With Spring around the corner it time to to rediscover our feet, cosseted for so long by thick socks and boots. Our feet are the foundations of our bodies and if they don’t work properly, the rest of the body will pay the price. Knees become misaligned leading to problems with hips, pelvis and general posture. Fortunately switching on the muscles in the feet can be relatively simple and making small changes to our foot habits will quickly lead to improvements. Learn to love your feet again with a few ideas to try:
1. Go Barefoot
Ditch the slippers, socks etc. and go au natural. This way you can closely observe your own feet and get to know their particular tendencies. Do you have bunions, corns, flat feet or fallen arches? do your toes touch each other or is there space in between them? When standing are you perfectly balanced on all 4 corners of the feet (the base of the big and little toes and either side of the heels).
2. Check out the tread of your shoes
The best way to check whether the foundations of your body are true and balanced is to check your treads. Look at the soles of your shoes. Does the inside or the outside of your heel wear down? If there is excessive wear on one side, the foot is shifted off its central axis, and more than likely putting strain on the knee, hip or loser back.
3. Massage
Take time to examine the feet. Look at the individual toes and massage the various parts. Feels great and takes minutes.
4. Exercises
To quickly build strength in the feet and toes simple ankle rotations are a good place to start. This can be done easily whenever sitting or lying down
Next lift and spread the toes and pulse the big toe for x10 and then repeat the exercise with the little toe.
5. Walking
Be foot aware. Whenever you walk, make sure the heel lands first, then spread the toes as the ball of the foot goes down and then finally the toes. The big toes is particularly important and should be firmly anchored at all times.
Enjoy! I know your feet will!