LIDOtips - Foot Love
After a long day walking or standing up (or just when you feel like it), stretching and strengthening your feet is a must!
Foot massages, stretches and strength exercises not only help with relaxing, they aid in relieving muscle pain and most importantly, they allow you to keep on moving day after day by preventing injuries.
Here are a few moves that you can practice at home or at the office to give your feet the love they deserve!
Achilles Tendon Stretch
Whether you are an athlete or not, stretching your Achilles tendons can help improve mobility while preventing injuries.
Method:
- Standing up on your feet with legs straight and body weight evenly distributed on both feet, place both hands either on the back of a chair or on the wall for support.
- Rise onto your tiptoes gently as you inhale and lower back down as you exhale.
- Repeat this during 30 seconds, pause for 30 seconds and start again.
- You can practice this exercise for 2 to 3 rounds.
Another great trick for stretching your Achilles tendons, which you can perform right after the above exercise:
- Sitting down on the floor with your legs extended in front of you, place a towel or a strap on the balls of your feet and hold each end with both hands.
- Making sure your spine is elongated, pull the strap or towel towards yourself and hold for 30 seconds.
- Pull a little more on each exhale until you feel a stretch but do not force if it hurts!
Toe Stretch
This is a great trick, especially if you are suffering from bunions and need to gently release some pressure off!
Method:
- Sitting down on a chair, place your right foot just above your left knee.
- Place your left hand on the sole of the lifted foot and intertwine yours fingers and toes.
- If you need to, assist with your right hand by pulling down on your left fingers.
- Squeeze your fingers onto the held foot and press your toes towards your right knee, holding for 20-30seconds, and release.
- Now squeeze your toes again and pull them down, curling them one after the other and holding for 20-30 seconds.
- Repeat these movements rolling your intertwined fingers and toes clockwise and anti clockwise.
- Repeat with the right hand on your left foot.
Toe Strength and Control
This is a really fun exercise to get kids to do as well (I taught it in kid yoga classes!).
Method:
- Scatter some pom poms (the kind you buy in arts are crafts stores) or marbles, on the floor
- Either sit on a chair or work your balance at the same time and do this standing
- Using your toes, pick each pom pom or marble individually and transfer to a container
- Remember to alternate which foot you are using
Tennis Ball Release
This exercise is fantastic for releasing tension in your arches and on the balls of your feet
Method:
- Sitting up straight in a chair, place a tennis ball under your foot
- Roll it around wherever you feel tension, increasing or decreasing pressure depending on how you feel
- Roll consistently for a full minute before transferring to the other foot. Repeat at least twice on each side, but feel free to keep going as long as you need to!
