It can be painful, to put it mildly, and feel similar to plantar fasciitis<\/a>. So knowing what stretches<\/a>, exercises<\/a>, and shoes<\/a> are helpful for alleviating symptoms comes in handy. But to rebuild your internal arch, you may also want to start practicing “toe yoga,” a technique physical therapists use to help patients increase mobility and build up the intrinsic muscles in their feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you don’t need flat feet to reap the benefits. Physical therapist Diana Zotos-Florio<\/a>, CSCS, a certified yoga teacher and co-founder of Threes Physiyoga Method<\/a> (a movement practice that combines yoga with PT principles), says everyone can benefit from doing this move. \u201cIn the arch of the foot, there are a ton of different bones,\u201d she explains, \u201cand this is a beautiful thing because all the bones help to create a lot of different mobile joints. Our feet are meant to be adaptable to the surfaces that we walk on. If the bones of the foot are really flat, or even really stiff with a high arch, the bones aren\u2019t mobile, then the muscles can\u2019t work. It\u2019s like if your elbow was locked at 90 degrees\u2014the bicep wouldn\u2019t really be able to do its full range of motion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without proper mobility in the foot, common movement patterns like walking, running, or even standing become compromised, leading to imbalances in other areas of the body. \u201cSo if our feet are super rigid, like little planks, when we walk, the force of our body wouldn\u2019t be absorbed well, and we\u2019d get pain in our knees, hips, and feet,\u201d Zotos-Florio says. One solution is strengthening the infrastructure of the foot, which is where toe yoga comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, toe yoga is a type of strength and mobility training for your feet. \u201cWhat toe yoga does is help to train some of the really deep muscles that connect all the bones that make up the arch,\u201d Zotos-Florio explains. \u201cThe arch of the foot exists because of the tone of the muscles, so if the muscles aren\u2019t working, the arch won\u2019t exist. And having an arch is important because that\u2019s how we transfer load across the whole foot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike, say inversions or arm balances, practicing toe yoga is pretty simple, but you may find it challenging at first, depending on the amount of mobility you have in your feet. You can do it while standing or sitting in a chair, and should work on one foot at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, this can be hard to do, especially if you typically pronate, says Zotos-Florio. \u201cIt can be extremely challenging because those muscles haven\u2019t been working for a long time, so not only are they not functioning, but your brain isn\u2019t talking to them. So just as much as this is a muscular effort exercise, it\u2019s reestablishing neuromotor skills.\u201d But the good news is, with repetition, you can rebuild that brain-body connection quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To really build strength and mobility in your feet and reinforce the signals your brain\u2019s sending to your soles, Zotos-Florio recommends doing toe yoga twice a day for two minutes on each side. \u201cI would link it to another habit,\u201d she suggests. \u201cLike, \u2018I brushed my teeth, and now I\u2019m going to spend two minutes on each foot doing this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also recommends rolling a small massage ball under your foot first\u2014back and forth across the ball of the foot, then up and down from the heel to each separate toe. \u201cJust to wake up all the appropriate receptors and light up the foot in your brain,\u201d Zotos-Florio says. If you\u2019re a visual person, Threes Physiyoga has a whole virtual class dedicated to functional foot exercises<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan Galloway – 5h ago \u00a9 Photo: Getty Images\/ Westend61 Here\u2019s something you may not know: All babies are born with flat feet, but most people develop an arch at some point in childhood. Unfortunately, due to natural wear and tear, as well as weight fluctuations\u2014 like during pregnancy\u2014or certain health conditions\u2014including high blood pressure, diabetes, or<\/p>\nWhat is toe yoga?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to do toe yoga<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How often to practice toe yoga for best results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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