The Foot and the Brain
One of the trainings I did recently had this quote in it, which I loved
"Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else." Leonardo da Vinci
And these connections are often surprising
I remember having a really sore back one day when I was off to do the school run.
On my way there I trod really hard on a bump in the pavement and it shot pain up my body briefly
And then my back pain was gone!!
The connection of the foot to the core is one of my favourite things I teach in Pilates and Hypopressives. One of my pregnancy clients commented on it recently, as she found it a really easy way to feel her pelvic floor switching on. It's so much easier and more effective than cueing a pelvic floor lift - and you're much less likely to do it wrong!
But this week another foot connection came to light - and that is one between foot stimulation and brain health
One of the reasons I love wearing barefoot shoes is that not only is it better for posture and foot function, but you are also much more aware of the ground. This means you step less heavily (I have disturbed both a fox and a badger on my walks before now because they didn't hear me coming!!) but also you react to the terrain better
The nerves in your foot are designed to feel a variety of surfaces, but we deaden them with compression and thick soles and cushioned insoles
This leads to a lack of proprioception - your foot's awareness of where it is in space - and this can affect balance and co-ordination
Dr Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon, has been researching Alzheimer's for a documentary and this week mentioned on CNN his top 5 lifestyle changes to aid brain health
And one of these was the use of toe spacers
In the article the doctor suggested wearing toe spacers for 15 minutes every day as a way to stimulate the nerves from the spinal core to the feet - some of the longest nerves in the body - and keep the pathway active
I've been using toe spacers for almost as long as I've been wearing barefoot shoes
I started with just the foam inserts you get for using when putting nail varnish on. They were ok but didn't really do much
My first purchase was the my happy feet socks - they were more effective (I couldn't wear them for long at first because they gave me pins and needles). But I don't like wearing socks so I wanted something else
Next were the big jelly yoga toes. Difficult to put on but you could definitely see the difference when you took them off! But they were very big, so you could only wear them sat or lying down
Finally more products were being released and I bought the green separators. The benefit of these is that you can wear them while moving - and if you had barefoot shoes, they would fit inside so you could use them while walking. This makes them more functional - because your toes are supposed to spread when you walk - and can get your toes more aligned for when you are doing strength work
My most recent purchase are Naboso ones - they have pimpled surfaces so there is neuro stimulation going on as well
The point is, that this is an easy thing to fit into your day, that could have a big effect for minimal effort! Perfect!
And no worries if you don't have any separators just yet - just shake hands with your foot!
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