Stretch Anywhere: The Toe Pointing Edition

Since I have those toe pointing issues I definitely had to include toe stretches to do anywhere (and everywhere!). Lately I have been doing these stretches every time I have a spare moment, taking rest days of course. I have gone from having foot cramps every time to only getting foot cramps every so often. As always, make sure to warm up a little.

Where to do these:

• At the office or during lecture, with some discretion
• Waiting in line, virtually any waiting room
• The toilet: (don't ask, if you take care of children you spend a lot of time waiting in the bathroom)
• Watching TV: For the horrible moments you are watching live TV on commercials (I know I know, what an awful thought ;)
• Sunbathing--bonus: already warm feet
• At the red light: as a passenger or if you're waiting to cross the street
• On a window: I don't have much of a toe point and wanted a nice shot for the February #PDBloggers Photo-A-Week Challenge. As usual, I didn't get to it until the sun was setting so I had to sit right at the window to catch some natural light. I cheated and pushed into the window for a faux foot point, haha!

Stretching your feet anywhere:

Push your arch down: This one is best done on a chair, unless you have a strong core and good balance. Place the heel of your hand midway between your ankle and toes; push into your arch. Grab your arch: You can alternatively grab your whole foot and shove it down. This works best for me. Either of these can be done with some stealth under a desk and do not attract much gawking in waiting rooms, compared to the shoulder stretches. (If you've got a willing participate handy you can also have them stretch your foot. You may want to save this for home.) Push into the floor (windows work, too). Sit or stand with one leg bent slightly at the knee (think ballerina-ish). The first time you try this you might catch yourself crunching your toes. Avoid that! With a few tries you will get the hang of curving your arch with less pressure on your toes. If you have heels/shoes that slip on and off you can do this outside by putting your toes in the middle of your shoe and pushing your arch down in it. Ta-da! Now you can really do this anywhere!

Where will you start stretching your feet now?
Don't forget to check back on Wednesdays for more Stretch Anywhere posts during #FlexyFebruary!

Ballet: Those Awful Chicken Feet

There is very little I admire more than the athleticism, dedication, and incomparable grace of a ballerina. But the chicken feet! Pointe remains one of the most torturous sounding activities in the world and it just does not make sense to me.

Enviable grace, amazing port de bras... and then the feet
Leah  (c) Melissa Dooley; CC Attribution 2.0 License

Heel use and pointing toes

Lately I've been trying to improve my stretching form and dismal toe pointing. My problem comes from my high heel addiction--except for the past few months I've worn high heels daily for a few years now (although I don't pole in heels). That's not to say I regret anything. I actually love the shape of my feet complete with the little side bump I've always had before "heeling" that some people call that funny word--bunion.

My toes pop up in a neutral position

It is, however, a problem for me when I stretch. Namely, foot cramps. Ow. I asked around in High Heel Place, a forum I love, and a friend confirmed what I suspected. The neutral position of my feet has gone from toes-to-the-floor to slightly raised. Very pretty, if you ask me, although I know a lot of you probably obsess over super pointes. I'm a little blasphemous--super pointed toes look like chicken feet to me, lol. I love the shape of feet in heels.

If you have this problem: Make extra sure you've warmed up very well, then ease into stretching. If you cramp up, go slower with your stretches and hold them for shorter periods of time and work back up. A great tip I received is to stand on the front of your foot to put pressure on the cramped spot. This also works great for late night foot cramps during pregnancy too.

From where I feel the stretch when I point my toes I think this is less of a problem related to the seemingly horrific shortened calves people always seem to be warning heel wearers about. It's actually localized to the middle top of my feet. Without pointing the rest of my foot I can feel a stretch when I point only my toes. Yeah, I really do wear heels that much. I actually only own one pair of non-heel shoes: my running shoes. High heel wearing has improved my balance to a degree that I can easily navigate lawns, escalators, and even the glare ice we get in the winter here. Curiously, I've always been a klutz barefoot or in flat shoes.

I'm not going to stop wearing heels, much to the chagrin of some, although I will wait until my balance is back to normal to go back to heels. Heels really are not the evil of the world and even have a bit of a power element to them--it's all in the height, the glamour, and the authoritative clicking. I will definitely keep on stretching!