I’ve been
thinking about feet because mine in particular have been a little achy. I have
an interesting foot life as I do
teach and practice yoga a lot, where I get to be barefoot, but I also do live
in New York City, and have lots of business meetings and social events, so I
wear my fair share of high heels also!
Did you know that 25% of our
body’s bones are in our feet? Our feet are delicate
entities that support our whole body, and have thousands of nerves at the
bottom that correspond to every organ and every part of our body. If we aren’t standing correctly
on our feet, it can have a negative impact on our organs and our posture. For
instance, Dr. Norman Walker stated that if women consistently wear heels that
are over 2 inches, our digestive system can be thrown out of alignment and it
can contribute to constipation and the holding of toxicity in our bodies.
We actually
weaken our feet be wearing shoes, as encasing them this way weakens their
natural strength. We were meant to walk on varying natural terrain and for our
feet to be more flexible- nowadays we all walk on artificial surfaces and most
always with shoes.
Be sure when you are walking
that your feet point straight forward. To test this, you can find straight
lines along the floor or sidewalk and see how closely your feet stick to the
line. Most people walk with their toes slightly
turned out. This interferes with the proper use of muscles and ligament in the
feet, as well as with our knees and hips, and over time can cause damage. At
first it might seem funny, but if you stay conscious of it and adapt to it, it
will soon feel natural.
I
know from yoga that if our posture is not good, then we don’t take in enough
oxygen as we should, for our lungs are compromised in some way. We need as much
oxygen as possible to nourish our blood, and we can actually have more cravings
and feel more hungry when we are not breathing correctly. If
we tuck our pelvises under (which most people do) it also weakens our abdominal
muscles! I have some yoga clients that are very
interested in toning their belly. While we work on that in our private
sessions, I always remind them that if their posture was correct, they would be
working out their belly, without even thinking about it, all of the time! Push
weight into the back of your heels so you feel rooted down and can stand up
straight and strong. I
always tell my students to think of the four corners of your feet (thinking of
your foot as a rectangle) and distributing weight through the four corners
equally. The best way to know if you are doing this correctly is to see if you
can actually lift all ten toes (!), then place them down firmly into the floor.
Here
are some easy ways to start taking better care of your feet:
1. Walk barefoot as much as
possible. I don’t let anyone wear
shoes in my apt., and if you don’t already have a “take your shoes off as soon
as you enter” policy, it is a great idea to start now! The more you are
barefoot the better. Okay we all know (including me!) that high heels are bad
and we shouldn’t wear them every day. Can you wear comfy shoes to work and swap
out right before? Can you let your feet rest under your desk where no one can
see? I’ve also read that those new workout shoes like the “Fit-flops” are
terrible. The shape of the sole creates and an unnatural gait pattern that can
harm the feet, knees, hips and spine.
2. Spread and stretch your feet (just like other parts of your body), and lift your toes! Our feet need loving too! I often have my students sit back with their heels, but tuck their toes under and gently open up the feet. I try to do this once a day to let my feet open up.
2. Spread and stretch your feet (just like other parts of your body), and lift your toes! Our feet need loving too! I often have my students sit back with their heels, but tuck their toes under and gently open up the feet. I try to do this once a day to let my feet open up.
Run
your foot repeatedly over a tennis ball – you can do this while you are in a
seated position (even under your work desk!) and then slowly stand, increasing
the weight on your foot.
Get
some toe spacers! They are available at a lot of nail salons and drug stores.
They fit between your feet and spread them out. They seem weird, at first they
might scare your husband or your boyfriend a little bit! But if you get used to putting them on while reading or watching
TV, they help your toes relearn their normal spreading motion.
3. Professional or at-home
reflexology. I have been getting some
treatments lately, which I’m a huge fan of, and I always feel great afterwards.
But that is not always feasible. But EVERY night in bed I do put coconut oil
all over my feet, and take at least 2 minutes to massage every part of the bottom of my feet (did I mention it provides stress
& headache relief?), massaging every
single nerve. You can get yourself a reflexology foot chart, similar to the one
that I have posted, if you want to work on specific areas. For instance, the
middle of your left foot is your liver spot. Might want to give that spot an
extra squeeze!
4. LIGHTSTEP massaging gel insole. Make every day feel better with LightStep massaging gel insoles that offer you long lasting comfort, it neutralizes odor and cures all foot problems with the herbal medicine fabric and gives you a feeling as if walking on the cloud with its highly elastic material.
