Asana positions to help with supination of my feet

Hello

I supinate my feet (roll outward) and would like to fix that through asana if possible. Could anyone give me insight into what poses may be most helpful and/or any other information on supination that may help me. Thank you very much.
Blessings,
Lunalotus

Dear Lunalotus,

Want first to be clear. I think you are referring to having a high arch, or holding most of the weight of the body on the outer edges of the foot. When carried further, this would lift the big toe off the floor and bring the soles of the feet toward one another. (If done from sitting in Stick pose, this motion brings the feet into “Namaste”). This movement is called Inversion, and the prime mover is the Anterior Tibialis, which comes along the front of the shin and curls under the foot creating the arch of the foot. A more common condition is called ankle pronation, or inversion, where the arch drops. (If done from sitting in Stick pose, this motion brings the little toes toward the head).

If so, you could experiment with stretching the Anterior Tib and strengthening the antagonist muscles on the outer side of the lower leg, Peroneus Longus and Brevis.

Ways to do this are awareness of balance of weight across the feet in Mountain pose, followed by coming to tip toes, followed by a slow squat, paying attention to maintaining the weight distribution across the foot. You can also sit in Hero pose, big toes and heels touching, to stretch the Anterior Tib. Joint Freeing Series is described in Mukunda’s book Structural Yoga Therapy and you may benefit from including the movements described for the ankle. These include inversion, eversion, flexion, extension and circumduction of the ankle from Stick Pose. All of the standing poses can be used to investigate the way you balance your weight across the foot, and can be a launching point for balancing the effort of the muscles noted.

hope this helps - you can also do a search of this site for more recommendations for ankles. Possible search words are feet, arches, ankles…

Namaste!
Chandra