Download Pilates for Feet

Pilates for Feet
By Madeline Black
Madeline has 20 years of Pilates teaching experience and currently directs Studio M in Sonoma,
CA. She has a B.S. in PE and Dance from Skidmore College, has ACE, ACSM, Gyrotonic® and
PMA certifications, and is currently studying Integrative Manual Therapy. Madeline presents
advanced continuing education seminars for Body Mind Spirit Expo, Pilates On Tour and the
Pilates Method Alliance, and at studios in around the world.
Pilates has developed a reputation for building core strength, especially once the fitness and
physical therapy worlds came to Pilates in the 1990s. But my history with early Pilates, studying in
New York in the late ’80s, was always about the feet. Along the way, the core became the mantra of
Pilates. I strongly feel the time has come to a focus on the feet again.
In Pilates, the feet are very important to the way we engage the body, and they deserve more
attention. Feet bring to mind metaphors for moving us forward in life and finding our sense of place
and existence in the world. Yet in our bodies, we pay little attention to them. We squish them into
shoes, stand for long periods of time, walk on cement sidewalks. I live in the country, and we still
do not pay attention to our feet here. If we did, we may lessen back issues, hip and knee pain, and
release our necks.
From Sole to Spine
Our feet are not only our sensory input telling us where and how to step, but also they set up the
balance of our pelvis and translate through the spine. How you use your feet has a direct influence
on your core.
The way we stand on our feet, or how we move the feet, recruits different muscle lines up the leg
into the pelvis. Body weight from our spine and pelvis is placed on the legs through the femur into
the tibia. At the end of the tibia sits the talus.
The talus is one of my favorite bones of the foot because it reminds me of a turtle shell with the
turtle’s head looking out. It is also the only bone in our body that has no muscle attachments! It
moves according to the structures around it. Why is this important? The talus receives the body
weight from the tibia, the main weight-bearing bone of the lower leg. The tibia is curved over the
top of the talus “shell” with the fibula supporting the talus on one side. As the weight then transfers
from the talus, it spreads through the foot. Depending on how we are moving or standing, the bones
of the feet shift from the outside or inside. These shifts are dynamic and in turn shift the whole
structure of our skeleton.
The Neutral Talus
The talus has a neutral position that is important to maintaining a neutral pelvis. The relationship of
the talus is with the tibia from above and the navicular bone from below. If you draw a line
connecting the talus, the navicular, the three cuneiform bones and first three metatarsals into the
toes, you will see the medial arch (inner foot). The other side consists of the calcaneus, cuboid, the
4th and 5th metatarsals and toes. This is the lateral arch, or the outer foot. The inner foot is where
we are more stable, and the outer foot spreads the weight and helps us right ourselves into stability.
The inner foot line is extremely valuable for working on balance in standing.
Many people unfortunately pronate or collapse the medial arch and roll the arch in toward the floor
or even onto the floor. When this happens, the navicular drops and the talus is pulled down out of
its neutral position. The whole pull of the pronated foot influences the femur to roll in and pull on
the pelvis anteriorly. Now, we have an anterior pelvis on this side. You can see how if you continue
to look globally, the pull continues all the way up the body. By correcting the talus position you
will see the body move back into a more neutral position globally. The neutral pelvis then provides
the balanced position from which to engage the deep abdominals and strengthen the core.
The talus moves with its structures around it. The navicular bone is one of the bones that can pull it
out of neutral. When you lift the inner arch, the navicular moves up and moves the talus laterally.
When the inner arch drops, the navicular moves medially pulling the talus with it. Some people
need more flexibility in this area and some more awareness of where it should sit. Naja Cori, an
unrecognized “elder” whom I studied with in the 1980s, taught us a simple exercise to improve this
area:
Arches In, Arches Out (Naja Cori)
Stand with the feet in a parallel position, legs straight and body upright, do not look down at your
feet, use a mirror to watch the navicular moving down toward the floor and away from the floor.
