Foot Pain And Plantar Fasciitis: Heel Pain, Flat Feet, Bunions And Achilles Pain

Does your first step out of bed feel like stepping on a stone? Sore heels, aching arches, a bunion that rubs or a tight, tender Achilles can make every step hard work. This guide brings together what Mr BKS Iyengar, his daughter Geeta Iyengar, the yoga doctors and modern research say about plantar fasciitis and foot pain, and what you can do about it, in Darwin or online. Last updated: 1 November 2026.

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Plantar fasciitis and foot pain: the short answer

Can yoga help plantar fasciitis and sore feet? Yes, yoga helps feet. Plantar fasciitis (irritation of the tough band along the sole of the foot) is the most common cause of long-lasting heel pain in adults. The trials of what helps sore feet tested three things: stretching the sole and the calf, strengthening the toes and arches, and training balance. A good yoga class does all three, every week, standing on bare feet. Mr Iyengar built every standing pose from the feet up, and his teachers have taught people to stand on their feet for more than 50 years.

One thing to know as you read: no trial has yet tested yoga itself for plantar fasciitis, flat feet, bunions or Achilles pain. That is not yet studied, which is not the same as not working. The foot trials below tested stretches and exercises that yoga poses include. The one Iyengar yoga trial in this guide, from Sydney, found better balance and mobility in older people, and in our view well-taught Iyengar yoga goes further than the average class. Why the kind of yoga matters.

The bottom line: five key moves for foot pain

1. Go to a yoga class at your level, several times a week. Standing poses on bare feet stretch the calves and soles and wake up the small muscles of the feet. Give it at least 12 weeks.
2. Stand on all four corners of each foot. The base of the big toe, the base of the little toe, the inner heel and the outer heel. It shares the load, so no one part of the foot carries it alone.
3. Stretch the sole and the calf every day, and work the toes. A few minutes daily, with the first stretch before you get out of bed, does more than one long session a week.
4. Add breath work (pranayama). It calms the mind, and Mr Iyengar held that a calmer brain bears pain better.
5. Start now. New to Flametree, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, in Darwin or LIVE online.

Iyengar yoga is the style we teach at Flametree. During the 20th century, Mr BKS Iyengar was the major person who codified traditional Indian yoga, through his seminal books and widespread teaching. He also pioneered the use of props, so poses can be adapted to almost any body. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. This guide is part of our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

This guide in short

• Mr BKS Iyengar: every standing pose starts at the feet. His ailments list has entries for flat feet and for heel pain and spurs.
• Geeta S Iyengar: tense feet make a tense body; the soles need attention too.
• Chris Lalor: weight on all four corners of each foot, and press the outer back heel.
• Dr Timothy McCall: foot and ankle alignment affects the knees, and how you stand changes the pressure on the feet.
• The research: 17 studies below. Stretching the sole eased heel pain, supervised toe exercise built toe strength, a foot care package cut the rate of falls, and an Iyengar trial improved balance.
• Take it further: a free ebook, Strong Bones, Steady Feet, and classes in Darwin and online.

“Always watch your base: Be attentive to the portion nearest the ground.”

What is plantar fasciitis, and why else do feet hurt?

Your feet carry you thousands of steps a day. When one part of the foot takes more than its share, it starts to complain. The common kinds of foot pain are:

• Plantar fasciitis and heel pain: an ache under the heel, worst on the first steps in the morning or after sitting. The plantar fascia (the thick band under the arch) pulls on the heel bone. It often goes with a tight calf.
• Heel spur: a small bony bump on the heel bone, near the plantar fascia. The words are often used for pain in the same spot.
• Flat feet and fallen arches: the inner arch sits low or sags when you stand. Many flat feet cause no trouble; some ache after a long day.
• Bunions (hallux valgus): the big toe leans in towards the other toes, and a bump forms at its base.
• Achilles pain: soreness in the thick cord at the back of the heel that joins the calf to the heel bone (Achilles tendinopathy).
• Sore feet after standing all day, and stiff ankles: common as we get older, and linked to falls (see the research below).

Numb or burning feet, foot cramps and swollen ankles have their own posts, linked under Read more.

“Self knowledge starts from the skin on the soles of the feet when standing.”

What did Mr BKS Iyengar teach about the feet?

In short: every standing pose starts from the feet, and the rest of the body is built on them.

