Don’t mind my feet! But do you mind your feet?

I’m just opening up the neural gaps, increasing circulation, and improving the communication pathway from my feet to my brain.

Unless you go out of your way to shop for a shoe with a wide shoe box, not to be confused with a wide shoe, your footwear is compressing your toes.

Weak feet give you a poor foundation for your joints above, so adding footwork into your practice is always a good idea.

My son has been asking for toe separators after seeing my various toe socks. They can be worn for a few minutes initially to build up your comfort level. These will help your balance and foot pain.

If you’d like to receive my list of Healthy Foot Tips, send me an email, so I can share it with you.

AWAKEN THE BACKSIDE

Our posterior chain refers to the muscles that make up the backside of our body, and are essential to our movement and stability, yet is an area that’s often overlooked. This chain spans from the soles of the feet, up the backs of the legs, the gluteus maximus, along the spine, and up to the crown of the head.

These muscles tend to be tight and weak from too much sitting, or from an imbalance in overtraining the front body. A strong posterior chain is important in overall health, keeping the body upright, and providing stability for the spine and hips. When these posterior chain muscles are weak, we can experience back pain, poor posture, or unstable balance.

Don’t look down

We all know about tech neck, which is a forward head posture while looking at our phone or other devices. Spending so many hours in this forward head position can cause pain in the neck and shoulders.

A consequence of some long spinal fusions is a loss of spinal curves that are not fused. I saw my cervical X-ray a few years ago after looking into TOS (thoracic outlet syndrome), and I have lost my normal lordotic cervical curve.

What do I do? I try to not look down at screens, but lift them to eye level. I use voice to text when I can in order to not have to look at my phone. I support my neck when I'm resting on my back, and I've recently included more cervical support by using a blanketed pool noodle under my cervical spine. And, as pictured, I bring my book to eye level, instead of reading from a book in my lap.