THE PROGRAM

STANCE HABITS TO CHANGE

ALIGN YOUR FEET

• To the best of your ability, line up the two points along the outside edge of each foot.

FEET PELVIS-WIDTH APART

• Line up the center of the front of your ankles with the bony prominences at the front of your pelvis.

BACK YOUR HIPS UP

• Move your hips back so that they’re directly over the knees and ankles.

NEUTRAL FEMURS

• Maintaining the above stance directions, rotate your femurs until your knee pits are pointing straight behind you.

STRETCHING THE INTRINSIC TISSUES OF THE FOOT

PASSIVE TOE SPREADING

• Sit with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee.
• With your hands, gently spread your toes apart, stretching the toes away from each other.
• Hold for up to a minute at a time.
• Also try toe spacers and foot alignment socks.

STANDING FOOT MASSAGE

• Stand with a tennis or similarly sized squishy ball under the arch of one foot.
• Slowly load your weight (stay seated if necessary) onto the ball.
• Move your foot forward and back and side to side (“vacuuming” your foot) to gently articulate individual joints within the foot.
• Eventually try different ball sizes and firmness.

TOP OF THE FOOT STRETCH

• Stand on your right foot and reach your left foot back behind you, tucking the toes of your left foot under and placing them on the floor.
• If you find yourself leaning forward, shorten the distance you’ve reached the leg back.
• Bring your pelvis over your standing ankle and upper body over the hips.
• Work up to holding this stretch for a minute, but stop for cramping.

STRETCHING THE EXTRINSIC TISSUES OF THE FOOT

CALF STRETCH – GASTROCNEMIUS

• Place the ball of your left foot on the apex of a half-foam roller or rolled-up folded towel, drop the heel all the way to the ground, and straighten that knee.
• Step forward with your right foot.
• If you can’t bring your foot all the way forward, take a smaller step.
• Keep your weight stacked vertically over the heel of whichever foot is farther back.
• Hold for a minute, then switch legs; do this three times each leg.

CALF STRETCH – SOLEUS

• After getting into Calf Stretch – Gastrocnemius position, bend the knees while keeping your heels down.
• Hold for up to a minute, then switch legs; repeat this as often as you do the Calf Stretch – Gastrocnemius

DOUBLE CALF STRETCH

• Stand in front of a chair, facing the seat. With your feet pelvis-width apart, knees straight, and feet pointing forward, tip the pelvis forward until your palms rest on the chair.
• If you can’t reach the chair without really bending the knees or rounding the back, make your seat height higher or move to a counter or desktop.
• Once your arms are down, see if you can allow your spine to drop down toward the floor, and your tailbone to lift toward the ceiling.
• Don’t force your ribs to the floor or arch your back—just consciously relax the spine to the ground as much as you can.
• Hold for up to a minute and repeat often throughout the day.

STRAP STRETCH

• Lie on your back and loop a strap (or a belt) across the toe-box of your right foot.
• Straighten your right leg above you and extend your left leg until your left hamstring is touching the floor.
• If you have to bring your right leg lower for the left hamstring to touch, do so, keeping both legs straight.
• Allow your arms to hold the weight of your right leg—relax it completely and then pull your foot toward you with the strap, not with the muscles down the front of the shin.
• Keeping your ankle in place, pull your right leg higher in small increments, without allowing the left hamstring to come up off the floor.

CATSUIT STRETCH

• Sit on the floor with your feet pressed flat against a wall and your legs straight.
• Fold your body forward, tipping your pelvis, ribs, and chest towards your legs.
• Completely relax your neck, letting your head hang.

STRENGTHENING THE INTRINSIC TISSUES OF THE FOOT

TOE ABDUCTION

• Stand with your feet pelvis-width apart and pointing straight ahead, and your weight back in your heels.
• Spread your toes apart as far as you can, keeping all the toes flat on the ground.
• Repeat throughout the day (read: make sure your shoes aren’t too tight to do this motion!).

TOE LIFTS

• Lift just your big toes while in the same stance as the last exercise.
• Work to lift each big toe straight upward, rather than sideways across the foot.
• Lift first the big toes and then the second toe of each foot, making sure to keep the balls of your feet on the floor. Then lift the third, fourth, and fifth toes.
• Once all the toes are lifted, put them back down one by one.

STRENGTHENING THE EXTRINSIC MUSCLES OF THE FOOT

SINGLE-LEG BALANCE

• Stand barefoot on the left leg with the knee straight and bend the right knee to lift the right foot slightly off the floor.
• Keep your ankle still, your arms down by your sides, and your foot pointing straight ahead (with knee pits facing back, once you’re more advanced).
• Hold for up to a minute on each side, three times each.

SINGLE-LEG TOWEL BALANCE

• Repeat the single-leg balance while standing on a folded towel.
• Balance for up to one minute before switching legs.

PELVIC LIST

• Standing in neutral—feet straight, ankles pelvis-width apart, weight on the rear of the foot— place your right hand on your right hip and pull the right side of the pelvis down toward the floor, bringing the left side up.
• Neither knee bends during this exercise.
• Hold for up to a minute on each side.

NEXT-LEVEL LIST

• Perform the List while standing on a phone book or yoga block with the other leg floating above the ground.
• Work up to doing this for six minutes, alternating sides every minute.

NEXT-NEXT LEVEL LIST

• This is the same as the Next-Level List, but it’s performed on an inverted half-foam roller.
• Try to attain a neutral knee pit while listing.
• Work up to doing this for six minutes, alternating sides every minute.
• Eventually, the listing action should occur naturally while you’re walking.

STRENGTHENING YOUR WALK

STONE-WALKING

• Begin by standing in minimal footwear (then socks, then barefoot as you become used to the sensation) on stones or cobblestone mat.
• Progress slowly to walking barefoot on these surfaces.

WALK ON THE PILLOW TRAIN

• Make a short “train” of different pillows and cushions on your floor.
• Walk back and forth across the pillows.

WALKING OVER VARIED TERRAIN

• Start by leaving the main path for small amounts of time and work up to hours.

CALF ELEVATORS

• Stand with your feet forward, ankles pelvis-width apart.
• Press the front of your foot into the ground.
• Slowly lift your heels away from the ground without overly moving your pelvis forward.
• Keep your ankles straight (don’t let them drop outward, as in top left photo) and continuously press the ball of the foot into the floor.
• Toes should be lift-able throughout the entire exercise.
• Lift and lower your heels, working up to twenty times. Do this multiple times a day (unless you’re doing a lot of uphill hiking, in which case you can practice this exercise “in the real world.”)
• Eventually work up to doing this exercise one foot at a time.