Here are the bunion exercises we practiced in class this week. These should be considered excellent exercises for overall foot health. Feel free to practice them even if you have healthy feet. These exercises will help keep them that way!
1. Soften the soles of the feet with a tennis or golf ball. Put a little pressure on the ball as you roll your foot over it, front to back to front to back. Do that for a least a minute, maybe up to 5 minutes.
2. If you don't have a ball, use your thumbs.
3. Try to thread your fingers between your toes from under the foot. This is commonly known as the "yoga handshake" and is replicated with YogaToes.
4. Once that is easy, try threading your fingers between the toes from the top of the foot.
5. Once you have relaxed the foot, time to strengthen. Lift all the toes, keeping the balls of the toes and the heels on the ground. Keep the feet close together, including the big toe. Try to spread the toes apart.
6. Now try to reach just the big toes down to the ground, then up again. Like little toe push-ups. Down and up. Keep the toes together. You may need a rubberband to hold the toes together.
7. Now reach just the pinkie toes down to the ground. Reach them out and down. Then up. Repeat.
8. Now, for the grand finale, try to reach just the big toes and pinkie toes down to the ground. Reach out and down. Lift. Repeat.
Practice these exercises consistently and you may just relieve your bunions. It takes effort, to be sure, but effort that's well worth it.
fierce, powerful pose
upward hand pose
dolphin plank pose
