Oh My Aching Feet…

I took a good, long look at my feet the other day, and it was not too pretty.  I’m certainly not a podiatrist, but it looks like my feet have it all–and that’s not good.

So I began exploring some ideas about how my yoga practice could help me with the bunion, plantar and hammer toe soup my high heels are cooking up. Turns out, there may be some relief in sight.

Here are a few tips for all of my friends out there who may be seeing the same wear and tear I am on my tootsies:

-When you are in a standing pose, try focusing on extending your toes to help stretch the soles of your feet a bit. Not sure how well this works yet, but it does feel really good

-Press backward and forward onto your feet using all of your toes. using the ball of your foot as the base for your movement.  This will also help stretch and exercise your feet, and improve circulation overall

-Work any of the poses that stretch the ball, arch of your foot and heel into your routine.  Downward Facing Dog is an excellent choice. In fact, a really cool tip is to take a nice soft tennis ball and work it along the sole of your foot, front to back as a warm up before you begin any exercise, including yoga.  It really helps to wake up your feet and relax them for what’s coming next

-Try this pose:  From a standing position, lift your hips, curl your toes under and then lift your heels.  Then lean back, so your weight rests on the “necks” and not the pads of the toes.  Repeat

A few times with these simple exercises and your feet should begin to show signs of improved circulation and, well, life. I am going to try and incorporate these as often as possible, especially as long as I am required to shoe-horn my feet into three-inch heels every day.

 Until next time, Peace.  

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