Sentient and Useful Toes

Remember how delicious it felt to inhabit your toes when you were a baby? Maybe that sense memory eludes you, but if you've spent time with an infant recently your mirror neurons will have picked up on the baby’s delight as you touch each little “piggy.”  This likely put a smile on your face, a twinkle in your eyes, and opened up space in your heart. Such feelings not only lift our spirits: they also lift us biomechanically.

Toes are Not Merely Decorative

The simple act of sensing your toes can appreciably affect the way you use your feet and your whole body.

Recently a friend gave me some toe socks.  She told me they help her feel more grounded as she stands all day styling hair.  I reasoned they might offer some of the benefits of wearing FiveFingers shoes on days when I don’t have time to seek out natural terrain for walking. 

Every Little Piggy Counts

Wearing the socks made me acutely aware of my “toe cleavages”-- the super-sensitive spaces between the toes.  Being aware of those spaces makes it nearly impossible not to notice that your toes exist--each one an individual.

Toes love having something to do--they love sensing and pushing off from the ground.  

Happy, useful toes impart lift to your body as they impel your heart forward into the world.

The first walk I took wearing my new socks helped me realize that I wasn’t grounding through my big toe pads as thoroughly as I could.  Once my big toes came online, I felt a reciprocal activation up the inner lines of both legs and into my abdominal core.  This gave me an instantaneous lift through my midline.

Check out my online foot workshop for more about healthy mobility of the toes and whole foot.  My podcast chat with Michael Max also touches on specific muscular sensations in the toes and feet. 

© 2016 Mary Bond