Mr Iyengar’s courses start from the feet in every standing pose. In Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health he gave no named course for plantar fasciitis, flat feet, bunions or Achilles pain. The nearest entries are these:

• Arthritis of the ankles (p. 338): swollen, tender, stiff ankles, with the same causes as other joints. Our arthritis guide covers it.
• Cold hands and feet (p. 264) and varicose veins (p. 267): slowed circulation, and aching, tired legs in people who stand a lot. Our circulation guide covers them.
• Pose by pose: he recommends Staff Pose (Dandasana, sitting with the legs straight out) for arthritis of the knees and ankles (pp. 102 to 103), and Hero Pose (Virasana, sitting between the feet) for stiff joints (pp. 104 to 107). These are his claims.

In The Tree of Yoga he describes how a beginner learns a pose: by joining the foot, the ankle, the knee and the hip, in that order (pp. 149 to 151). In Light on Life he makes balance in the body the base for balance in life: even weight on both feet, more attention for the weaker side, and standing poses to build the ankles and knees. He also tells “right pain” (a pain that teaches you) from “wrong pain” (a pain that harms), which is a useful guide for anyone practising with a sore foot.

In Light on Yoga, his first book, Mr Iyengar’s appendix of asanas for ailments has an entry for flat foot (printed page 422) and one for heels, pain or spurs (printed page 424), plus one for the ankles (p. 414). For flat feet he draws on standing, kneeling and seated poses, binds and inversions; for heel pain and spurs, on inversions, kneeling and seated poses, twists and arm poses. Because so many poses are listed, he advises learning them with an experienced teacher and taking them according to your own ability and constitution.

We do not publish his sequences. A sequence needs a teacher who can see your feet and adapt each pose, which is what a class is for.

“If the feet are tense the whole body will be tense.”

What did Geeta S Iyengar say about the feet?

In short: the feet need as much attention as the chest and the spine, and kneeling poses care for tired legs and ankles.

Geeta S Iyengar, Mr Iyengar’s daughter, taught for decades at the Pune institute, and visited Australia to teach. Her book Yoga: A Gem for Women has nothing on plantar fasciitis, flat feet or bunions by name, but the feet run all through her teaching.

• Kneeling poses for tired legs and ankles. She praises the Hero Pose (Virasana) family for tired legs, knees and ankles (Section III, pp. 164 to 179), and Virasana for rheumatic pain in the knees and for gout (p. 168). These are her claims.
• The squat for knees and ankles. She lists Garland Pose (Malasana, a deep squat) for the knees and ankles (p. 162), her claim.
• The soles of the feet. “Nobody pays attention to the bottom of the feet,” she told a Sydney class in 1996. In another Sydney class that year she said the soles need opening as much as the chest and lungs.
• How we stand. She taught that most of us do not notice how we stand, or that our weight sits unevenly.

“Even the little toe has to work to retain its awareness.”

How does Chris Lalor teach the feet?

In short: feet are the foundation for all standing poses, so weight goes evenly onto all four corners of each foot.

Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and certified Yoga Therapist, gave a talk on the feet at our Bali retreat in July 2024. Her teaching, which runs through every Flametree class:

• “Feet are the foundation for all standing asana.” Everything above them depends on how they meet the floor.
• “Put weight on all 4 corners of feet.” The base of the big toe, the base of the little toe, the inner heel and the outer heel.
• Press the outer back heel in standing poses such as Triangle Pose and Warrior 1. It wakes up the calf and the whole back leg.
• Spread the toes and the feet, so the small foot muscles do their share.
• The rebound. Chris teaches that when you press evenly down, an equal and opposite force comes back up through the legs and spine. This is her teaching model, a way of teaching alignment, not a measured finding.

What does Dr Timothy McCall say about the feet?

In short: how you stand changes the load on your feet, and the feet change the load on your knees.

