Stable Feet, Centered Self

By

Gayle Trenberth, Ph.D.

Every health oriented magazine has currently run anarticle on the feet.

It seems that many people are experiencing pain intheir feet, bunions, arthritic joints, hammertoe, balance issues, and other problems.  Our feet seem in trouble.  As I thought about this focus from apsychological perspective I realized our feet are our first connection toMother Earth, our first connection to a sense of balance and grounding.  I thought about our uncertain world and howof us are feeling out of control, unstable and anxious as we face thechallenges of the current times.  Isuddenly understood.  In the mind/body connection what is experiencedin our sense of self is expressed in our body. Our feet are in trouble, our sense of stability is in trouble and ourfeeling of being “grounded,” or centered, is also in trouble.  Fortunately, in the mind/body connection, we can strengthen our inner sense of stabilityby working with our bodies, beginning with our feet.

 A strong,grounded, flexible body connected to a strong, grounded, flexible mind allows theself to work with uncertainness, anxiety, and change.  Instead of fearfulness, the reaction becomesopenness to learning what is needed and moving forward to a new way of being inthe world (changing habits, changing jobs, changing lifestyles, changingwhatever needs to be changed).  Theeasiest place to begin to work on creating a balanced and centered approach toa changing world is our feet,mirrored in our mind as our sense ofgrounding. 

 Many of themind/body disciplines note the importance of the feet as a key link to balanceand flexibility.  Hatha Yoga begins manyof the standing poses with the toes of the feet spread to increase stability,the heel strongly connected to the floor, allowing the arch muscles to worknaturally, and the rest of the body to assume a position of grace andendurance.  The position strengthens thebody; the concentration to hold the position calms and strengthens the mind.   Yogais not the only powerful tool available to us to build stability.  There are other meditative techniques,movement therapies, and various psychotherapies, many of which focus on themind/body connection.  A key element toany of these approaches is our sense of grounding through our feet and oursense of being able to move through an uncertain world through the mobility ofour feet.

AssessingYour Stance

In the mind/bodyconnection, your psychological reactions to your changing world can bepinpointed in how your body’s musculature reacts or is habitually held.  In a mind/body analysis, you can track howyou respond to changes in your environment.

The first step is to ascertain how your body connectswith the ground (Mother Earth).  Standnaturally and take inventory of how your feet feel.  Do you sense your weight is rolling back onthe heel, or forward on the ball of your foot, or evenly distributed?  Do your toes feel like they are gripping theground for stability, or are they relaxed? Do your toes seem evenly spaced for balance?  Is there a shift of weight to the inside oroutside of the foot?  Much of what yousense in your feet is connected to your knees, hip, and spine, as alignmentaffects the whole body.  As you work onstabilizing your feet, you will sense the other parts of your body working toassume stability and alignment.

Once you have a sense of your habitual way ofstanding, note how the rest of your body compensates for any imbalances.  This posture creates a “body” stance that canbe compared to your psychological stance in your world.  Gripping the floor with your toes mayindicate being uncertain in life, needing to “hang on” while the world movesaround you.   Other parts of your bodymay tighten against the “blows” of change--- locked knees, shoulders hunched upand tilted inward, even a tight neck to hold onto your head!  Are you rolling back on your heels and isthat creating a tightening in your lower back? If so, ask yourself if you are gullible, a pushover, looking for easyanswers?  See what your body is saying toyou by its position, starting with your feet!

Now that you have taken stock of your body/mindstance, begin to do the work of changing to a more fluid, yet centeredposition.  As you do that work to createbalanced, flexible, and strong feet, your body will do whatever it can givenyour anatomical limitations, to follow suit. As you create a balanced, flexible and strong body, you will find yourpsychological stance assuming similar dimensions.

AwakenYour Feet

So let’s look at what is available to help your feetachieve flexibility, strength and balance. Once you have “awakened” your feet, you can look at how you connectthose feet to your body and then connect a grounded body to a flexible, strongand balanced sense of self.

Strengthening and stabilizing the feet takes consistenteffort because of habitual ways of holding yourself and various anatomicalproperties of your unique feet.  Justlike a nutritious diet and exercise, you need to integrate the care of yourfeet into your life.  Use a variety ofthe following techniques and tools 3 to 4 days a week.

“No Expense” Self-Help for the Feet:

1)     Exercise, Stretch, Massage, and Relax the Feet

A) Exercise:

A simple exercise for the feet, popularamong athletes, is simply walking on soft sand barefoot.  The surface of the sand allows the muscles ofthe feet to work in a type of resistance training.   The arch  works naturally and strengthens theinstep.  The sand encourages mobility ofthe joints.  As the feet work, you canfeel the Achilles tendon, calf, knee, thigh and hip join in the fun.

Other foot exercises can be done from achair.  Sit, keeping your knees bent andyour feet parallel, and feel your feet firmly planted on the ground.  Lift your toes back, while keeping the balland heel of your feet in firm contact with the floor.  Let your feet relax, sense the grounding onthe floor, then repeat.  After 4repetitions, try a variation.  Afterlifting your toes back, extend only the big toe down to the ground, withoutletting your feet invert.

This action will strengthen the instepand help keep the arch strong.  If yourfoot cramps, then allow the foot to relax and massage your foot, gentlystretching it back and forth.  Thecramping is a sign of tightness and weakness of the muscles of the feet,  your clue that these exercises are importantfor you.

Stretch:

 The “YogaHandshake” is a great method for stretching your feet and creating more spacebetween your toes.  Creating space betweenthe toes helps the joints regain mobility and allows the bones of the feet tobe aligned.  To do the “Yoga Handshake”,thread your fingers between your toes, supporting the sole of your foot in yourpalm and working the toes back and forth to loosen the joints.  In the same position, stretch your entire footback and forth to loosen the muscles you just exercised.

