Do you stare and covet the perfectly outstretched toes of the graceful yoga instructor while at the same time, looking down at the mat and your own knarly, scrunched up and battered feet? Do you struggle with balancing poses, or experience pain in your feet? As someone who has always struggled with feet ~ I had bunion surgery when I was 20 ~ I feel your pain.

And…I have an exercise for you. It’s a Feldenkrais® maneuver that I learned from my training in Zentherapy® bodywork. It’s a tool that has helped me immensely. I wish I’d known about it before I opted for surgery.

• Sit on the floor with bare feet.
• Stretch your left leg out straight.
• Cross your right leg over the left so that your right foot is resting on your left thigh.
• Interlace the fingers of your left hand with the toes of your right foot.
• Make circular movements with your hand, rotating the foot as much as possible.
• Make the same movement but let the foot drive the movement, in opposition with your hand (like your foot is moving and fighting your hand).
• Let hand and foot move together (as if hand and foot have made up, and in unison).
• Change legs: right leg out straight, left foot resting on the right thigh.
• Repeat steps above with the left foot.

Stand up and see how your foot feels. Notice how your connection to the ground changes as you’ve freed up the tightness in the feet.
Do this exercise daily. Give it a spin before your next tree pose and see the difference in the way your foot grounds down into the floor.

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