Dr McCall is a US medical doctor and yoga therapist, author of Yoga as Medicine and former medical editor of Yoga Journal. Foot pain, plantar fasciitis, flat feet, bunions and Achilles pain are not on his June 2019 list of 117 conditions, and his book has no foot chapter. But the feet come up in several chapters. His points, in our words:

• Better foot posture spreads the pressure. In his diabetes chapter he says standing poses improve foot posture and how weight is spread, which can lower pressure points and foot ulcers. His claim.
• Everything is connected. In his knee chapter, how you use the hips affects the knees, and the alignment of the ankle and foot affects them too.
• Care with sore ankles. In his arthritis chapter, Iyengar teacher Marian Garfinkel says deep squats such as Chair and Garland poses may not suit people with ankle, knee or hip arthritis, and one-legged balances can overload the standing leg. A teacher adapts these.
• Care with numb feet. In diabetic nerve damage, small cuts and blisters on the feet can worsen unnoticed. Keep the floor clean, wear shoes where practical, and take balance poses such as Tree with support.
• High heels. He flags high heels as a habit that tightens the pelvic floor, and adds that this has never been validated scientifically (his words).

Dr Krishna Raman, a Chennai physician who trained in yoga under Mr Iyengar, holds that pain can go even when the shape of a bone stays the same. That is his claim, made about bones in general, and it is worth knowing if you have a heel spur or a bunion. The other yoga doctors, Dr Loren Fishman and Dr J. T. Shah, have no foot section in the material we hold.

“But until the thorn pricked you, you were not aware of your foot.”

What does the research show for plantar fasciitis and foot pain?

In short: there is no yoga trial yet for any foot condition. Not yet studied is not the same as not working. What has been studied are the things yoga poses do: stretching the sole and calf, strengthening the toes and arches, and training balance. Those studies found real benefits, and one Iyengar yoga trial found better balance and mobility in older people. Why the difference between yoga and Iyengar yoga matters.

Plantar fasciitis and heel pain

None of these was a yoga trial. They tested stretches and foot exercises of the kind yoga poses include, such as the calf stretch of Downward-Facing Dog and the sole stretch of kneeling with the toes tucked under.

• A stretch aimed at the plantar fascia (the band under the sole) did better than an Achilles tendon stretch at 8 weeks. Everyone was then taught the sole stretch. Two years later, 62 of the 66 people followed up (94 percent) had less pain and 61 (92 percent) were satisfied or nearly so; by then the two groups no longer differed. DiGiovanni 2006, a randomised trial of 82 people with plantar fasciitis lasting more than ten months. Read the study.
• The sole-specific stretch eased pain more than a calf stretch, and calf stretching beat a pretend stretch. Siriphorn 2020, a review of 8 randomised trials; the evidence was rated moderate to very low quality. Read the study.
• Exercise eased plantar heel pain more than no exercise. Gonçalves 2026, a review of 3 trials and 146 people. The certainty was low, and the authors were unsure how much the benefit matters in programmes of 3 months or less. Read the study.
• Adding arch work, heel raises and tape improved foot posture more than usual care alone. Both groups had less pain and better function. Ibraheem 2026, a trial of 48 people aged 40 to 60, 3 sessions a week for 8 weeks. The arch work was the short-foot exercise (drawing the arch up without curling the toes), close to the arch lift taught in yoga. Read the study.
• Simple measures, including calf and sole stretching and a heel cushion, settle the pain in about 90 percent of people over 3 to 6 months. Latt 2020, an expert review, not a trial; this is the authors’ view. It also describes plantar fasciitis as the most common cause of long-lasting heel pain in adults. Read the study.
• People with heel pain were willing and able to keep up 12 weeks of progressive foot exercise, with no harms. Franettovich Smith 2026, a small feasibility trial of 20 people, the first step towards a larger trial. It measured whether the programme works in practice, not how much it helps. Read the study.

Foot strength, foot pain and falls

• People who fell had stiffer ankles, weaker toes, worse bunions and less feeling in their feet; weak toes and disabling foot pain were each linked to falls. Menz 2006, 176 retirement village residents (average age 80) followed for 12 months. A link, not proof of cause. Read the study.
• Supervised toe exercises raised toe strength by up to 36 percent, with better foot health and longer single-leg balance. The home-only group did not gain. Mickle 2016, a trial of 85 people aged 60 to 90, plus 32 controls, over 12 weeks. Read the study.
• A foot care package cut the rate of falls by 36 percent. The share of people who fell at least once did not differ by a clear margin between the groups; the package group had fewer falls between them. The package was foot orthoses, footwear advice and a voucher, home foot and ankle exercises and a falls booklet. Spink 2011, a Melbourne trial of 305 people (average age 74) with disabling foot pain, over 12 months. Not a yoga trial, and not the exercises alone. Read the study.
• Foot care packages with several parts lowered the rate of falls; single measures did not. Wylie 2019, a review of 9 studies and 6,502 people. It backs the idea of a package, not one thing. Read the study.

