Now that you have had some time to explore with some of the exercises in my last post, let’s try some more and see what we find.
Toe stretches:
Exercise 1A
If you have yoga toes or the spacers that go between your toes for polishing your toe nails try inserting them between the toes. If your toes don’t like it there is an indication of lack of flexibility in your toes. So you are probably saying to yourself “so what”. This lack of flexibility can be the reason why you are experiencing pain in other parts of your foot. It could interfere with balance and in the way you walk.
If you do not have yoga toes, don’t worry you can use your own fingers. Insert the fingers of your right hand through the toes of your right foot from the bottom side up. Spread your toes gently and do not force them too much. Your thumb will be free and the finger placement will be like this:
Index finger between big toe and middle toe.
Middle finger between middle toe and forth toe
Ring finger between forth toe and baby toe.
Hang out here and breathe whether you are using yoga toes or your own fingers to separate the toes isn’t important here its the actual stretch between the toes. Try to resist pulling the yoga toes or the fingers out and take 10-15 long steady breaths. Repeat on opposite foot if yoga toes are not available.
Exercise 1B
You can use yoga toes for this but try it with your fingers through your toes this time from the top down. This will give you more flexibility in moving your toes around.
Thread your fingers from the top down through your toes. Right hand Right foot for example.
Then holding the middle of your foot with your opposite hand begin to make little circles with your toes keeping the rest of the foot stable. Take note as to how this feels. 5-10 circles in one direction and 5-10 circles in the opposite direction.
Repeat on the opposite foot.
Exercise 2
With toes flexed massage the inner arch, outer arch, arch between the big toe ball and baby toe ball of each foot. Then give the fleshy part of your foot a good massage. Notice where tension lies in your feet and could you relate this to any pain that you may have been experiencing in the past?
Don’t forget to do the same on the opposite foot.
Once the exercises are completed take time to feel
Come to standing on your yoga mat, or anywhere you choose, close your eyes and notice how you feel.
How do your feet feel now compared to before?
How do they make contact with the floor?
What does your stance feel like? How is it different?
Go for a short walk around your home and explore how your walk has changed?
I would love to hear what you have discovered...just like an experiment on the lab bench the results are always a surprise!