Roll the feet toward the lateral arch (outer border of the foot) lifting the inner arch. The big toe ball,
(the MP joint and tip of the big toe) will lift slightly off the floor. Roll the medial arch (inner border
of the feet) in. The weight will be more on the MP joint and less on the little toe ball. Rhythmically
move the arches out and in and finish on the lateral arch after about 8 repetitions. Then slowly move
the navicular bone toward the midline but only until the Achilles tendon is straight, do not go past
this point. Try to maintain this position of the foot. [See the slideshow below.]
Prehensile foot placement
Correcting the Talus with Pilates
Pilates is brilliant at working the feet on the Reformer or the Parakeet Bar, but only when you place
them on the bar or in the straps with intention of a neutral talus. Prehensile is the best foot
placement to work on this idea of the feet and the contrast of the hips and spine. When the
metatarsal heads are placed on the bar with the toes long and wrapped around the bar, it places the
forefoot (the metatarsals and phalanges) into a supportive transverse arch. (See photo at right.) Most
people have to roll their legs inward in order to meet the bar evenly. But the thigh bones should be
in a neutral alignment with the hip joint. What I mean by the contrasting work of the hips and spine
is the inward spiral of the feet with an outward rotation of the hip. It creates a strength pattern from
the feet to the pelvis.
Some people have compensated forefeet, their metatarsals don’t meet the ground in an even
transverse arch. The metatarsals and toes bow or tilt toward or away from the mid line. The big toe
may be higher than the little toe or the opposite, the little toe higher than the big toe when the talus
is in neutral. This is due to years of walking around with the talus not in neutral. If the client has
this compensation, teaching them foot corrective exercises can improve the function of the foot and
in turn change their pelvic position.
More Foot Exercises
All the movements below are performed with the talus in neutral. First find the neutral position with
the “Arches In, Arches Out” exercise. Then perform the following:
Doming the Foot
The purpose of this exercise is to feel the dome of the plantar arch, tri-bone contact points and the
lower extremity musculature.
Stand or sit in with a neutral spine and lift toes off ground. Weight should be evenly distributed
between big toe ball, little toe ball and the center of the back of the heel. Maintain this position of
contact, and while standing, try to bring the femur into a neutral position without loosing big toe
ball contact. You will feel the hip rotators activating. Hold 5 seconds. Lower toes to floor and keep
same weight distribution. The tibia should be vertical to the best of your ability.
Inch Worm
Dome the plantar arch, which consists of the medial, transverse and lateral arch. (The three points
that form the plantar arch are the center of the heel, the first toe ball and the little toe ball.) Puff up
the arch like a parachute by inching the heel point toward the toe ball points. Move the toe ball
points away from the heel to relax the arch. Repeat the motion of doming the arch and inching the
foot forward. Try doming and inching in the reverse direction, bringing the toe balls toward the heel
until the tibia returns to the vertical starting position. To increase intensity, wet one end of towel
and place it on the floor. Place the foot on the dry end of the towel and inch the arch while dragging
the towel. The towel creates a resistance.
Toe Extensor and Flexor Exercises
1. Lift all the toes up, pressing the metatarsal heads into the floor, and try to separate the toes
creating space between the toes; lower the toes. Repeat and visualize the action for spreading the
toes, and feeling the big toe ball and little toe ball press into the floor.
2. Lift all the toes again, this time lower one toe at a time starting from the little toe. Try the other
direction. Imagine playing the piano with your toes.
3. Press the big toe down, hold it down and lift the four other toes. Repeat several times. Reverse
the action—press the four toes down and lift the big toe up. You can do both feet at the same time.
Or, really challenge your coordination by doing one action with one foot and the opposite action
with the other foot!
Recently, a local teacher, who attended my “Sole to Spine” seminar in California, used this concept
of neutral talus in her Reformer class by cueing her students to stand with the heel contact on the
bar centered throughout the exercises, being aware of when they rolled off center or lost heel
contact. After one class, a student told her in the next class that 90 percent of her knee pain was
gone. As she found, paying closer attention to feet while doing Pilates can help eliminate knee pain;
it can also help with lower-back tension, even SI pain and more.
Understanding the power of the feet, along with both their static and dynamic structure, gives you
the tools to enable your clients to feel the connection up the leg into the pelvis and spine. Bringing
awareness and change to a client’s alignment increases positive results, whether it is less pain or
simply feeling the work more. That all adds up to getting stronger and feeling better.