Caring For Your Feet

Last week’s yoga class was all about feet- it was wonderful! It also made me realize how much I expect from my feet- this surprised me... Apparently, sangria colored toe-polish and a pumice stone are only the beginning to beautiful, sexy feet, and I’ve been neglecting mine.

I was disillusioned in thinking I’d been schooled on all there is to know about taking care of my feet. After all, I’m married to a man who wears two pairs of socks everyday to prevent callouses (which he tells me, are a sign of weakness), and who lotions his feet every night before bed because, I’ve been instructed, heels should never snag bed sheets.

My poor hubby thought I was nuts when I came home from the yoga classes chanting-

"Feet are our connection to the Earth...They are the foundations of our posture and the platform from which we move. Our feet have the challenging responsibility of providing strength and stability while maintaining flexibility and mobility to aid in the movement of the entire body structure."

However, he now is reaping the benefits of my newly acquired knowledge as we’re both sitting in front of Fox news rolling tennis balls under our arches.

Benefit because I love to share! Here are the exercises we did in class. Enjoy and Namaste.

THE TENNIS BALL ROLL

Perfect to do while watching TV! Place a tennis ball under one foot and start to roll the sole of your foot over the tennis ball. Drape your toes over the tennis ball and massage the backs of your toes. Then work your way down the sole of your foot, all the way back to your heel. Roll along the inner and outer arches. Ahhhh!

INTERLACING FINGERS BETWEEN TOES

From a seated position, interlace your fingers between your toes. This stretches the muscles of the toes and allows them to spread. This action can be very challenging for some people due to confining shoes...(A-hem, offenders you know who you are!!) Also Try Yoga Toes! I found a knock-off version for $10 at Rite Aid in the Pharmacy Dept. Love them!

PICKING UP MARBLES WITH YOUR TOES

Using your toes to pick up marbles not only strengthens the foot muscles but also promotes using toes as individual entities as opposed to a group. In Yoga class, we actually scrunched up a thin blanket placed on the ground with our toes, something to think about if your short on marbles!

TOE STRENGTHENING EXERCISES

Increase flexibility, muscle tone, and control of the toes. From standing, draw the big toe up and press the four little toes down. Then, Draw the four little toes up while pressing the big toe down. Next, Draw the big toe and baby toe up as you press the three middle toes down. Then, Draw the three middle toes up while pressing the big toe and baby toe down. Singling out each toe to act as individual entities can be extremely challenging and frustrating. Stay with it and be patient. It will eventually become easier.

A few of my favorite foot care products 

(They're a must have in my house because what I call, 'my hard earned running-pads', my hubby calls callouses...) 

SWEDISH FOOT FILE

Use it in the shower and use it with caution! I've taken chunks of flesh from my fingers and toes off with this baby. It's lethal! But, I've never had a callous it couldn't conquer.

NAIL BUFFING BLOCK

Normally, I don't wear polish on my fingernails at all. During Wintertime, I remove all toenail polish to let the nails grow out. Then, I buff off any discoloration that comes from keeping polish on all Spring and Summer long.

BURT'S BEES HAND SALVE

I love this stuff! You can use it on your hands as well as your feet! Apply generously to feet before bed and sleep with socks on. For hands- apply generously and sleep in spa gloves.

-Remember-

"When you massage the soles of your feet, you loosen the starting point of a network of connective tissue that runs all the way up your back body to the crown of your head. So it stands to reason that massaging your feet can relax and invigorate your whole body."