week 2...

Since you already have you feet out...you do don't you? Then why not make them do a little extra work for the good of your legs, pelvis, spine, shoulder, brain and SOUL.

Please note, the following can be done at any time, in any place and as many times as you deem fit and you DO NOT have to consult your doctor before wriggling your toes, but you might want to show him or her what great feats of sole-fullness (get it? hehehe) your feet can accomplish next time you are in....

1. Roll through your ankle joins and feet and just generally explore the ranges you have.

2. Can you press the big toes down whilst lifting every other toe up? Try one foot at a time and then both together and notice any other parts of the body that try and get involved unnecessarily.

3. Can you lift the big toes up whilst pressing down every other toe?

4. Lace your fingers inbetween your toes and alternate between squeezing your fingers with your toes and your toes with your fingers. When you are done with this non-sense then see if you can take you toes off your fingers rather then just removing your hand.

5. Wrap a plastic band/hair tie or resistance band around your toes and see if you can spread your toes evenly. This is nice alternated with number 4.

6. See what you can pick up with your feet!

Inspiration taken from Jules Mitchell, Katy Bowman and Dr Andreo Spina.

 

Images by Peter Lindbergh from Vogue Italia (September 1997)

“Shoes block pain, not impact! Pain teaches us to run comfortably! From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run.”

― Barefoot Ted

barefoot dancing

week one

...we'll start simple...

TAKE YOUR SHOES AND SOCKS OFF

That's all. I know it's cold, but that's good for you too sometimes (more on that another day).

If you find that you have your toe-lock-socks and shoe-prisons on most of the day, then start slowly by slipping them off every now and again at work and IMMEDIATELY when you get home.
If your work and/or home are already free of the aforementioned then why not go all out (go on, I dare you) and get those feet in contact with as many different surfaces as you can throughout your week. The more texture, bumps and grooves the better.

If you start to notice that your day-to-day is filled with flat, even, hard surfaces then get creative about what you can find to walk on. There are grass verges EVERYWHERE and since you don't need that mat at your front door to wipe your shoes on anymore (cus you took them off right?!) then how about replacing it with a pebble mat! Google it (they exist) and make one!

Feeling all the texture the earth has to offer is a simple but profound pleasure and there are many many many benefits that accompany that pleasure. I recommend looking up Gary Ward (Author of What The Foot?) and Barefoot Ted (clues in the name) for some facts and figures and funny anecdotes.

Home Play

Skin

"Playing with surfaces is probably where my brain is as well as my own body. Looking at the difference between a set of monkey bars, which would never occur in nature, and then looking at trees. Not just their angles, but also the textures of the bark. All the things you would touch would not have been smooth, they would bite into your skin and require that your skin strengthen.

Our skin is a big limitation to our health. The muscles of the entire body has to pass through either the hand or the feet if you’re doing something with body weight, and yet the skin has never been exposed to anything natural. Even if you are barefoot the nutrient you consume the most is a flat man-made surface.

I’m observing how everything is flat and smooth in my whole life. Nothing has asked the skin to the party. Nothing has asked the skin to participate in your body’s way of moving. Walking on different surfaces just for the sake of the skin. Playing with grip, diameter, and how that changes muscle recruitment."

--Katy Bowman via Liberated Bodies

Gary Ward

Gary Ward is the founder of Anatomy in Motion, and the author of the book I'm currently reading What the Foot?. 

His work is a new discovery for me  and it was this quote that pulled me in... 

 “You are never going to not benefit from getting more mobile and supple feet.”

I can't give you a review of the book yet, and I'm a slow reader so it might take some time, but what I have read and heard so far has been enough to convince me to sign up to the Anatomy in Motion course next year. CUE MAJOR EXCITEMENT. Have a listen, and massage your feet and then go for a walk.

 

keep it simple

After each exhalation there is a yawning release that happens in the body, right through to the palms of the hands and down to the soles of the feet. You just have to let it happen.

