So why does Plank® keep going on about the Mind-to-Body-to-Mat connection? The old adage of everything works better when your foundations are strong, is even more relevant if you want to consider the body as an architectural structure. The bones being building blocks that when they are correctly stacked, allow the muscles, organs and pipework to function optimally around it. 

I admit that when instructors share the following talking points, although great immediately applicable reminders, they offer little insight into the how to precisely and the why beneficially...

• Ground down to grow.
• Build your poses from the foundations.
• Root down through your feet

However have you ever wondered what Grounding down or Rooting down actually means and why it helps in the creation of bigger, freer, bolder poses. For those yogis who are curious about what it takes to create firmer foundations, here are a few yoga classes and mini workshops that have been instrumental in allowing Plank to share with you, through its heat activated Connect™ yoga mats, the importance of learning that all your poses/asanas are built from the ground up, i.e. your feet... 

Tara Judelle, she’s an anatomy nerd, we love her mindblowing awarenesses - http://www.yogaglo.com/online-class-572-Relearn-Your-Feet.html

Elena Brower, this is a legs class where the importance of the feet is stressed as essential for creating strong legs - http://www.yogaglo.com/online-class-478-Strong-Legs-Healthy-Spine-Yoga.html

Tiffany Cruikshank, this is a nice 30 minute mini foot workshop with reminders on how to, why to and when to lift the arches of the feet- http://www.yogaglo.com/online-class-2326-Foot-Alignment-Tutorial.html

At Plank, we're interested in what you connect to your mat to create solid arms and strong legs. We want to follow up with tips to create great arms foundations, for poses like Downward Dog, Handstand etc... We're particarly interested in the details of hand to mat connection. If you have foundation tips or your have made your own mini online workshop & you want to share with us and your yoga loving communities, we'd love to share them for you... 

*Photo above courtesy of Tiffany Cruikshank. Check out how her Alive and Active Feet are always connected to her yoga mat.