In my pelvic floor strengthening yoga class a few weeks ago, one of my students asked me why we do footwork and toe exercises in Mountain Pose. I like to think of these exercises as kegels for your feet.

Your foot core

Your feet inform your standing posture, which informs your pelvic floor function. Standing with your rear end tucked under? That puts your gluts to sleep! Strengthening your feet not only improves your balance, but increases your awareness of being of grounded.

Last week I came across an article by McKeon et al. proposing the core of the foot is a similar system to the lumbopelvic hip complex. The lumbopelvic region has both local stabilizers (ie: transverse abdominals) and global movers (ie: latissimus dorsi) and so does the arch. So cool!

The stabilizers in the sole of the foot include four layers of tiny muscles that go in different directions to create the trampoline-like function of the arches. Studies show that strengthening your feet can help heal plantar fasciitis and improve balance.

Try this at home

Set yourself up in Mountain Pose.

Stand with your feet hip distance apart with weight equally distributed between the front, back, and sides of your feet. Be sure your rib cage is aligned over your pelvis, shoulder blades gently gliding down your back and lengthen out of thru the top of your skull.

Imagine, in your mind’s eye, placing a magnet over the front of the ankle crease. Under this crease rests the talus, which acts as a pivot point at the ankle. Pretend the magnet is drawing the bone up, which causes the arch to dome and the intrinsic foot muscles to activate.

A few other imagery ideas I’ve been playing around with are suction cups, jellyfish scooping up, and octopus tentacles.

You will probably find that after 10 drawing up movements your feet feel more energized.

Once you get the hang of this exercise you can try it while you are brushing your teeth or hanging out dipping your tootsies in the ocean. Strong feet = happy feet!

McKeon PO, et al. Br J Sports Med 2014; 0:1–9. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092690

 

Originally published on 7/6/14.