Pilates For Your Feet

Feet don’t seem to get much love in the fitness world. This is a shame, since they literally support all of our upright movements whether we are working out or not. As a whole body exercise, Pilates spends a lot of time focusing on the feet and how their “fitness” affects the other areas of the body. If you are one of the many people who suffers from from aching, sore, and even “tight” feet and toes, (or painful knees or hips), practicing Pilates and trying specific Pilates foot exercises might help you find relief.

Pilates Foot Exercises

It often surprises people that there are actual pilates foot exercises. In particular, there are movements using the Joseph Pilates-designed toe tensometer and foot corrector. The equipment helps strengthen your feet while working to improve alignment and flexibility. They also work your legs, hips, and beyond. They are great tools to help build awareness of how you move your feet, and of imbalances from one side of your body to the other.

Your feet are complicated structures, with 26 bones and 33 joints. If they aren’t functioning well, you can end up with back pain, joint pain, or referred pain due to the ligaments, tendons, and muscles that connect to the rest of your body. I love that in addition to the specific Pilates foot exercises, Pilates in itself is hyper-foot focused in ALL of the exercises.

It’s All About Awareness

You might not be paying attention to what your feet are doing during class, as you follow along with the teacher cues. If you haven’t – then surprise! Your foot position is always changing, from pointed (plantar flexed), to arched, to flexed (dorsi flexed), with articulation and rotational movements. The same is true whether you are taking a mat class, or working on the wunda chair, reformer, or tower.

All Pilates exercises can be considered Pilates foot exercises because of the focus on the feet no matter what you are doing. Over time, you will increase foot and ankle mobility, improve your foot flexibility, and gain awareness in how you move and stand. So pay attention to how your feet feel the next time you are in class. Even better, pay attention to how you stand and move through your feet throughout your day.

Thanks to Pilates, I have become so much more aware of my body and its movements. Even more importantly, I’ve learned that if I move my body in certain ways, I can make it feel better (or worse). For example, I noticed that my left side tends to have more aches and pains in my hip flexor, and that foot is tighter. I have noticed that when running, my left foot even moves differently than my right! Now, I concentrate on pushing from my left big toe and the ball of my foot when I run. This has helped prevent sore hamstrings and knee pain for me in that side.

By doing Pilates foot exercises, I have made my feet stronger and more flexible by simply participating. And through awareness, I’m learning to make my whole body work better as a whole – starting with my feet.