Continuing reading "BODY³" by Thomas Myers and I'd like to introduce something about arch of the foot. As I teach Gyrokinesis on the stool and to prepare the body to do some more work on standing, I do some exercise on the feet to wakening up the senses of the feet, nervous system.
The foot can be described as a tetrahedron, as the tripod base, the heel, the ball of the big toe, the ball of the little toe, and as the top of the pyramid, the top of the talus in the ankle joint. When you stand, the weight is distributed through a springy shock-absorbing arches between three points in the sole of the foot, the medial longitudinal arch (inside of the foot), the lateral longitudinal arch ( out side of the foot) and the transverse arch (across the ball of the foot). When you work on the sole of the feet, you may want to think rather 3Dimentional including ankle, not only tripod of the sole. This way, you can be prepared to transmit your weight when you stand up.
The shape of the bones of the foot, the plantar ligaments and muscles, and the balanced upward pull from the lower leg are supporting the balanced arch of the foot.
The weight from the tibia to the talus transmits weight through to the first three toes. The lateral arch is connected to the fibula to the two little toes, not to bear weight so much, more as balancer.
This is an exercise I recommend to stimulate arches and hydrate tissues, restoring elasticity of the arches. Being aware of the senses of the sole of the foot, be able to sense the surface, it will improve your balance!
starting position; sitting on the stable chair or stool. Thigh bones slightly sloped. feet and legs are parallel, hip distance apart.
Bring awareness to the surface of the sole of the feet. as you inhale, gathering (squeeze) sole of the feet as if lifting plunger up wards (towards top of the pyramid) feet as suction cup, toes and heels moving toward each other. You may feel all the joints of the legs tightening.
As you exhale, release the tension of the feet, and feel the sole of the feet melting onto the floor. You may feel the joints of the legs release.
As you inhale, spread tripod of the feet much wider, toes lengthened wide and lifted like a wing. Create more surface touching the ground. You may feel the joint of the legs opening.
Exhale, keep the sole of the feet nice and wide, and lengthen the toes down. You may feel the whole legs connected through the joints of the legs.
Now you are ready to put your weight into the feet!
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