Tying your shoelace
We pretend to tie our shoelace to practise reaching our feet with balance.
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If you feel pain, stop. If you have a recent injury or surgery, check with your doctor before you start.
The steps, in writing
Bring your right foot forwards.
Bend your knee slowly.
Count to four while holding the position.
Bend down as if you were going to tie your shoelace.
Come up slowly.
Bring your hands to your chest.
Bring your feet together and breathe.
Safety notes
- Keep a chair or support nearby in case you lose your balance.
- If you feel dizzy or in pain, stop and rest.
- Do it slowly, with no rush.
What you need
- a sturdy chair without wheels
Every step counts
This movement has levels: seated, holding a chair, and standing. Start at yours and stay there as long as you like — level 1 is already a complete practice, not a token version.
- Level 1 · Seated— On a firm chair, feet flat on the floorOn a firm chair, feet flat on the floor
- Level 2 · Holding a chair— Standing, holding on to a firm chairStanding, holding on to a firm chair← this video
- Level 3 · Standing— Standing, with support nearby just in caseStanding, with support nearby just in case
This exercise copies something we do every day: bending down to tie our shoes. We practise it standing up, calmly, so your body finds it easy when it really counts.
What Frank says
Translated from Frank’s Spanish narration.
Exercise 7B. Bring your right foot forwards, slowly bend your knee. One, two, three, four. And now let’s tie our shoelace. Slowly, come up, bring your hands to your chest, bring your feet together, and breathe.
Related videos
Exercise 4
Looking at the ground
Bending your knees while looking down to practise the movement of squatting with control.
Watch the video
Exercise 5
Giving the dog a drink
We bend down and come back up, mimicking the movement of giving a dog some water, to practise lowering and rising with control.
Watch the video
Exercise 5B
Giving the dog a drink
We bend forwards as if we were giving a dog some water, to practise bending down and reaching our feet.
Watch the video
Want to go deeper?
The complete method is in My Yoga Process, Frank Calber’s book.