Place your heels back on the ground, lifting the restof the foot.  Move the foot towards theouter leg, then move back towards the inner leg, stretching the muscles on theoutside of the feet.

Finally, simply shake your foot out and rotate itaround a few times.

C) Massage:

First, rejuvenate the blood supply to the bottoms ofyour feet by gently tapping across the sole.

On those days you have the luxury of working out witha partner, go to the internet site:  www.metacafe.com/watch/296443/foot_massage/.   You can view a 5 minute video of aprofessional foot massage to exchange with your workout partner.

D) Relax:

For a final treat soak your feet in a tub of warmwater.  A drop or two of an essential oil,such as lavender, aids the muscles in recovering and relaxing.

“Low Budget” Tools for Awakening TheFeet

(Under $30.00)

Foot Rollers: Wooden foot rollers are an inexpensive foot massage tool that can beused anywhere.  Placed under your foot,roll it back and forth to stimulate blood supply, massage the arch and instepand work on reflexology points on the feet. They cost $4.95 for a basic model, $15.95 for a deluxe model.

http://www.blackpearlbotanicals.com/wooden_foot_rollers.htm

Yoga Sandals®: These sandals have four toe separators and support for the calcaneousbone (heel bone).  The toe separatorsallow your foot bones to spread, distributing your body’s weight evenly whenwalking, while keeping the sandal secure on your foot.  The heel bone support allows your arch towork naturally, exercising arch muscles. The toe separators combined with the heel bone support promotes properfoot, leg, and hip motion.  Regular wearof these sandals helps the joints regain alignment and flexibility and exercisethe muscles of the feet.  It often takessome time to adjust to the toe separation, since the muscles are weakened byclose toed shoes, but the effort is worth the results.  The newest version has interchangeable toeseparators that will allow the wearer to adjust the individual width desiredbetween each toe.  You can graduallyincrease the toe separation as needed. Many of the models are under $30.00.

www.yogasandals.com

Foot Baths: A Conair massaging Foot Bathwith massage and bubble jets cost as little as $23.95 to give your feet thatrelaxing soak.

(www.fitsmybudget.com/product.php?productid=25296)

“MediumBudget” Tools for Awakening the Feet

(Under$50.00)

Yamuna Foot Wakers:  These are half spheres, about 5 inches indiameter, with massage bumps.   Use themmuch like a foot roller for stimulating and relaxing the feet.   Also use them to stand on to work themuscles of the feet and to improve balance. They are available for $41.95.

www.allaboutbodyrolling.com/app/product/Foot-Wakers

Yoga Toes:  These are soft plastic toe separators thatwork much like the “Yoga Handshake” described above.  They allow a large degree of separationbetween the toes, promoting joint alignment and flexibility and can be wornwhile sitting or lying down.  Since theyhave a “one size fits all,” it may take some time to adjust to them.  They cost $49.95.

www.yogapro.com/ts/toestretcher.html

Usingyour Awakened, Strong, Flexible Feet

ToMove Through Anxiety and Change

Now that you have done the work to awaken andstabilize your feet, assess the challenges that are facing you today.  As you visualizeeach challenge, feel your mind/body’s reaction. It will probably be your habitual reaction to change.  It could be an anxiety that “lifts you offyour feet,” or a stubbornness that results in your being too firmly “planted onthe ground.”  Whatever your reaction, shiftyour attention to your feet and assume that new, alive stance of balance andflexibility.  Feel that stance flowing upyour legs, stabilizing your knees, hips and spine through to the top of yourhead.  Now, re-visualize a challenge and see what has changed.  Do you feel open to new possibilities, moreconfidence?  Any new thoughts orintuitions about the challenge?  Thesenew experiences are a shift to a more balanced and flexible stance of handlingchange.

I was struck by a Tai Chi master’s demonstration manyyears ago.  He asked me to hit him ashard as I could.  I threw a fist at him.  He simply stepped out of my way, and I landedflat on the ground.  He had stayedcentered and flexible, while I had thrown my weight forward, unable to recovermy balance.  To me, that was a dramaticlesson about life.  Keep centered,balanced, flexible and life’s blows can be dealt with.      

Anxious or fearful moments are learning points tolisten to yourself and discover what you need to change in your life.  With balance and flexibility, instead offearful paralysis, you feel energized and take action.  When your mind/body is flexible, you canembrace change as a new chapter, even if it involves some grieving and lettinggo.  You allow your full tide offeelings, knowing your center is strong, stable, and grounded.  You process your emotions, integrating themwith your sense of self and move forward, meeting life’s demands andexperiencing life’s joys.

Your feet are the point where you connect and groundwith Mother Earth.  If you do the work toawaken and enliven those feet, you can be the “willow in the wind,” bending andnot breaking, rooted in your sense of self, centered in your connection withthe world.  Do the work, reap thebenefits and enjoy your feet!  They takeyou on this incredible journey through life.

Gayle Trenberth, Ph.D. worked as apsychologist for 30 years and a   Boenergetic Analyst for 20 years.  She published two case studies on long termwork with patients in the books Strategic Emotional Involvement and TerrifyingTransferences (LawrenceHedges, Editor).  In the 1970’s, shestudied directly with Swami Satchidananda (Integral Yoga).  In 1999, she invented and patented YogaSandals® and began teaching the principles of grounding the self through thebody and the feet.  She founded BeechSandal Co., LLC as a distribution center for Yoga Sandals® and the principlesbehind toe separating footwear.