Flat feet, bunions and Achilles pain

• Foot exercises that also worked the hips and legs reduced the inward sag of the arch in flexible flat feet. Xiong 2026, a review of 14 randomised trials (11 trials and 410 people for this measure), low certainty. The studies measured arch height, not pain. Read the study.
• Bunion exercises reduced the angle of the big toe, and exercise with tape or insoles ranked best for angle and pain. Zhu 2025, a review of 11 trials and 401 people with mild to moderate bunions. The exercises were toe spreading and work for the muscle along the inner arch. Read the study.
• Slow, loaded calf work (lowering the heel under control) eased Achilles pain more than physical therapy machines, and as well as other exercise programmes. Yuan 2026, a review of 21 trials and 994 people with Achilles tendinopathy. It shows that loading the calf, not only stretching it, is what has been studied for Achilles pain. Read the study.

Iyengar yoga studies

This trial tested Iyengar yoga specifically, taught by trained Iyengar teachers, with props and adapted poses.

• Twelve weeks of Iyengar yoga improved standing balance, sit-to-stand speed (3.4 seconds quicker), walking speed and eyes-closed one-leg standing, compared with a falls booklet alone. Classes twice a week, mostly standing poses, with no serious adverse events. Tiedemann 2013, the Sydney Iyengar falls trial, 54 people with an average age of 68. It was not a foot pain trial, but it is the Iyengar evidence for strong, steady legs and feet. Read the study.

Yoga in general and the feet

• Standing yoga poses put real work through the ankles and calves. Warrior 2 gave the biggest outward-turning load at the ankle, a one-legged balance the biggest inward-turning load, and every pose worked the calf. Wang 2013, a measurement study of 20 older adults after 32 weeks of twice-weekly yoga classes. Not a pain trial. Read the study.
• Yoga improved balance and mobility in people aged 60 and over. Youkhana 2016, a review of 6 trials and 307 people. Read the study. Note: these trials pooled many styles of yoga and teachers. They show what yoga in general does.
• Yoga for diabetic nerve damage in the feet was linked with less nerve pain, better balance, stronger legs, faster walking and better quality of life, with no serious harms. Vijay 2026, a review of 7 studies (4 randomised) and 227 people; small studies, so the authors call for more. Read the study. Our post on neuropathy in feet goes further.

Breathing and meditation

No trial has yet tested pranayama (yoga breathing), breathwork or meditation for plantar fasciitis, flat feet, bunions or Achilles pain. Not yet studied is not the same as not working. In a Flametree class, pranayama means named techniques such as ocean breath (Ujjayi) and staircase breath (Viloma), taught by a teacher trained in them. Mr Iyengar held that practice calms the brain and soothes the nerves, which helps a person bear pain.

“Normally, we are not aware of how we stand or that we distribute the weight unevenly.”

How does a Flametree class help sore feet?

Everything above points the same way, and it is how we teach.

• Bare feet, every class. Classes start standing, with the teacher watching where your weight lands.
• Four corners, every pose. Weight spread across both feet, toes spread, the outer back heel pressed down.
• Stretch and strength together. Downward-Facing Dog lengthens the calves; standing poses work the toes, arches and ankles; kneeling poses stretch the soles.
• Props for sore feet. A folded blanket under the knees or ankles, a block under the hips in kneeling, the wall and a chair for balance. Tell your teacher which foot is sore, and the poses are changed for you.
• Balance, safely. Tree Pose and other balances are learnt with the wall, so the feet and ankles learn to catch you.
• Breath and calm: every class ends in rest, and our pranayama classes go further. Our gentle yoga and restorative yoga classes suit sore days.

Here in Darwin, many of us live in thongs and spend long hours standing or driving. A class a few times a week gives the feet and calves the work that daily life does not.

Read more on feet, heels and ankles

• Heel pain: why the first steps hurt, and the yoga stretches that ease plantar fasciitis
• Foot pain: why your feet hurt, and the yoga that builds strong, steady feet
• Yoga for flat feet: why your arches change everything
• Ankle strengthening exercises: six simple ones
• Neuropathy in feet: numb or burning feet, and the full guide to nerve pain in the hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy)
• Foot cramps: the calf and foot stretches that ease them
• Swollen ankles in the heat
• Full guides: hip and knee pain, bones, balance and falls, stiff joints and flexibility, arthritis, circulation and diabetes and foot care.

