Happy toes say no to shoes
To have happy toes don’t wear shoes. Or, if you live in a cold climate — wear shoes less. Your toes don’t like cramped quarters, they love to stretch and wiggle! Your toes need to bend and spread as you walk. Your shoes cramp their style.
One of the amazing things about living in a tropical climate is you don’t have to wear shoes. Since moving to Hawaii I don’t wear shoes…EVER. My toes love it! They love walking on the sand and lava rock bare or with flip flops.
Your toes need to spread as you walk. When you cram them into tight shoes that force your toes together you can develop toe and foot problems. Or excacerbate current toe issues.
I used to have a painful toe knuckle. I broke my right big toe knuckle about eight years ago and experienced pain in that knuckle and toe. Until I moved to Hawaii and took my shoes off.
Happy Toes
Take off your shoes, get on your mat and do this week’s Ageless Movement Practice for your toes. You’ll have happy toes! Your feet will thank you and so will your ankles and knees. Heck, your whole body will be happy.
A toe story
Many years ago I was visiting my Grandma at her lake cabin in Northern Minnesota. She loved to walk along the pine tree-lined lake and I loved to walk with her. At eighty-six years old she was fairly active except for chronic knee pain.
Her knee pain was so bad, she didn’t think she could take her usual lake walks. I wanted to help Grandma feel better so I went to work on her body.
Toe opening
I sat at her feet and took off her pointy shoes. I noticed her toes were all shoved together and pointed down. So I wove my fingers between her toes as best I could and began to move her toes in circles, up toward her ankles and down toward her heels.
It was painful for Grandma at first. She cried out a couple of times but allowed me to continue. As she stood up after the first time we did this simple toe spreading exercise she felt less pain in her knee.
Wide-toed shoes
I took Grandma shopping and bought her wide-toed tennis shoes to wear walking and wide-toed slippers for wearing around the house. She also agreed to wear a toe spreader from the nail salon a couple of times a day.
A few days into working on my Grandmother’s feet she stated, “It’s a miracle, my knee is pain-free.” We got out her new wide toed tennis shoes and took our walk by the lake. My heart rejoiced to give the gift of freedom from pain to someone I loved.
Give this gift of freedom from foot, ankle and knee pain to yourself or someone else with this simple toe weave exercise.
A gift for you:
An Ageless Body Note From Your Toes
Dear Joyful One,
We are your toes and want you to know that we serve a very important purpose. To provide balance and support when you stand, walk and run.
Your toes help your feet
Freedom
Us toes hate shoes. We love to be free. Free to wiggle, grab, lift and spread. Your tight shoes give you foot problems. Prevent Bunions, hammer toes, claw and mallet toes by taking off your shoes. Go barefoot! Wear wide-toed shoes.
Set your piggies free to be happy!!
Love,
Your Toes (Via Michelle Andrie)
Interesting to relate th toes /feet to ansestors paternal and maternal. I have broken many bones in my left foot, including all the toes, and had surgery, and sprained that ankle so many times it has permanent swelling. Right, not as bad,small bunion and one slight hammertoe. Hmmm.
Also, my old trainer, who has a PhD in physiology, who unfortunately left Pittsburgh about three years ago did focus on feet in movement and exercise, taught me to focus on spreading my toes as I walk (especially downhill) and roll the foot deliberately from the heel through the toes and pushing off with the toes during walking, running, whatever, to activate all your leg muscles instead of just “slapping” your foot down. I would be interested to know what you think. ????
Christine,
Yes, sounds like you’ve inherited some challenges from your mom’s ancestral line that they want you to resolve!
I agree with spreading your toes as you walk and rolling from the heel over to the big toe to push off in walking and running. Good wide soled shoes are a must for happy feet or bare feet if you live in a warm climate!