Excellent Example of How Attention to Small Details Can Work Wonders!
I generally have a hard time with Pilates instructors who get into stuff like this and get off the basic task of just teaching the exercises and keeping it simple! But I love this article – a teacher explaining how her attention to the workings of a students feet made an immense difference!
After all, it is said (by Pilates Elders) that Joseph Pilates worked in a very different way with people who came to him with physical problems – his instruction for beginners was simple and easy to learn. His work with injured dancers and cancer survivors was very different and in my view nothing short of miraculous!
Have a look at how this Pilates teacher did a little magic of her own!
The Sole of Pilates™ – Part One: The Miracle of Foot Rolling
I saw it with my own eyes. With just a few minutes of foot work, my client’s gait was transformed. He walked across the room without pulling his knees together. “Walk some more,” I asked him, still trying to grasp that such a substantial adjustment could take hold instantaneously. He continued to walk around the room with newly balanced hips, smoothly rolling through his feet, and feeling lighter and less fatigued. As a Pilates teacher, I am continually in pursuit of balance in my client’s bodies and my own, and this confirmed why my latest focus is on feet.
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Feet tell a story of our overall health. When a foot hits the ground, everything is affected. And conversely, pelvic imbalances place strain on knees and ankles and can be seen in our feet, even when they are not weight bearing.
When a foot hits the ground, everything is affected.
Flexibility of the foot helps reduce the impact of postural imbalances and improves stability when we walk and move. But as feet become less flexible with age, there is increased susceptibility to ankle sprains, knee and hip pain, and to falls due to diminished balance. Repetitive movements – usually in the sagittal plane such as walking and running, the shoes we wear, and postural imbalances all contribute to this loss of flexibility. Fortunately, we can improve flexibility in our feet by incorporating foot work into our fitness routine. And happily, it feels good to do so!…
Foot Rolling Exercises
These exercises to maintain foot flexibility feel great and are easy to do…..
Wake Up Your Foot
Stand and place a ball underneath your foot. Press down and roll the ball continuously along the bottom of your foot all the way through the length of the toes to the heel. Repeat. Then roll the ball along the inside and then the outside of the foot. Repeat.
Flex and Point
Place the ball beneath the toes with the heel on the ground. Wrap your toes around the ball and press down, pointing your foot. Depress the ball and flex the toes, while maintaining the heel on the ground. Repeat.