“…even the bottom of the feet has to get aerated.”

Take it further

• Classes, in Darwin or LIVE online: new, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price. Already practising yoga? See the non-beginner half price pass. See every class time.
• Masterclass: if arthritis in the ankles is part of your foot pain, arthritis is the first of our 2027 Sunday Arvo Masterclasses with Chris Lalor, in January. Bookings open soon.
• Retreats: a week of daily, adapted yoga in Bali. See the retreats.

Other conditions are in our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

Plantar fasciitis and foot pain: questions people ask

Are flat feet a problem, or just a shape?

Often just a shape. Many people with flat feet have no pain at all. When flat feet ache, exercise can help: a 2026 review of 14 trials found foot exercises that also worked the hips and legs reduced the inward sag of the arch. Standing poses in yoga work the feet, ankles, knees and hips together in just that way.

Should I do yoga barefoot or in shoes if my feet are sore?

Barefoot, in a Flametree class, with props to make it comfortable. Bare feet let you feel the floor and spread your weight over all four corners of each foot. A folded blanket under the knees or ankles softens kneeling. If you have numb feet from diabetes, Dr McCall suggests a clean floor and shoes where practical.

Do toe exercises help bunions?

Yes. A 2025 review of 11 trials found bunion exercises, such as spreading the toes and working the muscle along the inner arch, reduced the angle of the big toe, and exercise with tape or insoles ranked best for pain. In yoga, spreading the toes and pressing the base of the big toe down are taught in every standing pose.

Why do my arches ache after a day on my feet?

Long hours standing tire the small muscles that hold up the arch, and the load sinks into the heel and the inner foot. Gentle yoga is a good place to start: lying with the legs up the wall rests tired feet, and standing poses with a chair build the arches back up. A 2016 trial found supervised toe exercises raised toe strength by up to 36 percent in 12 weeks.

Which yoga poses load the Achilles, and how are they adapted?

Downward-Facing Dog, deep squats and lunges with the back heel down stretch and load the Achilles tendon most. For a sore Achilles, a teacher raises the heels on a folded mat, shortens the stance, or uses a chair. Research on Achilles pain backs slow, loaded calf work, such as rising onto the toes and lowering the heels under control, which a teacher can build into class.

Are thongs bad for my feet in Darwin?

Thongs give the heel and arch little support, and many Darwin people wear them all year. It is worth spending some of your day in supportive shoes, and giving the feet and calves the stretching and strength work of a yoga class each week.

How do I ease into kneeling or Hero Pose with stiff feet and ankles?

Slowly, and with props. Sit on a block or bolster so the knees bend less, and put a rolled blanket under the front of the ankles. For toes-tucked kneeling, sit back only as far as is comfortable, a little more each week. Geeta Iyengar praised the Hero Pose family for tired legs, knees and ankles.

Can I keep doing standing poses with a sore heel?

Usually yes, adapted. In Warrior and Triangle poses, a shorter stance, a chair for support and a folded mat under the back heel all take load off. Pressing the outer back heel, rather than collapsing onto the inner heel, shares the work. Tell your teacher which heel is sore, and remember Mr Iyengar’s difference between “right pain”, which teaches you, and “wrong pain”, which harms.

Where this comes from: BKS Iyengar, Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health (Dorling Kindersley), the ankle, circulation and varicose vein courses and pose pages; Light on Yoga, Appendix II (flat foot, printed p. 422; heels, p. 424; ankles, p. 414); The Tree of Yoga; Light on Life. Geeta S Iyengar, Yoga: A Gem for Women, and her Sydney classes of 1996 and 2003. Chris Lalor, talk on the feet, Bali, July 2024. Timothy McCall MD, Yoga as Medicine (Bantam), the diabetes, arthritis, knee and pelvic floor chapters. Krishna Raman MD and S. Suresh MD, Yoga and Medical Science: FAQ. Marian Garfinkel’s account in Iyengar: The Yoga Master (ed. Kofi Busia), as retold in our ebook Strong Bones, Steady Feet. Studies as linked above, checked on PubMed in November 2026. Everything is summarised in our own words.

This page is general information, not medical advice. Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and LIVE online.