Do you Fancy your Feet?

I mean do you even like them just a little? Are you friends with your feet? These appendages at the end of your legs do so much for you, helping with walking, standing and balance.

We include some footwork in Yoga and Pilates to keep the suprisingly many muscles in the feet strong and also flexible.

Rolling a tennis ball under the feet is a good way to start to loosen them up. It is an entry point to the whole fascial system which can get really hardened if we ignore our feet. Try also to hold hands with your feet by threading your fingers of the opposite hand through the toes. It can be quite painful.

Fascia is dense crystalline structured tissue, similar to the grizzley part of meat. Even if you dont eat it, you will probably have seen it. Massage, stretching and rolling with foam rollers, tennis balls etc. helps to break down this dense fascia so that we can have more freedom of movement.

We were meant to walk on uneven surfaces which cause the muscles in the feet to bend, stretch and work harder. Walking on flat surfaces only and especially always wearing shoes is a sure way for our feet to become sore and stiff. So what to do:

-Walk barefoot as often as possible especially on natural surfaces . This activity is also known now as "earthing" as we become more grounded.

-Wear comfortable shoes with flexible soles

-Massage your feet (or get someone else to do it)

If you don't like your feet how can you expect someone else to. Love your feet first! Trim your toe nails and moisturise your feet after a shower or bath. Use a pumice stone on your heels as a way of thanking them for all their hard work.

Our feet are like a map of the entire body (aka reflexology) so if you find any sore areas they will likely correspond with areas in the body that need healing.

Even young feet can get sore. I remember as a kid after helping my parents in their ice-cream parlour (Gelateria).

Hot summer nights serving cones for queues of customers left my feet needing a soak in the cool swimming pool when we got home.

Treat your feet like the fabulous friends that they are. Soak them in epsom salts or aromatherapy oils and love them just a little bit more!