of this. Once my toes are healed, I will check out my local REI for climber's chalk.
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Old 07-26-19, 08:28 AM  
laurajhawk
 
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Colorado
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poodlepants View Post
I also think that that the extra humidity/moisture creates friction when I jump back into chatturanga and then push back my toes, so that the tops of my feet are facing up when I go into upward facing dog.
Your toes ideally shouldn't be sliding/grating on the mat when you do this move - instead of pushing back, try to keep your toes where they are and shift your whole body forward (it's only an inch or so), then "roll over" the toes so that the contact point shifts in one move from the toe tips/fronts to the tops of the feet.

(I used to carve lines in my wrists with my toenails when I did the jump-forward. I did improve my technique to help fix that, but I also started paying a lot more attention to clipping my nails and filing the sharp corners!)
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Old 07-26-19, 02:39 PM  
kat999
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Ohio
You might also try using a mat towel or wearing yoga socks with grippy treads on them. My feet get way too sweaty doing certain types of yoga, so I invested in a couple of mat towels.
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Old 07-26-19, 04:49 PM  
cjayd
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Spanaway, WA
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poodlepants View Post
I wonder if you used coconut oil at night, then put socks on. I couldn't do that, now, it's too hot. But I think I might try that in the winter when I sleep with socks on.
Yes, I put it on at night with socks but I like to let it soak in some first before I put the socks on and the try and do it last thing before going to sleep so I don’t have to walk on my feet till morning. It’s too hot for socks now for me too. Most nights when I get in bed I’m ready for sleep immediately and don’t feel like messing with the oil.

I did get a Burt’s Bees foot cream which rubs in faster. However it has lanolin in it which I’m allergic too so I don’t use it often as usually lanolin makes my skin crack anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. Do the yoga socks cover your toes? Being technically toeless, I can’t tell from photos if the cover the toes. I notice that Linda (Barlates) wears these sometimes and wonder if she does so for the same reason as she’s almost always barefoot in her workouts. I workout on rubber mats and it’s possible that is creating more friction than carpet etc.
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Old 07-27-19, 07:18 AM  
SandyT
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
I wrap my big toes with that stretchy sports bandage tape and it works like a charm.
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