Classical Pilates for Modern Life

ANKLES and ARCHES

If you've been reading my writing for a while you might have come across me talking about the importance of strong and flexible feet before. 

But since feet are a base, a foundation for the rest of our body, I feel that it is never too repetitive to talk about them.

Any physical activity that we do that either helps to clear the head, or lose weight, work in the garden, or enjoy time with friends, requires using our feet. We need them for standing, walking, running, biking, etc.  Often though, only when our feet become painful or even deformed, we seek remedies.  

So what can we do to take care of our feet for a long lasting benefit other than soak and massage them? 

We must find exercises that strengthen and stretch the muscles of our toes, instep, arch, ankle, shin bone and calf. 

Classical Pilates repertoire is full of such exercises. Whether using the equipment or not, one can significantly improve their feet health through addressing both the foot and the ankle area. Their health directly affects the health of legs, knee joints as well as hip joints and even the spine.

So why in the midst of pursuing activities to strengthen our core and build up the upper and lower body, we seem to be forgetting that we have feet?

If you don’t have access to the Pilates equipment, don’t worry.

Here is how you can address the issue, by using a stretch band, a kitchen towel, or literally just the floor. 

How to stretch and strengthen the toes using a rubber band is a topic for another newsletter so stay tuned:)

My two cents 

 We pay less attention to the condition of our feet than to the condition of our car’s tires. :) 

The exercises that ultimately make a difference in my client's feet health are the ones they do at home. One of the reasons being that these exercises can be done daily with basically no equipment. 

So let’s make a commitment to our feet. Life goes on, the body ages and if we don’t take care of it, it will not be at our service when we need it.:)

If you are not sure where to begin your Pilates journey or if you want to learn more, look inside my Facebook group: “Classical Pilates for Modern Life” and on the Instagram page “Pilates knowhow", where I explain and demonstrate one fundamental exercise at a time.