Are stairs getting trickier every day? Do you worry about needing surgery for your knees?
One of the most common reasons people seek out my yoga classes is that they think they have tight hips.
What if I told you that in my decades of experience, the most under-utilized strategy to ease knee pain or loosen hips had nothing to do with those joints specifically?
Every step you take starts with your feet. If they’re stiff, weak, or can’t move well, that lack of motion travels up the chain into your knees and hips.
Welcome to episode #30 of the Midlife Reset Podcast. I’m your host, Cheryl Gordon. I’ve spent the last 25 years studying movement and helping women just like you stay active and strong. Today I want to share with you the secrets of keeping your feet nimble. Once you feel the transformation that so many of my clients have experienced, you’ll want to dive into all the other amazing benefits that yoga therapy can offer.
This will be a bit of a hands on episode. You may want to pause and grab a tennis ball or similar prop along with a small dishcloth, dry of course. It may be an episode that you want to repeat a few times until you get the full depth of what we’re sharing.
Ok… so what’s up with feet? Can you slip off your shoe and have a look? Can you see the number of little bones and joints in your foot? Each adult human foot contains 26 bones, which are divided into three main groups: seven tarsal bones in the ankle and rear foot, five metatarsal bones in the midfoot, and fourteen phalanges (toe bones). Together, the 26 bones in each foot make up about 25% of the total bones in the human body. That’s a lot of moving parts for feet which are a small part of your whole body.
Why did mother nature create such a mobile structure? Because, historically, we did not navigate our world in Nike’s. We were running barefoot over sand, rocks, savanna. Our feet are supposed to be a marvel of engineering and flexibility. You know those old commercials about people who can paint with their toes? That’s a thing. It’s possible. Watch babies. Their feet do all that their hands can do.
Let’s do a little experiment. Stand up. Watch your toes move if possible. Now if you’re driving, well, do it later. Try to lift just your big toe on the right foot. Let all the other toes stay down. Super hard, right? But your muscles and bones can do that. You’ve just lost the wiring to the brain that remembers how to do that.
Why does this matter?
Flexible feet (especially in the arches and toes) act like springs, absorbing shock with each step. If the feet are rigid, that shock moves directly into the knees and hips, which aren’t designed to handle all that impact.
Feet that can spread, flex, and adapt keep the ankles stable. Stable ankles = better knee tracking and hip alignment. Without it, knees may cave inward or twist, which stresses cartilage and ligaments.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t skate. My ankles just fell inward. I tripped over my own blades. When my mom took me to the doctor because I fell so much, he recommended ballet. Here’s me at 3 years old in my little pink tutu. The doctor recognized that I had weak ankles and stiff feet, even for a kid. I think it helped. My poor mom.
Anyway, this brings us to an important point. Flexible, mobile feet give your brain constant information about where you are in space. This is called proprioception. It is sometimes referred to as a sixth sense.
When you set out to walk or climb stairs, your brain has been trained to tune into where that hovering foot is about to land. Did you realize you balance on one foot all day long? Every step you take in fact. So many students in yoga tell me they have no balance and my reply is that you couldn’t have walked in here if you couldn’t balance. Proprioception is a type of essential intelligence that I was struggling to develop when I was 3. It’s know where our bodies are in space and time, almost instinctively. Movement is the best teacher of proprioception.
Now your gorgeous feet are a marvel of engineering for another reason that running on the savannah. The movement in your feet as you navigate that uncertain territory is feeding information up to your brain that builds proprioception. In fact, 90% of your intelligence around where you are in space comes from your feet. That knowledge translates up the kinetic chain and helps your hips and knees respond quickly and stay strong in movement, preventing falls and injuries.
And yet, what did my mom do when I started to walk? What are older people cautioned to do all the time to prevent falls? Yup. Get a structured shoe. This is tantamount to putting on noise cancelling headphones and then trying to hear someone talk from the next room. Very muffled. When you wear firm, structured shoes, you are muffling your natural feedback systems to your brain. You are less intelligent, less stable.
I know. We are bombarded with marketing messages about arch support and pronation and goodness knows what. But here’s the way God made ya. Flexible feet.
Ever sit on a park bench and watch people walk by? How many older adults do you see who walk fluidly and evenly? Not many I bet. I know we all have stiff hips and sore knees but why???
To walk smoothly, you need your toes to bend, your arch to rise and fall, and your heel to move freely. If those motions are stiff, your stride shortens, hips and knees compensate, and over time—pain and wear-and-tear build up.
You can begin to address this right now. Can you grab your bare foot? It might be easier to lie down in bed. However it works for you. Gentle stroke the bottom of your foot. No pressure really needed. Can you feel the tingle? It’s about activating nerve endings. Can you picture little lightening bolt type messengers zinging up to your brain. Pay attention! Stuff is happening here! That’s good. We want the pathways to be very alive. Now try a little more pressure, maybe moving the toes this way and that. Massaging into the “flipper” part of your foot. We can even mobilize the heel. There are three bones just in the heel part. Take time to notice that foot before trying the second side. Try a tennis ball now.
What about feet that are just blocks of cement? Start slow, be consistent. It’s mostly soft tissue (fascia) and it will soften.
Speaking of fascia, have you ever had plantar fasciitis? That is an inflammation of the soft tissue in the sole of the foot. Very painful. Don’t do anything drastic when it’s in flare up. Do the wash cloth thing to strengthen. To prevent, take foot and ankle mobility more seriously every day, calf stretching too.
Doing the Joint Freeing Series daily, even twice a day, is a good practice.
Let’s recap.
1. The feet are your base of support
Every step you take starts with your feet. If they’re stiff, weak, or can’t move well, that lack of motion travels up the chain into your knees and hips.
2. Shock absorption
* Flexible feet (especially in the arches and toes) act like springs, absorbing shock with each step.
* If the feet are rigid, that shock moves directly into the knees and hips, which aren’t designed to handle all that impact.
3. Alignment & tracking
* Feet that can spread, flex, and adapt keep the ankles stable.
* Stable ankles = better knee tracking and hip alignment.
* Without it, knees may cave inward or twist, which stresses cartilage and ligaments.
4. Balance & proprioception
* Flexible, mobile feet give your brain constant information about where you are in space.
* This helps your hips and knees respond quickly and stay strong in movement, preventing falls and injuries.
5. Gait efficiency
* To walk smoothly, you need your toes to bend, your arch to rise and fall, and your heel to move freely.
* If those motions are stiff, your stride shortens, hips and knees compensate, and over time—pain and wear-and-tear build up.
To address these issues, take up a daily practice of paying attention to your feet. I’ve shared three things right now but there are lots of options. I do recommend strongly that you look at the FREE Joint Freeing Series video course. It gives you a few different versions for different times of day and different abilities. I do the practice myself and can personally vouch for the benefits. I think I walk pretty well for an old girl.
Do you have more questions about your feet? Let me know.
