Do you ever have foot pain? Do you want to root deeper to the ground in your yoga practice so your balancing poses can further blossom? Perhaps you simply long for the foot freedom you had as a child? (https://www.madisonavenuemalls.com/)
On Wednesday, I wrote about foot development in small children – from infancy to the toddler years. If you want to restore the childlike pliability your feet once had, look no further!
Self-massage with Yoga Tune Up® therapy balls will coax movement and articulation back into the joints in your feet. Not only will your feet benefit, but so will all of the muscles and joints connecting to the top of your leg, which helps everything upstream of that. Your brain and nervous system also will get a big dose of down-regulation, as anyone who’s ever had a foot massage knows. Watch the following video for a foot-rolling sequence, and then explore on your own!
https://youtu.be/21ddKGHjYdk
Enjoyed this article? Read YTU Calf Stretch To Lengthen The Gastroc
I look forward to using YTU therapeutic balls to soothe chronic foot and toes pain.
What is the difference between Jill’s and Sue Hitzmann’s methods? They both seem to work on fascia.
The purest joy is found within the most modest of things. Thanks for sharing something easy and doable with results that will make an outstanding difference.
I love this! I went to this Kundalini, Restorative yoga class & the teacher told us there are 72 thousand nerve ends in our bodies & most are in our feet! I carry my YTU balls with me everywhere I go, and I discreetly roll my feet out when no ones watching! Awesome videos – looking forward to more!
Awhile ago, I took a ballet class and quickly realized that my feet were weak and uncoordinated when not in shoes. I was not alone in risking injury to my feet or legs. A few of the most advanced dancers seemed to be living with chronic injuries. Since I have been using therapy balls, I have a way to soothe my feet that feels better than a foot massage and mobility is returning. I look forward to returning to dance and to sharing self-care techniques with the other dancers.
One of my most favorite body part to roll out are my feet. I’m a runner and I have bunions. It is my most favorite and liberating thing to do before and after a run! Thanks Gwen for the insight on some additional techniques!
In the past couple of years I have suffered with Planter fasciitis. As this was the first time in my life that I have ever had any type of limitation or dysfunction in my feet, I was completely unaware of how debilitating foot pain can be. I could not manage to walk in a normal manner, and I could do nothing to hide that fact! The YTU balls have truly been a life-saver, as it is through their care and impact upon the muscles, fascia, bones and joints of my feet, that I feel “back to life” again. I realize now that my foot tissues were being abused and stiffening for years…how wonderful that such a mistaken carelessness of body wellness can be restored by learning and being involved in the amazing YTU self-care practice. Just as exciting is sharing these tools with loved ones who think that the “Bounce in their Step” is gone forever. Thank you, Gwen and Jill, for this great article and video!
Simple enough to do – good start to foot health.
I have had foot surgery and every now and then my feet are sore – it feels great to massage my feet – especially the sore spots (I have a high tolerance for pain so really digging in to the spots that would make most people jump don’t phase me).
Very interested in this approach. I recently took a Yamuna Foot Fitness class, with a series of sometimes excruciating exercises on their dome-shaped foot “wakers” with massaging nubs. Afterwards, with all the meridians and fascia of my feet opened up, my feet felt wildly alive for several hours. Almost like a new pair of feet. There is much to be explored here, and I’m sure it has deep connections to TCM (traditional Chinese medicine). – Dennis
Speaking as someone that has not always treated her feet so well, I can’t agree with you more about giving our feet more TLC. I suffer from quite a bit of pain in the feet and can honestly say the Yoga Tune Up balls have been such a great pain management tool. No other ball or tool I have used works as well as my Yoga Tune Up balls. As modern human beings, even those that don’t experience pain can benefit from rolling out their feet due to the repetitive loads and sensory limiting shoes we bombard our poor feet with daily. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
The yoga tune up therapy balls are the best tool to help release foot pain. My boyfriend has a planter fascia problem and although he feels that the rolling makes it sensitive during the rolling, he reaps so much more benefits after.
Thanks for posting your comments to Jill’s video on taking care of the feet. I have used the little balls from the Melt Method with Sue Hitzman. Recently, I have used the yoga tune-up balls for the students in my yoga class in addition to the smaller balls. Each student has their individuals needs, so I am glad that the Yoga Tune-Up balls provide an alternative to the smaller balls. I agree, that the feet need additional TLC. They have a communication with the rest of the body and if they have less slide and glide in the tissues, the tension can impact up the chain of the body. The balls help enhance hydration of the tissue and can enhance proprioception. Thanks for sharing!
So important to do this regularly! Taking 5 minutes a day to roll out your feet can help with foot, heel and calf pain, letting you move more freely. Excellent!
I really like how this simple move does so much for the muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons of the foot. Also a great way to break in new tune up balls 🙂
Great video and I have started using many of these techniques. I have arthritis in my feet and this has helped tremendously with the pain I used to experience in my big toe joints. I find if I do this daily I eliminate most of that pain!