Bodies Blog
We view one of our roles as educating our community about massage and bodywork, and this is our "blackboard" where we share fun and actionable info for people with bodies.
Our Earthly Platform - Our Feet
May 8, 2025
These days the world seems to be shifting under us. What an opportunity to assess our most direct physical connection to the Earth: our feet. How do you picture your feet? Are they soft, pliable, stiff, or firm? Are they solid and supportive or wobbly and unreliable? Or do you think about your feet at all?
Feet are magnificent works of evolution and conditioning, each containing 26 bones, a large number of muscles for movement and stability, and an array of ligaments allowing the right kind of movement and preventing the wrong kind. These structures are all present at birth and are highly conditioned by the way we stand, walk, run, etc.
Everything balances upon our feet when we are upright, so our entire alignment from ankles to skull is determined in large part by how we stand and move on them. Getting familiar our feet, therefore, is helpful for understanding posture and movement, and ensuring efficient and healthful movement habits.
When you stand, notice where you feel your weight in your feet - at the heel, the ball, the outside or the inside. Are there differences between the weight in your feet? Do you put more weight on one or the other? When you balance on one foot (using a hand-hold if you need support) notice how your weight shifts to different parts of your balancing foot. Try walking slowly and notice your weight transfer from heel through arch, ball and toes. Experiment with different modes of walking noticing how the contact of your foot with the ground changes. Are there more and less comfortable ways for you to walk? Using experimentation and curiosity you can learn about your feet and how they function and stand on firmer footing, literally if not figuratively.
Now, then. Need a comedy break? Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks sketch comes to mind. Imitate with caution.
Photo credit: Luis Ruiz