Feet First! Take Better Care of Your Feet

Help your feet feel better
(nelsonjane.blogspot.com)

Put your best foot forward. We at Wondergressive enjoy taking good care of our feet. To do so you must be actively thinking about what is best for them. Everyday, people cram their feet into shoes that don’t fit. Flashy styles and inexpensive shoes are often right for the eye or the pocket book but they take a toll on the toes, arches, and foot overall.

Our entire bodily alignment is based on the foundation of our feet. Yet, as Pam Werner, from sun and moon yoga studio puts it…

..Our feet are often neglected and abused by wearing uncomfortable or improperly fitted shoes and rarely walking barefoot. Walking barefoot utilizes the foot muscles, which strengthens them as well as helps recreate and maintain healthy arches. It also allows the feet to be free, spread, and get fresh air.

That’s right, walking barefoot helps your feet and body alignment immensely. Think that walking is a bit too slow? Consider trying barefoot running. A study at Harvard examined the amount of force placed on the foot. This study was conducted by Daniel E. Lieberman and others to show the differences between force applied while barefoot…

and with shoes on.

As you can see the force applied while wearing shoes dips slightly while weight is transferred between the heel and the forefoot. This blip of applied energy is believed to encourage injury in the long run.

Aside from actually using them, there are several things that you can do to take better care of your feet. The first, of course, is to develop a healthy yoga practice. You will not regret it, unless you have a history for regretting doing things that make you feel awesome and comfortable inside your own skin. In every yoga pose (asana) each foot acts as a point of reference. That goes without saying as the entire body should act as a reference point. The second thing that you can do is quite easy: Keep hydrated. Your feet sweat a lot. From Yoga Pam (see above):

There are 250,000 sweat glands in each pair of feet that release nearly a cup of moisture every day. There are more sweat glands per inch of our feet than anywhere else in the body, and their function is to keep the skin moist and supple.

That’s reason alone to get those basement digits some fresh air. They deserve it, you know, after they’ve lugged you around for an entire lifetime. To help with other foot problems check out foot.com for a comprehensive resource on all things foot health related.

Related Article: The Almighty Escapism: Creating Distraction

Get your own yoga starter kit and BPA free water bottle!

Sources:
Yoga for the Foot

Running Barefoot

Foot.com