5 yoga moves for happy feet
Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community.
Did you know that one-quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet? 26 bones, 120 muscles, 33 joints – so complicated, so much potential for something to become painful. The reason age plays a role in potential problems with the feet is that as we age our feet actually widen and flatten, along with ankle joints becoming stiffer and less flexible.
For general care of your feet, here are five yoga practices for daily practice to help loosen these joints and alleviate general stiffness, they are anti-rheumatic as well. Try to include these movements in your morning routine – you could even do them before you get out of bed.
If your feet are stiff and they don’t ‘co-operate’ right away it may take about six weeks for the many muscles and joints to loosen so please don’t give up.
Start by either taking one leg or both legs out in front of you, if there is any cramp during these movements stop the practice:
- Toe bending – keeping the ankles steady, place your heel on the ground, press out through your heel drawing the toes back towards you. Keeping the foot upright, inhale, squeeze all the toes together, exhale - press them down towards the floor. Inhale - toes back, exhale toes forward. Repeat 5 times on each foot.
- Open the toes – draw the toes back towards you, press out through your heel, now spread the toes out as much as you can. Relax the toes for a couple of breaths, spread the toes out. Repeat 3 times on each foot.
- Toe flexibility – draw the toes back towards you, press out through the heel. See if you can push the four toes away and draw the big toe back towards you. Hold for one exhalation and one inhalation. Now reverse it, push the big toe away and draw the four toes back towards you, again hold for one in breath and one out breath. Repeat on the other foot. Note: Many people find this movement tricky at first but it will get easier with practice.
- Ankle rotations – separate the feet. Moving slowing and mindfully, rotate the right foot at the ankle 10 times in a clockwise direction, 10 times anti-clockwise. Try to synchronise the circular movements with your breath. Aim for a full range of stretch and movement. Repeat on the left ankle.
- Foot massage – I like to start every Chair Yoga class using spiky rubber balls under the feet for an easy massage. Roll these balls around under the soles of your feet, the design helps to promote blood flow and stimulates the fascia. The fascia is a dense fibrous tissue that is tightly packed on the soles of your feet, it is defined scientifically as a bio-mechanical signalling system for balance.
Consult your doctor before starting any new exercise programme.
Do you have a yoga questions to ask Tracy? Ask her in the comments below.
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Related links:
How to improve your balance with yoga
3 easy yoga exercises to ease arthritic knees
How to get a good night’s sleep during a heatwave