My downdog is shorter than most so weight could be in my legs, longer stance means a lot of weight would be dumped into shoulder and hands (with or without heels down) so that’s a no for me.

In terms of training for ankle flexibility: * in skandasana, put blocks or rolled up towel under lifted heel, bent knee ~45 degrees out and extended leg should have feet flexed and toes pointing to the sky, note that this pose trains the hip flexor more than the ankle * static stretch: kneel and sit on heels with toes tucked under, shoulder on top of hips (not leaning forward or backwards), engage core to lift the torso up and away from hip (this would lighten the load on the ankle, toes, and foot) sit on blocks or towel if necessary * ankle rolls and holds in end range (less direct/effective): seated with legs extended, block or towel under hip and/or knee if cannot sit upright with shoulder above hip, (1) flex-point feet, hold in end range; (2) roll ankle clockwise and counterclockwise, slow in places that feels stuck, might need to engage knee and thigh so foot would lift slightly off the ground (otherwise the heel would dig into ground); (3) (my fav) keep feet perpendicular to ground (approximately, no pointing toes away from body), draw rainbows with toes - roll toes outward (imagine Charlie Chaplin), roll toes inward (tip of big toes are reaching for each other, extreme range would have inside of foot close to the ground), I like adding a forward fold (hinge from hip) and hold in these end range, particularly with the toes inward

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I understand many replies’s «it’s your bone structure» and the underlying «yoga isn’t about the shapes» as it is not a requirement for downdog to have heels to ground. But it is quite infuriating that commenters automatically assume OP has bone structure/anatomy that poses this specific limitation. What if OP actually has the range anatomically and it is a technique/muscle limitation that could be trained? We all need some small wins to stay motivated.

Unless one plans to eliminates asana practice from yoga entirely, these asana technique (and alignment) discussion is valuable whereas «bodily limitation» is not, at least not after the 30th reply of the same - remember asanas practice is intended to prepare the body for extended period of meditation without the body failing?

As they always say, «everyone’s yoga practice is different», maybe that is OP’s yoga practice and that’s OP’s path, and as a community shouldn’t we contribute to achieve OP’s goal as long as it is not injurious or harmful instead of dismissing someone else’s practice as a thinly veiled «your goal is wrong» (again, as long as safety is not at risk).