It's not about doing, but letting these tiny little messages travel as far as the hands and as far as the feet allowing you to feel fully in contact with the ground.

(Source: Daniel Minnick)

Joints, technique and tlc

A few things I've found useful and inspiring recently, for students and myself...

This works a treat! It's worth having a good search through Kelly Starrett's archive, he's seriously knowledgeable and passionate about his craft.

Try this the next time you sprint for the bus!

And if you want to be running barefoot then those feet are gunna need some work. I'd recommend taking control of your feet regardless of your plans for them anyway.


SQUAT! It's important.
I have studied with Peter a few times, and what he has to say about yoga really resonates. I highly recommend his book Intelligent Yoga.

(found all over the place via Google serendipity, the magic of twitter, Facebook and other peoples generosity.)

After each exhalation there is a yawning release that happens in the body, right through to the palms of the hands and down to the soles of the feet. You just have to let it happen.

It's not about doing, but letting these tiny little messages travel as far as the hands and as far as the feet allowing you to feel fully in contact with the ground.


(Source: Daniel Minnick)

Source: russian-and-soviet-cinema, via proofkiss)

I love dirty feet. A sign that you are using them as nature intended!

Do things barefoot as often as you can, the benefits are many!

(Headstand image of me, Foot image found here )

Found here

Sequence: with swimming in mind...

1.Virasana.
(swimmers use the ankles as the foundation of movement propelling the body forward with a kick. In freestyle the top of the foot should hit the water as if in Virasana at 180 degrees.)
2. Balasana 
3. Kneeling Twist/Thread-the-needle
4. Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana x3
(Rotator cuff injuries or shoulder tendonitis occur when the rhomboids are not held in place when the arm is raised in freestyle stroke. Instead of the muscle carrying the weight of the arm, the tendon bears the burden. Over time the tendon becomes frayed and aggravated. Adho Mukha Svanasana and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana are great for teaching the action of the shoulder blades needed in freestyle)

5.  Balasana  - to - Adho Mukha Svanasana – to -. Uttanasana - to –  Malasana - to - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana (Reapeat a few times keeping the space in the belly and inner groins as you move)
6. Baddha Konasana
(Baddha Konasana demonstrates a healthy external rotation of the hip. For many people, though, the hips can feel locked and stiff. In a swimmer, this congestion can manifest in a faulty breaststroke kick. Without free, loose hips, it's difficult to complete this stroke effectively and efficiently.)
7. Savasana
 

images by Lina Scheynius via eternal-optimist

Practice

"You should not be practicing to have a “good” practice, but instead to keep steadiness within yourself. Practice happily regardless of whether it is “good” or not. Sometimes some postures will not be possible, but when you accept the good and the bad and everything becomes equal for you, that is yoga."

 -- R. Sharath Jois

Home practice can be a challenging thing to get started with, but once you get going it is well worth the effort. You get to learn, explore and play at your own pace, to suit your own energy needs and (most importantly) you learn to listen to your own intuition. 

There's is no template for a perfect home practice and it certainly doesn't need to be complicated. All you need is yourself so lets go over a few of the things you do not need... 

1. You do not need a dedicated yoga space, you don't even need a mat. you just need enough space to move and breath. simple. 

2. You do not need to practice for a set or extended period of time. Sometimes I only have time for 5mins sometimes 2 hours. It all counts. 

3. You do not need to find a space where you will be uninterrupted. There will interruptions, invited or not. Can you remain in your body, gather your focus, and start again?

4. You do not have to be a yoga teacher to come up with sequences. Go to class to learn the basic rules (I gravitate to teachers that teach to make themselves redundant) and then come home and play with those rules...maybe even break them...I do what feels good for me in the moment, it's fun!

5. You don not need to achieve anything. It's not a competition and there is not final goal and that's the beauty of it all.

Now go, be free and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

(photo of me and my dirty feet...more Yoga Do's)

Walk

Found my dream summer sandals...you gotta show your toes some love. GOLD says LOVE ; )

Egyptian mens Sandals from The Met.