black feet of cairo

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones that visited Cairo on an unpolluted day. Most people think that I exaggerate when I talk about the pollution in and around this city.

The other day in yoga class, I noticed how many people have a similar quandary as me: black-sooted feet.

Pollution: It's not just for the lungs

Yoga practitioners usually practice in bare feet, so we get to pick up all the gunk from the floor. In Cairo, this means the black gunk. This has nothing to do with "cleanliness" of a yoga studio or a home.

It really takes vigilant mopping almost every day to keep floors soot free.

Just one of the reminders for us yogis to pay attention to our feet.

In many traditions, washing the feet is a symbol of purification and to be done sacredly. Whenever one enters a sacred temple in India (specifically the Golden Temple) you wash your feet before entering. Consider your home your sacred temple.

Do you wash your feet before you climb into bed?

Everything you always wanted to know about feet washing and more can be found here.